Yahoo Finance ATO explains after Aussie's $5,300 disappointment: 'Confused'
Aussies have taken to social media to complain about their official tax refund after being told it would be much higher.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has revealed why your tax return might have come back well below expectations. When July 1 came around, Aussies were able to lodge their tax returns and the ATO provided a rough estimate of what they might get back.
But many have been horrified to see hundreds or even thousands of dollars to be knocked off that initial amount. Nat Zelez told Yahoo Finance she was “so excited” when she was told she would be getting an estimated refund of $5,300 from the ATO this year.
However, when the money came through, it was only $3,000.
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“I’ve always lodged it on the 1st [of July] because I’ve always been really keen to get [my refund] back ASAP,” the 24-year-old said. “I’ve always gotten my exact estimate back so that’s why this year I was a bit confused why I got only [about] half of what was estimated.”
Zelez contacted the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to find out why her refund was lower than expected and while they were unable to give her a clear answer, she believes her estimate was incorrect because she lodged too early and her income information wasn’t yet finalised.
Skye Michele was told she could expect more than $3,000 from her tax return for the 2023-24 financial year.
Do you have story? Email stew.perrie@yahooinc.com
However, she couldn't believe her eyes when the official amount was revealed.
"This is what I was supposed to get,” she said in a video pointing to the screen that said she was projected to be owed $3,083 by the ATO.
“Then it went to extra processing time because a couple of years ago, basically my account had got hacked, someone had changed the bank details, absolutely everything. So now, every time I want to go on the ATO [website], I’ve got to call up and get them to unlock it."
When she called the ATO to unlock her account she was told her tax return would only be $341.
"I s**t you not. Why, am I only getting this? Someone please explain," she said.
Why would the real amount be lower than the estimate?
The ATO has revealed there are many reasons why Aussies might have a tax return much smaller than what was originally quoted.
The estimate is based on the information that you provided to the ATO and is a combination of your taxable income, your non-refundable tax offsets, and other liabilities like HECS debt or the Medicare levy.
Below is a list of some of the reasons why the estimate will differ from the end result:
If it involves complex calculations, like income averaging
If the ATO receives information that affects the balance of your assessment, which can include:
lodging your tax return late
incorrectly editing or deleting pre-filled information
receiving an employment termination payment
receiving an Australian superannuation lump sum payment
excess concessional superannuation contributions
excess non-concessional superannuation contributions
being entitled to use your spouse’s unused seniors and pensioners tax offset
requesting we calculate the deductible amount of your undeducted purchase price of a foreign pension or annuity
receiving credit for tax paid by a trustee
being entitled to a government super contribution
being entitled to a low-income super tax offset
having amounts where rounding rules apply
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