How to Lodge Your First Australian Tax Return in 2026: Step-by-Step Guide for Migrants

The Australian financial year closes on 30 June 2026. From 1 July, you can lodge your 2025–26 tax return — and if your employer withheld too much tax during the year, lodging is how you get that money back. For most migrants lodging for the first time, the process is simpler than it looks and costs nothing if you do it yourself through the ATO’s myTax portal.

This guide walks through every step — from knowing whether you need to lodge, to what income to declare, what you can claim, and how to actually submit — based on current ATO guidance.

Disclaimer: This article is general information only and does not constitute tax advice. Your obligations depend on your individual circumstances, visa type and residency status. Consult a registered tax agent or the ATO for advice specific to your situation.

Key dates for the 2025–26 tax return

While lodgement is possible from 1 July, waiting until late July is often a more prudent strategy — by this time most employers, banks and health funds will have provided data to the ATO, enabling the pre-filling of your return and reducing the risk of errors. Australian Taxation Office

Do you need to lodge a tax return?

Most migrants who worked in Australia during the 2025–26 financial year need to lodge a return. You must lodge if any of the following apply:

• You earned any Australian income during the year and had tax withheld by an employer
• You are an Australian resident for tax purposes and your taxable income exceeded $18,200
• You are a foreign resident for tax purposes and earned any Australian-sourced income — including wages, rental income or interest
• You are a working holiday maker (SC 417 or 462) — see working holiday visa tax 2025–26
• You received government payments such as Centrelink or Youth Allowance during the year
• You made a capital gain from selling Australian assets

Even if your income was below the threshold, you should still lodge if any tax was withheld from your pay during the year — lodging is the only way to get a refund of over-withheld tax.

If you are genuinely not required to lodge, you submit a non-lodgment advice through myGov to inform the ATO. This is important — failing to either lodge or submit a non-lodgment advice leaves your tax record open and can attract follow-up from the ATO.

If you are unsure whether you need to lodge, use the ATO’s Do I need to lodge a tool before doing anything else.

Before you start: what you need

Gathering these items before opening myTax makes the process significantly faster:

Identity and access:

• Your Tax File Number (TFN) — see TFN, ABN and super setup guide if you don’t have one yet
• A myGov account linked to the ATO

Income records:

• Income statement from your employer — available through myGov once your employer has finalised it (most employers finalise by 31 July)
• Bank statements showing interest earned in any Australian accounts
• Centrelink payment summary if you received government payments
• Dividend statements if you hold Australian shares
• Rental income records if you own Australian property

Deduction records:

• Receipts for work-related expenses you plan to claim
• Logbook or records if claiming vehicle expenses
• Records of any donations to registered Australian charities (DGRs)
• Private health insurance statement if relevant to the Medicare Levy Surcharge

For migrants specifically:

• Your visa grant date and any date your visa or residency status changed during the year
• Records of any overseas income if you were an Australian tax resident for part of the year
• Medicare Levy Exemption Certificate from Services Australia if you were not entitled to Medicare — see Medicare levy for visa holders

Step-by-step: lodging via myTax

Step 1 — Set up and link myGov to the ATO

Go to my.gov.au. If you do not have a myGov account, create one — you need an email address and a mobile number for two-factor authentication. Once your account is created, select “Manage your linked services” and add the Australian Taxation Office.

To link the ATO, answer identity questions — usually related to your TFN, bank details, super account or a prior Notice of Assessment. If you are an expat or living overseas, ensure your Australian mobile number and email are up to date for two-factor authentication.

If you are a brand new migrant who has never lodged an Australian return before, you may need to call the ATO on 13 28 61 to complete identity verification manually before the link will work.

Step 2 — Wait for pre-fill data (late July)

Once linked, you will be able to see your ATO record. The ATO automatically pre-fills your return with data from your employer (via Single Touch Payroll), your bank, Services Australia and other government agencies. Most of your information will be pre-filled by late July.

