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When Centrelink recipients should lodge their tax return

Centrelink recipients need to wait to lodge their tax return. Here’s why.

Eliza Bavin
·Personal Finance Editor
Updated ·2-min read
A composite image of a Centrelink sign with logo and tax return forms.
Aussies who get Centrelink payments will have their pre-fill information provided to the ATO by the end of July. (Source: AAP / Getty)

Aussies on Centrelink have been told to wait to lodge their tax returns, despite the new financial year beginning on July 1.

Services Australia said all pre-fill information it needed to provide to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) would be completed by the end of July.

“Once all your information pre-fills in myTax, you won’t need to get a Centrelink Payment Summary to lodge your tax return,” Services Australia said.

“Pre-fill means less work for you and helps you get your tax return right the first time. We’ll send you a letter if there’s a change to your 2022-23 Centrelink payment summary details and we’ll also update the ATO.

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“If you’re lodging your tax return and it doesn’t match your letter, enter the details from your letter into your return. If you’ve lodged and your payment summary details change, you‘ll need to amend your tax return. If you need help to amend it, contact the ATO via their website.”

Not all Centrelink payments are taxed

Some payments from Services Australia won’t show on the payment summary, but they may still need to be reported to the ATO.

Services Australia urged Aussies to check:

  • If their payment will show on the payment summary or not

  • What payments to report or not to report in their tax return

  • The self-service options they can use to access it

  • What happens if there are payment changes

Aussies who received the Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment, High-Risk Settings Pandemic Payment and the Disaster Recovery Allowance top-up will need to report those to the ATO because they are taxable, but will not show up on the Services Australia payment summary.

However, those who received the Australian government Disaster Recovery Payment do not need to report it to the ATO.

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