Archive · 19 Jun 2025
ATO Releases 2025 Tax Return Guidance for Australians
When filing taxes in Australia, the government already knows your income from your job.
Make sure it is correct, and add any extra money you earned.
You can claim money you spent for work, like supplies, but keep the receipts.
The tax office will check work expenses like working from home or using a car for work.
Make sure everything is correct to avoid problems.
You can correct mistakes or ask for an extension if you need more time to file your return.
The ATO pre-fills income information from employers, but taxpayers must check and add other income.
Taxpayers can claim deductions for expenses directly related to earning income, with supporting records.
The ATO will focus on working from home expenses, motor vehicle expenses, rental properties, and cryptocurrency in 2025.
Two methods are available for working from home expenses: fixed rate (70 cents/hour) and actual cost.
The ATO uses data matching and other sources to detect discrepancies and discourage tax evasion.
- Who
- Australians filing tax returns.
- What
- Guidance on tax return preparation, deductions, and ATO focus areas for 2025.
- When
- Relevant for the 2025 tax year, but advice applies to current filings.
- Where
- Australia
- Why
- To inform taxpayers about proper tax return preparation, deductions, and to discourage tax evasion.
Taxpayer Responsibility
ATO Oversight
Accuracy and Compliance
Taxpayer Responsibility
Taxpayers are responsible for the accuracy of their tax returns.
ATO Oversight
The ATO aims to prevent fraudulent claims and correct errors in tax returns.
- Tax Returns Lodged
- More than 15 million Australians expected to lodge
- Accountants used
- 60%
- Tax Returns via MyGov
- 40%
- ATO tip-offs per week
- ~1000
- Tip-offs warranting investigation
- ~90%
- Fixed rate work from home
- 70 cents per hour
- Cents per km car expenses
- 88 cents, up to 5,000 km
