It is Sunday 1 November. If your 2025-26 tax return is still not lodged, you have not missed the deadline yet, as long as you lodge it yourself. Because 31 October fell on a Saturday this year, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) gives self-lodgers until 11:59 pm local time on Monday 2 November 2026. The ATO did not move the other date that matters this weekend: to get a tax agent’s later due date, you had to be on that agent’s client list by Saturday 31 October.
The short answer
If you lodge your own return through myTax, your due date is Monday 2 November 2026, 11:59 pm local time. If you only need to tell the ATO you do not have to lodge, the non-lodgment advice is due on the same day. If you were already on a registered tax agent’s client list by 31 October, your due date is the one in the agent’s lodgment program, which for most individuals is 15 May 2027. If you are contacting an agent for the first time this weekend or next week, the ATO treats you as added after 31 October, and the agent’s later date does not apply to your 2026 return.
Which date applies to you
| Your situation | Lodgment due date for the 2025-26 return |
|---|---|
| Lodging yourself, for example through myTax | Monday 2 November 2026, 11:59 pm local time |
| Not required to lodge (non-lodgment advice) | Monday 2 November 2026 |
| On a registered agent’s client list by 31 October, no overdue earlier returns | 15 May 2027 for most individuals, with a 5 June 2027 concession if any tax owed is also paid by then |
| On an agent’s list, and your last return had a tax liability of $20,000 or more | 31 March 2027 |
| One or more earlier years’ returns were still outstanding at 30 June 2026 | 31 October 2026, and the ATO says this one does not roll to Monday |
| Added to an agent’s client list after 31 October | 31 October 2026, so the agent’s later date is lost |
Source: ATO, Preparing your tax return (QC 103811); ATO media release The final countdown: ATO reminds taxpayers to lodge now, 19 October 2026 (QC 108196); ATO, Individuals and trusts lodgment due dates (QC 34551); ATO, Unsure why your client received a particular due date? (QC 107910).
Why the two weekend dates are different
The general rule is simple. When a lodgment or payment due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday, you can lodge or pay on the next business day. The ATO’s page for individuals says it directly: if 31 October falls on a weekend, the due date is the next business day after 31 October. That is where Monday 2 November comes from.
The ATO has carved two things out of that rule this year, both aimed at tax agents. Its newsroom for tax professionals says: “Although 31 October falls on a weekend in 2026, you still need to lodge your clients’ overdue prior year returns and add new clients to your client list by that date – not the next business day.” It then spells out the consequence: “If you miss the deadline, your clients won’t receive your lodgment program due date for their 2026 tax return.”
So the self-lodger’s deadline moved and the agent sign-up deadline did not. If someone tells you that signing up on Monday still gets you until May, ask them to check the due date the ATO shows for you once they have added you to their list, before you stop worrying about it.
One local note for Melbourne readers. Tuesday 3 November is Melbourne Cup Day, a Victorian public holiday, but Monday 2 November is a normal business day across Australia. The holiday does not push the deadline to Wednesday.
If you can lodge by Monday night
The ATO said on 19 October that it had received around 9 million income tax returns, and that around 2 million self-preparers had still not lodged. It also said a return for someone with straightforward affairs takes on average 8 minutes in myTax, because most of the data is pre-filled. Pre-filled is not the same as complete, so before you press submit, check these against your own records:
- Every employer and Centrelink payment. Income statements should all show as tax ready. A second job you left in the year is the one people forget.
- Interest, dividends and managed fund distributions. Banks report interest, but joint accounts need your share only.
- Rental, crypto and platform income. These are areas the ATO has said it is watching this year, and platforms such as ride-share and short-term rental services report their users’ income to the ATO. Our notes on ATO audit focus areas and side hustle income cover what gets compared.
- Deductions with records behind them. Claim what you can prove. The 70 cents an hour working from home rate needs a record of the hours you actually worked from home. Our list of deductions people often miss helps if you have time to look.
- Private health insurance and your spouse’s income, if you have one. Both change the Medicare levy surcharge and some offsets.
If you are rushing and you later find a mistake, you can amend the return. Lodging something accurate on Monday is better than lodging nothing.
If you will not make Monday
Lodge as soon as you can. The ATO’s position, from its page on the failure to lodge on time (FTL) penalty, is more forgiving than most people expect, and it has limits.
The ATO warns before it fines. It says that generally it does not apply penalties in isolated cases of late lodgment, and that it will warn you by phone or in writing, and issue a notice to lodge, before it applies an FTL penalty.
A refund or nil result generally means no penalty notice. The ATO says it generally will not issue an FTL penalty notice for a late tax return that results in a refund or a nil result. The exceptions are a penalty applied before you lodged, a third-party data report such as a taxable payments annual report, and large withholders.
If a penalty is applied, it grows with time, then stops. The base penalty is one penalty unit for every 28 days or part of 28 days that the return is overdue, up to 5 penalty units, for individuals and small withholders. A penalty unit is $364 from 1 July 2026, and the ATO’s own release puts the maximum at $1,820.
| How late the return is | Maximum base FTL penalty for an individual |
|---|---|
| 1 to 28 days | $364 |
| 29 to 56 days | $728 |
| 57 to 84 days | $1,092 |
| 85 to 112 days | $1,456 |
| 113 days or more | $1,820 (the cap) |
The bands are our arithmetic from the ATO’s rule of one unit per 28 days, up to 5 units. They are the most the ATO can apply, not what it will apply. If you receive a penalty notice, you can ask for remission once the return is lodged, and the ATO decides based on your circumstances.
