New Client Tax Return Checklist

Identification documents needed

Video call or Office appointment

 We need to sight 1 of the following:

Australian Driver License/Passport/Government Photo Id Card, Foreign Driver License/Passport/National ID Card

 

Online/Email Tax or Phone appointment

 We need 2 documents from any of the following categories:

  • Bank BSB & Account number and Superannuation membership number or Private health insurance membership number (these must match your ATO record)
  • Australian or Foreign birth certificate/birth extract/citizenship certificate, Australian health care or pension concession card
  • A notice from a government agency (e.g. ATO/Centrelink) issued within 12 months showing your name and residential address
  • A council rates or water/gas/electricity bill issued within 3 months showing your name and residential address
  • A medicare card

Standard information needed

  • Residential address (and postal address if different)
  • Copy of annual income statement(s) from employer(s). We can usually access this from the ATO from the 2nd week of July onwards.
  • Occupation
  • Date of birth
  • Tax file number
  • Bank BSB & account number for deposit of any tax refund

Where applicable, we’ll also need the following:

  • Australian and foreign investment income
  • Legal or defacto spouse name, taxable income for the financial year, and number of dependent children
  • If newly arrived or departing Australia – your approximate date of arrival/ estimated date of departure, country of origin, & whether or not you are entitled to an Australian medicare card
  • Annual private health insurance tax statement.
  • A summary of investment property income and expenses. Ask us for our investment property checklist. 
  • A list of any known tax deductible expenses. For example:
    • Clothing (logoed or protective)
    • Tools/equipment
    • Average monthly phone & internet bill & your estimated work use % (vs private) of each
    • Study/training/courses/memberships/Union fees
    • Approximate purchase date and cost of your current computer/tablet/mobile phone handset and your estimated work use %
    • Approximate work kilometres travelled during the year (workplace to workplace not home to work, unless you are carrying bulky equipment)
    • Average weekly hours spent working from home (prior to 01 March 2023)
    • A record of all hours worked from home (01 March 2023 onwards)
    • Donations made to registered charities
    • Previous tax agent fee

NOTE:

From mid-July onwards we can usually access the following information directly from the ATO, so you don’t usually need to supply it:

  • Annual private health insurance tax statement
  • Bank interest income
  • Dividend income

Managed Fund/Trust annual tax statements are sometimes unavailable until August/September. If you own units in a Managed Fund/Trust, please wait until you receive the annual tax statement before contacting us for your tax return.