Is It Worth Getting an Accountant to Do My Tax Return?

When doing it yourself in myTax is enough

myTax is free and pre-fills most of the information the ATO already holds: income from employers, bank interest and other information reported to the ATO. If that is most of your return and your deductions are straightforward, you can usually lodge accurately yourself.

The ATO still expects you to check the pre-filled figures and to have records for every deduction you claim. Doing it yourself means the responsibility is entirely yours, with no adviser to share it.

• Income is wages, bank interest and pre-filled payments
• Deductions are small and well documented
• No rental property, share sales, crypto or business income
• No foreign income and no change of residency
• All earlier returns are lodged

When a registered tax agent adds value

An agent earns the fee when your return involves judgement: what is deductible on a rental, how to calculate a capital gain, whether your side business is a business or a hobby, or how the personal services income rules apply. These are the areas where honest mistakes are common and where the amounts at stake are larger.

Agents are bound by the Tax Practitioners Board's Code of Professional Conduct, which requires them to take reasonable care to find out your circumstances and to apply the tax law correctly. They also deal with the ATO for you if questions come up after lodgment.

• Rental properties, including depreciation and interest
• Share, property or crypto sales
• A sole trader business, GST or PAYG instalments
• Foreign income or moving to or from Australia
• Overdue returns from earlier years
• A big life change: separation, redundancy or inheritance

More time to lodge through an agent

For 2025-26 returns, the self-lodgment date was 31 October 2026, extended to Monday 2 November because it fell on a weekend. Registered agents have a lodgment program with later dates. Under the ATO's program, most individuals have until 15 May 2027, and a return due then can be lodged and paid by 5 June 2027 without penalty.

To get the later date, you need to be on the agent's client list in time. The ATO says that if you are using an agent for the first time or switching, you should contact them before 31 October. Some clients get an earlier date: 31 March 2027 if the latest return showed a tax liability of $20,000 or more, and 31 October 2026 if any earlier return was still outstanding at 30 June 2026.

Protection from some ATO penalties

Using a registered agent can protect you from certain ATO penalties, known as safe harbour. For the false or misleading statement penalty where there is a tax shortfall, you are not liable if the statement was made by your registered tax or BAS agent, you gave the agent all the relevant information, and the error resulted from the agent failing to take reasonable care. You or your agent need to be able to prove the information was provided.

For the failure to lodge on time penalty, you are not liable if you gave the agent everything they needed to lodge by the due date and the agent's failure was not because they were reckless or intentionally disregarded the tax law.

Safe harbour has limits. The ATO says using an agent does not on its own show that you took reasonable care, and it does not stop other penalties, such as the penalty for taking a position that is not reasonably arguable. You also remain responsible for the records you give your agent.

What an agent costs after tax

The ATO lets you deduct fees paid to a registered tax agent in the income year you pay them. Because most people pay after 30 June, the fee for your 2025-26 return usually goes on your 2026-27 return.

Worked example: you pay a $250 fee in September 2026 and your income falls in the 30 per cent tax bracket. With the 2 per cent Medicare levy, the deduction saves you $250 x 32% = $80, so the fee costs you $170 after tax.

A standard deduction of up to $1,000 for work-related expenses is proposed for the 2026-27 income year. It does not apply to 2025-26 returns. The ATO says the cost of managing your tax affairs would still be claimed separately, on top of it.

When to get help

If your return is simple, lodging yourself is a sensible choice. If it involves property, investments or a business, or you are behind on lodgments, a registered agent is usually worth more than the fee.

Acquire Strategic Accounting provides registered tax agent services for individuals and business owners from Victoria Point and Jimboomba.