ATO – Tax Help is available at Cobram Community House from August to October each year.
NOTE: Each person using this service MUST have a MyGov account and we can help you create one before your appointment.
If you want free help filling out your tax return and you are on a low income, our trained Tax Help volunteers may be able to help you.
Tax Help is a network of community volunteers who provide a free and confidential service to help people complete their tax returns at tax time. They can also give you advice on how to complete your tax return next time.
These volunteers are people from within the community who give up their time each year. They are not ATO staff.
Tax can be complex so our volunteers are only able to help with fairly straightforward tax returns. They can help identify and record income received through:
-pensions
-salary or wages
-dividends
-managed funds
-interest
-Australian government benefits and allowances, such as unemployment and sickness benefits.
Am I eligible for Tax Help?
You are eligible for Tax Help in if your income is around $60,000 or less for the income year and you did NOT:
-work as a contractor, for example a contract cleaner or taxi driver
-run a business, including as a sole trader
-have partnership or trust matters
-sell shares or an investment property
-own a rental property
-have capital gains tax (CGT)
-receive royalties
-receive distributions from a trust, other than a managed fund
-receive foreign income, other than a foreign pension or annuity.
What can volunteers help me with?
Volunteers can help you lodge your tax return online with myTax or claim a refund of franking credits.
If our volunteers work out that you don’t need to lodge a tax return, they can help you complete a non-lodgment advice.
Volunteers are unable to help you with amendments.
-your myGov user ID and password
-your bank account details (BSB and account number)
-your tax file number
-an original or amended notice of assessment from any one of the last five years (the assessment needs to have been issued before 31 May this year)
-income statements from all sources
-all your receipts for gifts, donations and work-related expenses
-details of any child support payments made
-details of any losses on investments in shares and rental properties (net investment losses).
-If you had a spouse (married or de-facto) at any time during the financial year, you also need to bring details of their taxable income or a reasonable estimate.