A tax bill does not wait for you. The ATO’s release says that delaying your return “won’t change the date your bill will be due, which is generally 21 November for self-preparers”. Its page for individuals adds that interest can apply to any amount you owe after 21 November, and that where an assessment issues after 31 October, payment is due 21 days after it issues. If you expect to owe and cannot pay in full, lodge anyway and set up a payment plan. Lodging and paying are separate, and the penalty above is about lodging.
If you have earlier years outstanding as well, the order matters. Our September article on overdue tax returns and the 31 October date explains the catch-up sequence and when a non-lodgment advice replaces a return.
If you did not need to lodge
Some people, including retirees and people on low incomes, do not have to lodge. The ATO asks them to send a non-lodgment advice instead, by the same date. Two cases catch people out. If an employer withheld tax from your pay, you need to lodge even if you earned under the tax-free threshold, and you will probably get that tax back. And selling an investment property can create an obligation to lodge even if you had otherwise left the tax system.
If you are paying someone to do it
The ATO’s 19 October release reported an increase in returns it suspects were prepared by unregistered preparers who charge fees while encouraging false or inflated claims. Before you hand over your myGov details, check the preparer on the Tax Practitioners Board public register. A registered agent will also give you a written engagement and tell you which due date the ATO has recorded for you.
What we would do this week
- Sunday or Monday: if your affairs are simple, open myTax, check the pre-fill against your records and lodge before 11:59 pm on Monday 2 November.
- If you meant to use an agent and did not sign up by 31 October: book them anyway. Your return will be late, so the aim is to lodge soon and keep the penalty window short.
- If you expect a refund: lodge when your records are complete. Accuracy matters more than a few days.
- If you expect a bill: lodge first, then pay by the due date or arrange a payment plan before interest builds.
- If the ATO writes to you: read it, lodge, then respond. A warning letter is a chance to fix it before a penalty.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2026 tax return deadline 31 October or 2 November?
For people lodging their own 2025-26 return, it is 11:59 pm local time on Monday 2 November 2026, because 31 October fell on a Saturday. For taxpayers with overdue earlier returns, and for joining a tax agent’s client list, the ATO says the date stays Saturday 31 October.
Can I still sign up with a tax agent and get until May 2027?
Not for the 2025-26 return if you are added to the agent’s client list after 31 October 2026. The ATO says clients added after 31 October have a 31 October due date and will not receive the agent’s lodgment program date. An agent can still prepare and lodge your return late.
What is the penalty for lodging my tax return late in 2026?
The failure to lodge on time penalty for an individual is one penalty unit for each 28 days or part of 28 days late, capped at 5 units. A penalty unit is $364 from 1 July 2026, so the cap is $1,820. The ATO says it generally warns first and does not penalise isolated late lodgments.
I am getting a refund. Will I be fined for lodging late?
Generally not. The ATO says it generally will not issue a failure to lodge penalty notice for a late return that results in a refund or a nil result, unless a penalty was applied before you lodged or another listed exception applies.
When do I have to pay if I owe tax?
For self-preparers the ATO says a bill is generally due 21 November, and lodging late does not change that date. Interest can apply to amounts owed after it. If you cannot pay in full, lodge anyway and ask the ATO for a payment plan.
Talk it through
If you are close but unsure about one item, or you missed the agent cut-off and want the late return done properly, send us your income statements and a list of what you plan to claim. We will tell you what is missing and lodge it for you. If you have earlier years outstanding, we will sort out the order.
A late return is still checked the same way as an on-time one. At Wiselink work is split by function, important returns are reviewed by a senior accountant or the principal before lodgment, and working papers are kept so the claims can be supported if the ATO asks. If the late return turns up a bill, the same team sets up the payment plan, and if you run a business, your BAS, payroll and STP are handled in the same practice.
Book a 20 minute call, or phone us: Melbourne 03 9600 0803 | Brisbane 07 3188 8081. Individual, company and trust tax returns, investment property and CGT, and help with ATO letters, audits and tax debts are listed on our accounting and tax page.
Credentials: CPA, Registered Tax Agent, ASIC Registered Agent, NTAA member, Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks partner, in practice since 2013. Our registration can be checked on the TPB public register. We work in English and Mandarin.
Melbourne Camberwell (1381 Toorak Rd, Camberwell VIC 3124) · Brisbane Eight Mile Plains (3 Clunies Ross Court, Eight Mile Plains QLD 4113)
Sources
- ATO media release, The final countdown: ATO reminds taxpayers to lodge now, 19 October 2026 (QC 108196).
- ATO, Preparing your tax return (QC 103811), last updated 27 April 2026.
- ATO, Lodge prior year returns and add new clients by 31 October (QC 107990).
- ATO, Unsure why your client received a particular due date? (QC 107910).
- ATO, Individuals and trusts lodgment due dates (QC 34551), last updated 1 July 2026.
- ATO, Lodgment and payment dates on weekends or public holidays (QC 34577), last updated 1 July 2026.
- ATO, Failure to lodge on time penalty, last updated 22 June 2026.
All ATO pages retrieved 1 November 2026. The penalty bands are our arithmetic from the ATO’s rule. This article is general information and does not take your circumstances into account. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.
Reviewed by Lily Zhang, CPA and registered tax agent, founder of Wiselink Accountants. Wiselink has worked with small businesses and individual taxpayers in Melbourne and Brisbane, in English and Chinese, since 2013.
