Using a tax refund calculator can help you estimate your tax refund or liability in Australia.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to use a tax refund calculator in Australia:
Step 1: Gather all relevant financial information.
Before using the calculator, gather all necessary financial details such as your income, deductions, and tax credits. Keep in mind that these calculators are only as accurate as the information you provide, so ensure you have all the necessary details handy.
These may include:
- Gross income
- Employment income
- Government benefits
- Investment income
- Business income
- Private health cover details
- Existing HELP/HECS balances
- Deductions (work-related expenses, investment expenses, donations)
Its often difficult to incorporate salary sacrifices, tax rebates or tax offsets into tax calculators due to the added complexity. Only your local tax agent will be able to provide final figures here.
Step 2: Choose a reputable Australian tax refund calculator.
There are various tax refund calculators available online. Reputable calculators will update the tax calculator when tax law changes to ensure you get the right estimate for the year ahead.
Some popular options include:
- RECCOMENDED: Accountants Direct 15 Second Tax Refund Calculator: https://accountantsdirect.com.au/tax-calculator/
- Australian Taxation Office (ATO) Simple Tax Calculator: https://www.ato.gov.au/Calculators-and-tools/Simple-tax-calculator/
- H&R Block Tax Calculator: https://www.hrblock.com.au/tax-calculator
Step 3: Receive your estimate
You should recieve your estimate in a minute or less.
Remember, as the old saying goes – Garbage In / Garbage out so try to get the inputs as accurate as possible (or at least have an informed guess ready).
(Remember this is a rough approximation and many other factors will need to be considered)
Step 4: Get your deductions sent for free.
Some tax calculators, such as the Accountants Direct Tax Refund Calculator even offer a free list of deductions based on your occupation sent to your email. Whats more, Accountants Direct offers a choice 200 of occupations – which is by far the widest range in Australia.
We hope this summary has been useful. Reputable calculators are compliant with ATO schedules however all calculations are estimates only. An accurate and final tax return results can only be obtained following an appointment with an expert tax accountant.
We are the individual tax return specialists. You can book directly here or call us on 1300 TAX SHOP.