Do not lodge on 1 July — your employer’s data may not yet be finalised. Lodging with incomplete pre-fill data increases the risk of errors and may require an amendment later.

Step 3 — Open myTax and start your return

From your myGov account, select the ATO service, then navigate to Tax → Lodgments → Income Tax. Select the 2025–26 income year. myTax opens with your pre-filled information already populated.

You will see a pre-filled tax form with your employer income, super contributions and any bank interest already pulled in. Review each section and add or edit any missing details.

Step 4 — Confirm your residency status

For migrants, this is the most important section. myTax asks whether you were an Australian resident for tax purposes during the year. Your answer directly determines which tax rates and offsets apply. See the Australian tax residency test for how residency is determined.

If your residency status changed during the year — for example you arrived mid-year or transitioned from a temporary to a permanent visa — you select “Part-year resident” and enter the date your residency status changed. The ATO applies resident rates from that date and foreign resident rates before it.

If you are a working holiday maker on a 417 or 462 visa, select “Working holiday maker” to ensure the 15% WHM rate is applied correctly throughout the year.

Step 5 — Declare all income

All Australian-sourced income must be declared regardless of how it was received — cash, bank transfer, digital payment. The main income categories:

Salary and wages: Pre-filled from your employer’s Single Touch Payroll data. Check against your final payslip and ensure the amounts match.

Bank interest: Pre-filled from ATO bank data. Check your bank statements to verify — all income must be declared. The ATO receives data from employers, banks, government agencies, crypto exchanges and share registries. Under-reporting income is a top audit trigger.

Government payments: Jobseeker, Youth Allowance, Centrelink payments — all pre-filled from Services Australia data. Verify against your Centrelink payment summary.

Business or freelance income: If you have an ABN and invoiced clients during the year, this income goes in the “Business income” section — not the salary section. Declare gross income and then claim business expenses as deductions. See TFN, ABN and super setup guide for ABN obligations.

Foreign income: If you were an Australian tax resident for the year and earned income overseas — rent from a foreign property, foreign employment income, foreign dividends — this must also be declared. Foreign income is converted to AUD at the ATO’s published exchange rates.

Step 6 — Claim your deductions

Deductions reduce your taxable income and increase your refund. You can only claim a deduction if you spent the money yourself, it directly related to earning your income, and you have a record to prove it. The ATO’s general rule: no record, no deduction.

Work-related expenses most migrants can claim:

• Tools, equipment and technology purchased for work — laptops, phones (work-use portion only), specialist software
• Protective clothing and footwear required for your specific job — steel-capped boots, high-visibility vests, non-slip shoes for hospitality
• Uniforms with a logo or that are occupation-specific — not generic clothing you could wear anywhere
• Self-education expenses directly related to your current income-earning role — courses, textbooks, professional development
• Union fees and professional memberships
• Home office expenses if you worked from home — the ATO’s fixed rate method is 67 cents per hour for 2025–26

Transport:

• Travel between two separate workplaces on the same day is claimable
• Travel from home to your primary workplace is not claimable — this is a private expense
• Use of personal vehicle for work purposes (excluding home to work commute) — claim using the cents-per-kilometre method (88 cents per km for 2025–26) for up to 5,000 business km, or the logbook method for higher use

Donations: Gifts of $2 or more to organisations with Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status are tax deductible. Verify DGR status at abr.gov.au before claiming. Raffle tickets, membership fees and event tickets are not deductible even if paid to a charity.

Tax agent fees: If you paid a registered tax agent to lodge your previous year’s return, that fee is deductible in the current year’s return.

The ATO’s myDeductions tool in the ATO app lets you photograph receipts and log expenses throughout the year — uploading them directly to pre-fill your deductions at tax time.

Step 7 — Medicare levy section

If you are a temporary visa holder not entitled to Medicare, this is where you declare your exemption. Enter your Medicare Levy Exemption Certificate details — the period covered and the certificate number. The ATO removes the 2% levy from your assessment for the exempt period. Without the certificate entered here, the levy will be applied to your full year income. For full detail see Medicare levy for visa holders 2025–26.

