Tax time 2026: Latest tips to max your tax return

As the current financial year draws to a close, it's the perfect time to think about your tax return.

Understanding exactly what you can claim, what offsets might be available, and what counts as taxable income will help you maximise your tax return and avoid making mistakes with your paperwork.

1. Claim everything you can

The tax office lets you claim deductions on a wide range of work expenses, as long as the expenses directly relate to your work and weren't reimbursed by your employer.

This includes:

• Vehicle and travel expenses. You can't claim the cost of your regular commute, but you can claim costs incurred while travelling on the job.
• Tools and equipment. If you buy a laptop and use it 100% for work (and your employer doesn't provide one), you can claim it fully. If you use it 50% for personal use and 50% for work then you must claim 50% of the cost.
• Work clothes. You can claim expenses on safety gear, uniforms and clothes that are occupation-specific.
• Education and training. You can claim some forms of self-education costs as long as there's a "sufficient connection" to your work.
• Membership fees. You can claim deductions for costs like union fees or membership to professional or trade associations.

Just make sure you keep records of everything, like maintaining a logbook for work travel.

2. Don't forget about work from home deductions

The ATO lets you claim working from home expenses. There's an easy way to claim via the fixed rate method, which lets you claim 70 cents for every hour worked from home.

This covers costs like internet use, electricity and phone use. Make sure you maintain a timesheet of your work from home hours.

You can also use the actual cost method, which requires more detailed records.

Take advantage of tax offsets if you can

There are a few tax offsets that can reduce the amount of tax you have to pay, if you qualify.

These include the:

• Low income tax offset
• Seniors and pensioners tax offset
• Private health insurance offset
• Super tax offsets (there are several)

It's worth checking if you're eligible for any of these offsets based on your income, age and other factors.

3. Record all your income sources

This sounds simple if you just have a full-time salary from one job. But you might have sources of income you're overlooking.

Dividends on shares count as income and must go on your tax return. So does interest earned in a savings account.

4. Keep a record of everything

Make sure you save any receipts for work-related purchases, keep a logbook of work travel and working from home hours, and any other relevant details like charitable donations.

It will make your tax return much easier to complete, and will come in handy if the ATO asks you for extra proof when processing your return.

You can also use the ATO's myDeductions tool to keep track of everything for you.

5. Make a voluntary super contribution

There's still time this financial year to top up your super. This lets you add to your retirement savings, and any money you contribute (up to the $30,000 annual cap) is taxed at just 15%.

For most of us, that's a tax saving right there.

6. Get an accountant — it's tax deductible!

If you've got a complicated tax situation, or just want expert help, speak to an accountant. They can give you personalised tax advice, and the cost of their service is also tax-deductible.

One tip for next financial year: get hospital cover

If you don't have private health insurance with hospital cover and you earn over $101,000, you have to pay the Medicare Levy Surcharge.

It's too late to avoid it for this tax year, but if you get cover now you can avoid it next year.