If you are lodging your own 2025–26 Australian individual tax return, the usual deadline is 31 October 2026. That Saturday date moves the effective lodgement day to Monday 2 November 2026 under the ATO's next-business-day rule. A tax agent may have a later date, but only if the agent's program covers your return. Lodging and paying are separate obligations, and a return that produces a refund may still need to be lodged.
This page is for the income year that ended on 30 June 2026. The site's salary tax calculator can help you understand an estimate, while our 2026 refund guide explains the difference between a deduction and a refund.
Which date applies to your return?
The ATO's individual due-date guidance distinguishes people lodging their own return from eligible clients of registered agents. Check the due date displayed in ATO online services or with your agent if your circumstances are unusual.
For a 2025–26 individual return:
- Self-lodgement: The stated due date is 31 October 2026. The weekend rule permits lodgement on Monday 2 November 2026. An ATO notice can require an earlier date.
- Registered tax agent: Your recorded date under the agent's program may be later. Engage the agent before 31 October and confirm your return is on the agent's list.
- Self-lodgement between 1 July and 31 October with tax owing: The usual payment date is 21 November 2026, moved to Monday 23 November by the weekend rule. If the assessment issues after 31 October, the ATO instead gives 21 days after it issues. If you lodge on Monday 2 November under the weekend rule, check the payment date on your notice of assessment.
- Self-lodgement after 31 October with tax owing: The ATO still lists 21 November as the payment date, subject to the weekend rule in 2026. Interest may run after the applicable payment date. Check your notice of assessment.
If you lodge through a registered tax agent
The ATO says you need to engage a registered agent before 31 October to be considered for its later lodgement schedules. Simply planning to find an agent later does not establish a later due date. The agent can check whether your return is covered and what date the ATO records. Prior-year returns or an ATO request for earlier lodgement can affect that date.
For 2025–26 returns lodged through a registered agent, the ATO's lodgment program for individuals and trusts sets these due dates:
- 31 October 2026 if a prior-year return was still outstanding at 30 June 2026, unless all of them are lodged by 31 October 2026
- 31 March 2027 if your latest return had a tax liability of $20,000 or more
- 15 May 2027 for all other individuals, or 5 June 2027 if the return is lodged and any payment required is made by then
You can check an agent's registration on the Tax Practitioners Board register by name or registration number.
If you cannot meet your date
Contact the ATO as soon as possible if you cannot lodge by your due date. A registered agent can request a lodgement deferral for exceptional or unforeseen circumstances under ATO rules. A request is not an approval; check the revised due date if a deferral is granted. You do not need a deferral solely because the due date falls on a weekend or public holiday: the next-business-day rule already applies.
What can happen if you lodge late?
A late return can expose you to a failure-to-lodge-on-time penalty even if the tax calculation is otherwise correct. Under Taxation Administration Act Schedule 1 section 286-80, the base amount is one penalty unit for each 28 days or part of 28 days late, up to five units. The Crimes Act 1914 section 4AA and the 2026 penalty-unit instrument set the indexed unit at $364 from 1 July 2026.
| Days late | Base units | Base amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1–28 days | 1 | $364 |
| 29–56 days | 2 | $728 |
| 57–84 days | 3 | $1,092 |
| 85–112 days | 4 | $1,456 |
| 113 days or more | 5, the cap | $1,820 |
This is the base schedule, not a bill the ATO automatically sends for every late return. The ATO's penalty guidance says it generally does not apply a penalty for an isolated late lodgement and considers the circumstances. As an administrative practice, the ATO says it will warn you by phone or in writing before applying a failure-to-lodge penalty and issuing a notice to lodge. The ATO notifies you in writing if it applies a penalty. These administrative practices do not cancel the duty to lodge.
Why the cap can be higher for some individuals
The ATO's failure-to-lodge rules and section 286-80 multiply the base penalty for larger entities. Assessable income in the income year in which the return is due, rather than just taxable income in the return being lodged, can determine the multiplier. Withholder and GST-turnover tests can also matter.
| Entity | Multiplier | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Small | 1 | $1,820 |
| Medium | 2 | $3,640 |
| Large | 5 | $9,100 |
| Significant global | 500 | $910,000 |
The medium category includes an individual meeting the relevant assessable-income test of more than $1 million but less than $20 million. The large category includes an individual meeting the $20 million-or-more test. The significant global classification has separate conditions. These maximums use the $364 penalty unit from 1 July 2026 and five base periods.
For example, if a small-entity return is lodged 31 days after its effective due date, it has entered a second 28-day period. The statutory base is two units, or $728 at the current unit. That is a schedule illustration, not a prediction that the ATO will impose or retain that penalty. If a notice arrives and circumstances warrant it, the ATO explains how to request remission.
Lodging late and paying late are different
The lodgement penalty concerns the return. If tax is unpaid after its payment date, the ATO adds general interest charge (GIC) to the debt. The ATO says GIC accrues with daily compounding and its rate is revised quarterly. This article does not quote a rate because it changes. A refund means no unpaid tax from that assessment on which GIC would accrue, but it does not itself remove a lodgement obligation. If paying is difficult, the ATO describes payment-plan options.
Leaving returns unlodged can escalate the issue. The ATO describes reminders and, for continued non-lodgement, default assessments, penalties or referral for prosecution. These are possible responses, not automatic consequences of missing one date.
