The new financial year has begun and millions of Aussies are now able to lodge their tax returns for the 2024-25 year. While many will be eager to get their hands on tax refunds from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), an accountant has warned that lodging too early could cause big headaches.

Aussies have from July 1 until October 31 to lodge their tax returns if they are doing it themselves, and a bit more time if they go through an accountant. Hive Wise founder Hripsime Demirdjian told Yahoo Finance Aussies shouldn’t rush to lodge their tax returns now.

“People should hold off lodging on July 1 because there’s a high chance that their income that has been reported to the ATO will be incomplete on this date,” she said.

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“This can include data from your employer, bank, insurance provider, government agencies, managed funds etc.

“For instance, your employer has until July 14 each year to finalise your payroll data and submit this with the ATO. Until your employer submits this data, your salary information, which appears in your ATO prefilling report, will be incomplete.”

Along with risking submitting an incorrect tax return, Demirdjian warned that rushing to complete your tax return could also mean you make mistakes and miss tax deductions.

“Lodging too early could also result in your tax return being flagged for a review by the ATO, and potentially cause a delay in your tax return being processed,” she said.

“This is because the ATO would amend your tax return to include any income you might have missed.”

The ATO has also advised taxpayers not to lodge until their income statement is marked as ‘tax ready’ and data has been pre-filled by the ATO.

Last year, it said 142,000 people who lodged in the first two weeks of July had to lodge amendments, or had their returns investigated and amended by the ATO to fix errors in their returns.

When can I lodge my tax return?

While you can technically lodge your tax return from today, experts have said it’s better to wait until late July.

Demirdjian said mid-July was generally a “safe zone” to start preparing your tax return.

“If you’re a salaried employee with no investments, this timeframe could apply to you,” she told Yahoo Finance.

“However, if you’re someone who has a more complex tax return, which includes investments such as managed funds, you would be wise to hold off lodging your tax return until August/September, as this information is generally not available until then.