If you earn above $93,000 and do not hold private hospital cover, the Medicare Levy Surcharge section will also appear — declaring your private health insurance details here removes the surcharge.

Step 8 — Review and submit

Before submitting, check:

• Your name, date of birth and TFN are correct
• Your bank account details (BSB and account number) for the refund deposit are correct — an incorrect bank account is the most common cause of delayed refunds
• All income sources are declared and totals match your own records
• Deductions you are claiming have supporting records kept
• Your residency status is correctly set for your situation

Read the declaration carefully — you are legally confirming the return is true and correct. Tick the declaration and submit.

myTax will give you a receipt or lodgement reference number — keep a copy or print the final summary.

Step 9 — Check your Notice of Assessment

The ATO usually issues a Notice of Assessment within two weeks for simple myTax returns. That document shows the final assessed tax, any refund or debt, and whether interest or penalties apply.

Your Notice of Assessment arrives in your myGov inbox. Check it carefully — it is your official confirmation of what the ATO assessed and what refund or liability applies. If you believe it is incorrect, you can amend your return within two years of the assessment date through myTax.

Refunds are deposited directly into your nominated bank account, typically within 2 weeks of the Notice of Assessment for electronically lodged returns.

Lodging options compared

myTax is free but you do everything yourself. A tax agent costs money but ensures your return is accurate, maximises your deductions, provides audit protection and gives you an extended lodgement deadline. For straightforward returns, myTax is fine. For anything complex, a tax agent is worth the investment.

Lodging if you are leaving Australia before 30 June

If you are leaving Australia permanently before 30 June 2026 — the end of the financial year — you may be able to lodge your return early using a paper form. Processing for early lodgements is 50 business days. You cannot lodge early online through myTax — early lodgement is paper only. Download the form from the ATO website.

If you are leaving after 30 June but before 31 October, lodge normally through myTax before departure. If you will be overseas on 31 October, you can still lodge through myTax online — you need your myGov login and access to your Australian mobile number or email for two-factor authentication.

What deductions migrants most commonly miss

Work-related phone and internet: If you used your personal phone for work calls or your internet connection for work purposes, you can claim the work-use percentage. Keep a four-week log of work versus personal use as the basis for your claim — then apply that percentage to the annual bill.

Professional development: Courses, seminars and textbooks directly related to your current role are claimable. A nurse claiming a medical conference, an engineer claiming a software course, a teacher claiming a curriculum training workshop — all claimable with receipts.

Income protection insurance: Premiums for income protection insurance that covers you for loss of employment income are tax deductible. Life insurance premiums and trauma cover are not deductible.

The cents-per-kilometre vehicle method: Many migrants who use their personal car for work (not commuting) do not claim the deduction simply because they are unaware of it. At 88 cents per km for 2025–26, even 500 work-related km generates a $440 deduction.

HECS-HELP repayment adjustment: If you have a HECS-HELP debt and your income is above the compulsory repayment threshold ($54,435 for 2025–26), your repayment is calculated in the tax return automatically. Check your debt balance through myGov before lodging.

Late lodgement: what happens if you miss 31 October

The ATO may impose penalties and interest charges for late lodgement. The standard failure-to-lodge penalty is $330 for every 28 days the return is overdue, up to a maximum of $1,650.

It is always better to lodge late than not at all. The ATO takes a more serious view of failure to lodge than of late lodgement. If you know you will miss the deadline, contact the ATO on 13 28 61 before 31 October — they can note your account and in some cases grant an informal extension without penalty. If you have a registered tax agent, contact them before 31 October to be added to their lodgement program, which gives you until 15 May 2027.

Frequently asked questions

This article is general information only and does not constitute tax advice. Tax obligations depend on individual circumstances including visa type, residency status, income sources and deduction eligibility. Consult a registered tax agent or visit the ATO for guidance specific to your situation.

Sources: ATO — how to lodge your tax return | ATO — lodge your first tax return | myGov | ATO — lodge before leaving Australia