Yahoo Finance Tax time 2020 is coming up: Here's every date you need to know
Get all your paperwork in order, because tax season is coming up in a matter of weeks.
Thanks to the government’s stimulus payments of JobSeeker, JobKeeper and everything in between, doing your taxes might look a little different this year, so you might want to stay on top of all the key dates for the end of this financial year and the start of the new one.
Grab your diary, here’s every important date you need to know about this tax time:
25 June 2020
This is the new cut-off date for employers who need to lodge 2019-20 fringe benefits tax (FBT) return.
“In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the due date for lodging and paying the 2020 FBT return has been deferred from 21 May 2020 to 25 June 2020,” the ATO said on its website.
30 June 2020
This is the last day of the 2020 financial year. Before this date hits, you might want to see what kinds of things you can sort out, such as getting a free $500 from the government by topping up your super.
1 July 2020
Tax season begins: you can now officially start to lodge your tax returns. Tax season will last for three months, until 31 October 2020.
28 July 2020
Your employer needs to make superannuation contributions to your super fund for the April-June quarter by this date. Here are all the key dates for employers who have to pay super.
31 July 2020
Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) summaries are now a thing of the past – they will no longer be issued to employees. Instead, your income statement will be uploaded to myTax via Single Touch Payroll (STP) by the end of July, and is always available to you throughout the year through your ATO online account.
“It’s important to wait until your employer finalises your income statement to make it ‘tax ready’ before you or your agent lodge your tax return. Most employers have until 31 July to check their employee’s income statement and finalise it for the year,” the ATO said on its website.
The ATO will send you a message through your myGov Inbox at some point after 1 July to let you know when your income statement is tax-ready, so you can lodge your tax return.
“If you or your agent lodges your tax return and your income statement is not tax ready, your employer might make changes, and you may need to lodge an amendment. In some cases, additional tax and interest may be payable.”
Employers that don’t report to ATO via STP will still have to give you a payment summary at the end of the financial year.
Tax Refund Day
You’ll get your tax refund roughly 14 days after your lodgement date.
7 September 2020
Employers who wish to apply for the superannuation guarantee amnesty need to apply by this date. This amnesty was introduced for employers who owe unpaid super to employees to come forward and pay it without incurring penalties.
Employers that have disclosed unpaid super to the ATO before 6 March 2020, you don’t have to apply or lodge again. But employers who come forward from 6 March will have to apply for the amnesty by 7 September.
31 October 2020
This is the last day you can lodge your tax return for the 2019-20 fiscal year. If you miss this deadline, however, you can apply for an extension; and if you use a tax agent, you can actually lodge as late as May next year.
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