Lodge an early tax return

If you are a non-resident of Australia for tax purposes, returns lodged before the end of the financial year will be accepted if you're permanently leaving Australia and you will not receive any Australian sourced income (excluding interest, dividends and royalties) for the rest of the financial year after you're gone.

If you are a resident of Australia for tax purposes, returns lodged before the end of the financial year will be accepted if you are leaving Australia, will cease to be a resident of Australia for tax purposes, and you won't be deriving any Australian sourced income (excluding interest, dividend and royalty income) for the rest of the financial year after you're gone.

If you will still receive an Australian sourced income – besides that of interest, dividends and royalties – after leaving Australia, you will need to lodge your return in the normal period, between July 1 and October 31. The same applies if you are not leaving Australia permanently. In some situations extensions of time to lodge can be obtained by a tax agent.

Refunds of franking credits may only be claimed by people who were Australian residents for tax purposes at the time the related dividend was received.

If lodging an early return, you need to:

• collect payment summaries from each of your employers along with any other details regarding income earned while in Australia
• contact the Tax Office to talk about any outstanding debts, and lodging any unlodged returns for earlier years
• complete your tax return, and mark the relevant year in bold on the front of the tax return (for example, if you are completing your return for the 2011-12 income year, cross out the 2011 and mark the tax return 2012).
• attach the request for early assessment form, and
• post forms to GPO Box 9990 in your capital city.

It should take about six weeks to process, and will be sent to the postal address you supply on the tax return. You may qualify for priority processing if you are undergoing financial hardship. Contact the Tax Office on 13 28 61 for more information.

Arrangements can be made if you are overseas during the timeframe for lodging your statement, and continue to be an Australian resident for taxation purposes. You can:

• lodge online with e-tax
• lodge in person at an Australian Embassy while overseas
• post your return to the Tax Office from overseas
• have an Australian tax agent lodge your return, or
• complete a Power of Attorney and have a friend or family member lodge a return on your behalf.

Last reviewed 26/07/12