Tax return deadline 2026: lodge by 2 November and check your refund
Doing your own return? The deadline is 31 October, pushed to Monday 2 November this year. Here is how to tell if a refund is coming.
If you're lodging your own 2025–26 tax return, the deadline is 31 October. This year that falls on a Saturday, so the ATO's next-business-day rule moves it to Monday 2 November 2026 (Spark Receipt).
Using a tax agent? The date is different
If you get onto a registered tax agent's client list before 31 October, most people can lodge as late as 15 May 2027 (Sleek). Signing up with an agent after the deadline doesn't get you the extension, and people who owed $20,000 or more last year can have an earlier date.
Will you get a refund?
Your employer withheld tax from every pay using ATO tables that assume you earned the same amount all year. Your return works out your real tax, so the gap becomes a refund or a bill. The table below shows roughly what your total tax should be for 2025–26 on a single salary. Compare it with the "tax withheld" figure on your income statement in myGov.
| Salary 2025–26 | Income tax | Low income tax offset | Medicare levy | Total tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $5,788 | $250 | $1,000 | $6,538 |
| $70,000 | $11,788 | $0 | $1,400 | $13,188 |
| $85,000 | $16,288 | $0 | $1,700 | $17,988 |
| $100,000 | $20,788 | $0 | $2,000 | $22,788 |
| $120,000 | $26,788 | $0 | $2,400 | $29,188 |
| $150,000 | $36,838 | $0 | $3,000 | $39,838 |
| $200,000 | $56,138 | $0 | $4,000 | $60,138 |
2025–26 resident rates (16% on $18,201 to $45,000), low income tax offset and 2% Medicare levy, no deductions or other income. If your withheld tax is higher than "Total tax", expect a refund, plus more for any deductions you claim.
What usually boosts a refund
Work-related deductions you can prove (tools, uniforms, work travel, some home office costs), donations to registered charities, and working only part of the year are the most common reasons. Income that wasn't taxed at source, like bank interest or side-hustle earnings, pulls the other way.
Before you hit lodge
Check your income statement says "Tax ready" and that bank interest and private health details have pre-filled. Lodging on incomplete data is one of the most common reasons returns get amended later.
Heads up for next year: the 15% tax rate and the new $1,000 instant work deduction start with your 2026–27 return, not this one.
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