werty1

Hi,

I have just been told that we should do a tax return soon. No idead how to go about this but been told we will get statements from our work stating what we have earned and how much tax been paid etc. if we have earned less than $6000 we can claim the tax back, well we have both earned less than $6000 but is this true can we claim it back?
Also when we bought all the books for the course the lady said to keep the reciept to claim tax back on college books,
What else, if anything do you claim back?

Someone is probably going to come along now and say your not entitled to on a student visa! Thats normally what happens lol

Thanks

goldchoccycoin

You are entitled on a student visa - as you are resident for tax purposes.

The easiest way to to do it is online - but unfortunately as this is your first year doing a tax return you can't - so the next best way is by picking up a 'Tax Pack 2007/08' (available in newsagents etc) and reading all the bumpf and filling in a form. It's pretty easy - but if you hate numbers a tax accountant could do it for you (usually around the $100 mark - they'll all be advertising soon!

You'll need your End of Year statements (like a P60 sort of) which will show how much you have earned and how much tax you have paid - if you are under the threshold you should get any tax you have paid back.


I don't think you can claim for books though. See www.ato.gov.au

werty1

Hi thanks for replying, do you mean as its our first year we cant claim at all or just that we cant do it online?

thanks anyway

Pollyana

You can do a tax return online in your first year - you obviously don't have details from a previous year, so you just enter the fact that its your first year, and it will then ask for the date you arrived in Australia. It then calculates your tax from that date.
AFter the first year you need the previous year's details in order to do it online.

goldchoccycoin

Thanks for that Pollyana - I thought you couldn't do a tax return online until you had a Notice of Assessment - learn something new everyday!

Thanks.