By Peter Woodford, Port Stephens Accountants & Business Advisors · Published August 2026
Tax time arrives every year, but the preparation should start well before you open myTax or call your accountant. The difference between a smooth lodgement and a stressful one almost always comes down to whether you have the right documents ready before you begin.
This checklist is designed for individual taxpayers in Australia lodging their 2025–26 income tax return — whether you are a salary earner, investor, sole trader, or someone with a rental property. Work through each section before your appointment or before you lodge, and you will be less likely to miss a deduction, trigger an ATO query, or need to amend your return later.
If you are based in Nelson Bay or Port Stephens and would prefer to have a registered tax agent handle it for you, our team at Port Stephens Accountants & Business Advisors is here to help. Call us on 02 4984 3333 or use the contact link below to book an appointment.
Personal Details & Account Information
Have these ready before you start, whether you are lodging yourself or providing them to your accountant:
- Tax File Number (TFN) — never share this by phone, email, or social media
- myGov account login details (if self-lodging via myTax)
- Bank account details (BSB and account number) for any refund to be deposited
- Your date of birth and current residential address
- Medicare card number and private health insurance details
- HECS-HELP or VET Student Loan balance (if applicable)
- Previous year’s tax return or Notice of Assessment (helpful for comparison and carry-forward losses)
Income Documents
The ATO pre-fills some income information in myTax, but you are responsible for verifying that everything is correct and complete. Gather statements for all sources of income you received during the 2025–26 financial year (1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026):
Employment income
- Income statement from each employer (previously called a payment summary) — check your myGov account, these are uploaded directly by employers and should be marked “tax ready” before you lodge
- Any allowances, bonuses, or termination payments received
- Lump sum payments (e.g. unused annual leave paid out on termination)
Investment income
- Bank interest statements from all accounts
- Dividend statements (including franking credit information)
- Managed fund distribution statements
- Details of any shares or assets sold during the year — for capital gains tax (CGT) calculations, you need the purchase date, purchase price, and sale proceeds
Rental property income
- Rental income received (from your property manager’s annual statement or your own records)
- All rental property expense receipts — see deductions section below
Other income
- Sole trader or business income (including any foreign income)
- Government payments (Centrelink, JobKeeper if applicable, parental leave)
- Any other income not covered above — if you are unsure whether something is taxable, ask us
Deductions — What You Can Claim
Deductions reduce the amount of income you pay tax on. To claim a deduction, you must have spent the money yourself, it must be directly connected to earning your income, and you must have a record to prove it. Here are the most common deduction categories for individuals:
Work-related expenses
- Work-from-home expenses — for 2025–26, the ATO fixed rate is 70 cents per hour worked from home. This covers electricity, gas, internet, phone and stationery. You must have a contemporaneous record of every hour (a diary, timesheet or roster kept throughout the year — estimates are not accepted). Note: you can also claim depreciation on office furniture and equipment separately.
- Work-related car travel — if you use your own vehicle for work (not including travel to and from your usual place of work), you can claim up to 5,000 km at 88 cents per kilometre under the cents-per-kilometre method. You must be able to explain how you calculated the distance.
- Tools, equipment and professional subscriptions — any item costing $300 or less used for work can be claimed in full; items over $300 are depreciated over time
- Uniforms and protective clothing — only if the clothing is distinctive (e.g. a uniform with a logo) or protective (e.g. steel-capped boots). Conventional clothing is not claimable even if you only wear it for work.
- Self-education expenses — if the course or study is directly related to your current job (not a new career). Includes course fees, textbooks, stationery, and a portion of internet costs.
- Union and professional membership fees
- Income protection insurance premiums (not life insurance or TPD through super)
Rental property deductions
- Interest on investment property loans
- Property management fees, council rates, water charges, strata fees
- Insurance premiums for the rental property
- Repairs and maintenance (note: improvements are treated differently and depreciated over time — ask us if you are unsure)
- Depreciation on fixtures, fittings and capital works — a depreciation schedule from a quantity surveyor can unlock significant claims here
- Travel to inspect the property (note: from July 2017, travel expenses for inspecting residential rental properties can no longer be claimed — verify any property-related travel with us)
Other common deductions
- Last year’s tax agent or accountant fees (yes — the cost of managing your tax affairs is itself deductible)
- Investment-related expenses — interest on money borrowed to purchase shares or managed funds, plus management and adviser fees (where not paid from inside super)
- Charitable donations to DGR-endorsed organisations — keep your receipts
- Personal superannuation contributions — if you have made after-tax contributions to your super and intend to claim a deduction, you must lodge a valid Notice of Intent with your fund before lodging your tax return
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- The ATO matches data from third parties (employers, banks, share registries, health insurers) against your return. These are the most common errors that lead to delays, ATO queries, and amended returns:
- Lodging before your income statement is marked “tax ready” — missing employer data is one of the most common causes of incorrect returns
- Claiming the full cost of an item used for both work and personal purposes — you can only claim the work-related portion
- Forgetting to declare all bank accounts — the ATO receives interest data from every financial institution automatically
- Claiming the work-from-home fixed rate without a full-year record — a 4-week diary is no longer sufficient; the ATO requires a record for the entire income year
- Missing the private health insurance rebate or surcharge — check your annual statement from your insurer
- Not including all dividend and distribution income — check your portfolio for any investments that might have paid distributions you have forgotten about
Ready to Lodge? We Can Help.
If working through this checklist has surfaced questions about what you can claim, or you would simply prefer to have an experienced tax agent handle your return from start to finish, our team in Nelson Bay is ready to help.
At Port Stephens Accountants & Business Advisors, we handle individual tax returns for salary earners, investors, sole traders, rental property owners, and those with multiple income streams. We will review everything carefully to make sure you claim every deduction you are entitled to — accurately and in line with ATO requirements.