How can you lodge now?
myTax, an agent or paper
The ATO lists three ways to lodge: use myTax through a myGov account linked to the ATO, use a registered tax agent or complete a paper return. The ATO's 2026 individual paper form is for 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026. If using an agent, check the TPB public register and confirm the agent's registration status, rather than assuming a business name proves registration.
Check pre-fill before submitting
The ATO pre-fills information from employers, banks, government agencies, health funds and other third parties, with most information available by late July. Compare it with your income statement, bank records and other documents. Pre-fill can be incomplete or require correction; you remain responsible for the return you submit. Keep the supporting records for deductions even when an amount appears automatically.
Earlier years still need attention
If an earlier return is outstanding, the ATO says to bring it up to date promptly. myTax ordinarily supports returns from the 2016 income year onward; eligibility limits apply for online 2014 and 2015 returns, while 2013 and earlier require an agent or paper. An older unlodged return does not disappear when a newer return is lodged. It can also affect an agent program due date, so have the agent check your record. Under section 286-80(5), the penalty unit for each 28-day period is valued at the start of that period. For an earlier return already overdue during 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026, periods starting then used the $330 unit, not the later $364 unit.
Which deductions and records matter for 2025–26?
The ATO's three work-expense rules require that you paid the expense without reimbursement, it directly relates to earning your income and you have a record to prove it. Claim only the work-related share of mixed private and work use. An expense must belong to the 2025–26 income year to be considered in this return; buying something now does not retrospectively create a 2025–26 deduction.
The familiar $300 work-expense threshold is a written-evidence concession, not an automatic deduction. Even below it, you need records showing how you calculated a real claim. The ATO excludes car, meal allowance, award transport payment and travel allowance expenses from that particular threshold and applies their own evidence rules. ATO's 2026 myTax guidance also says to keep most work-expense records for five years after lodging.
Working from home and car expenses have their own methods and records. Compare the working-from-home calculator with our 2025–26 explanation, or the car expenses calculator. Ordinary home-to-regular-workplace travel is generally private under ATO car-expense guidance.
The enacted $1,000 standard work-expense deduction first applies to 2026–27 assessments, under Schedule 4 of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026. It cannot be used in a 2025–26 return. That later-year rule also does not turn a non-deductible 2025–26 expense into a current claim.
Two salary and withholding examples
Both illustrations use the site's salary tax engine for an Australian resident in 2025–26, without a study loan, Medicare exemption, Medicare levy surcharge or other income. Salary, deductions and withholding are hypothetical inputs; the ATO's assessment depends on the actual return.
Example: an eligible expense and a refund
One worker earns $85,000 in salary, has $1,000 of eligible work expenses incurred in the year and has $19,000 withheld. On $84,000 taxable income, the engine estimates $15,988 income tax and a $1,680 Medicare levy. The combined amount is $17,668, leaving an estimated $1,332 refund against withholding.
Without that eligible expense, the engine independently estimates $16,288 income tax and $1,700 Medicare levy, or $17,988 combined. The claim changes this illustration by $320. A deduction reduces taxable income; it is not a cash refund of the deduction amount. See our refund guide for that distinction.
Example: no deduction and an amount owing
Another worker earns $60,000, claims no work expenses and has $8,000 withheld. The engine estimates $8,688 income tax and $1,200 Medicare levy: $9,888 combined and an estimated $1,888 owing after withholding. The amount owing is not itself a failure-to-lodge penalty. Its payment date depends on the ATO's self-lodgement rule and the notice of assessment, not on this example's salary.
Nil return or non-lodgement advice?
The first question is whether the ATO says you need to lodge a return. A nil return is still a return lodged through the tax-return process. A non-lodgement advice instead tells the ATO that no return is required for that year; it cannot replace a return you must lodge. The ATO lets eligible individuals submit that advice online. No income or no tax owing does not by itself answer the lodgement question, especially if tax was withheld or another reporting condition applies.
Frequently Asked Questions
The ordinary self-lodgement date is 31 October. Because it is a Saturday in 2026, the ATO's weekend rule permits lodgement on Monday 2 November for a return otherwise due that day.
The ATO says to engage a registered agent before 31 October for the agent's later schedule. Ask the agent to check the date recorded for your return; signing up later does not automatically change it.
The ATO says it generally does not issue a failure-to-lodge penalty notice for a late return with a refund or nil result, unless a penalty had already been applied or another stated exception applies. You still need to lodge a return if required.
Lodge the return and check the payment date on your assessment. The ATO adds general interest charge (GIC) to unpaid tax after that date. The ATO describes payment plans and may consider remission of interest in stated circumstances.
Contact the ATO promptly if you cannot meet your date. A registered agent can seek a deferral under ATO rules for exceptional or unforeseen circumstances; a request alone does not extend the deadline.
No. The enacted standard work-expense deduction first applies to 2026–27 assessments. For 2025–26, check actual expenses and the evidence required under the rules for that year.
Use the ATO's lodgement test. If it says no return is required, lodge a non-lodgement advice where appropriate. If a return is required, a nil tax outcome still belongs in a return.
General information, not financial, tax or Centrelink advice. Verified on 29 September 2026 against the ATO's return dates, penalty guidance, payment guidance, Crimes Act 1914, 2026 penalty-unit instrument and Tax Practitioners Board register. Confirm your own due date and lodgement obligation with the ATO or a registered tax agent.