With the 2025-26 financial year ending on 30 June 2026<\/strong>, every individual taxpayer in Australia is about to file a tax return that looks different<\/em> from last year’s. The fixed-rate working-from-home deduction has been increased to 70 cents per hour<\/strong>, the ATO has openly named four areas it will be scrutinising harder than ever, and data-matching now reaches into platforms most Australians didn’t realise the ATO could see.<\/p>\n This guide has been prepared by the team at Wiselink Accountants<\/a> \u2014 a CPA-qualified, NTAA-registered tax agency in Melbourne (Camberwell) and Brisbane (Eight Mile Plains)<\/a>. We’ve broken down what’s new, what the ATO is watching, and exactly what you should be doing in the nine weeks between now and EOFY to lodge a clean, defendable, and optimised 2026 tax return.<\/p>\n Before we get to the ATO’s enforcement priorities, here are the four substantive changes Melbourne and Brisbane taxpayers need to know about.<\/p>\n For the 2025-26 income year, the ATO’s fixed-rate WFH method has been increased from 67 cents to 70 cents per work-from-home hour<\/strong>. This rate covers electricity, gas, internet, mobile and home phone use, and stationery and computer consumables \u2014 bundled into a single deductible figure.<\/p>\n This sounds generous, but there is a catch most people miss: you cannot also claim those bundled items separately<\/strong>. If you use the 70c method, you cannot then add a separate phone or internet deduction on top.<\/p>\n The Stage 3 personal tax cuts are now fully embedded in the 2025-26 rates, which means most Australians will see a slightly higher net refund this year \u2014 or a smaller bill \u2014 compared with last financial year, all else being equal. That doesn’t excuse sloppy claims, but it does mean you should not be surprised if your refund looks different from last year’s even if your situation hasn’t changed.<\/p>\n The Medicare Levy low-income thresholds have been indexed. If your household income sits near the threshold for singles, families, or seniors and pensioners, double-check whether you now qualify for the Medicare Levy reduction or exemption \u2014 small adjustments can be worth several hundred dollars.<\/p>\n HECS-HELP balances are indexed each year on 1 June. If you have a study loan, the timing of voluntary repayments before EOFY can affect the amount that gets indexed. Speak to your tax accountant<\/a> before making any large pre-June payment.<\/p>\n The ATO has been very public about where it is concentrating its compliance resources for 2026. According to its tax-time messaging, the four highest-risk areas this year are:<\/p>\n Underpinning all four is the same engine: data-matching<\/strong>. The ATO now cross-references its records against banks, health funds, share registries, crypto exchanges (including CoinSpot, Swyftx and Binance Australia), and gig-economy platforms reporting under the Sharing Economy Reporting Regime. If you forget to declare $400 of Airbnb income, the ATO already has it.<\/p>\n The 70c-per-hour fixed-rate method is the default for most Melbourne employees who worked from home during 2025-26. It is simple, but it has hard rules:<\/p>\n This is the part most people get wrong. From 2023-24 onwards, the ATO has required a real-time record of your actual work-from-home hours<\/strong> \u2014 not an estimate written up in October the night before you lodge. Acceptable evidence includes:<\/p>\n If you don’t have any of the above, you cannot use the fixed-rate method. You must instead use the actual cost method<\/strong>, which is far more demanding (it requires receipts and apportionment for every item), or accept a smaller claim. This is where a registered tax agent in Melbourne<\/a> can save you real money \u2014 by reconstructing a defensible record from the evidence you do have.<\/p>\n If you own a rental property in Victoria or Queensland, your 2026 return is more likely to be reviewed than at any time in the last decade. The ATO has stated that up to 90% of rental property tax returns contain at least one error<\/strong>, and the agency is using bank data, property records, and short-term letting platforms to find them.<\/p>\n The four issues we see most often in Melbourne investment-property returns:<\/p>\n Interest is only deductible to the extent the loan is used for the rental. If you redrew $40,000 against the property loan to renovate your own home, that portion of the interest is not deductible. The ATO can \u2014 and now does \u2014 match loan statements line by line.<\/p>\n Replacing a broken hot-water system like-for-like<\/em> is generally a repair. Replacing a kitchen with a new design, or putting in a new deck, is a capital improvement and must be depreciated over years rather than deducted upfront. This distinction is the single biggest area of dispute on rental returns.<\/p>\n The ATO receives data directly from Airbnb, Stayz, Booking.com and similar platforms. If you let your property \u2014 even just over the summer \u2014 that income is fully assessable, and your deductions must be apportioned for any periods of personal use.<\/p>\n Special levies for capital works are not immediately deductible. Routine administrative levies usually are. Get the split right.<\/p>\n The single biggest behavioural shift the ATO is pushing in 2026 is making side-hustle income visible. Under the Sharing Economy Reporting Regime (SERR)<\/strong>, platforms must now report transaction data to the ATO. That includes:<\/p>\n There is no minimum threshold<\/strong>. Even if your Etsy store earned $300 last year, you must declare it. The good news: most legitimate expenses connected to that income are deductible, and if you genuinely run a small side business, you may also be able to claim a portion of car running costs, equipment depreciation, or even a slice of your home office. This is exactly the kind of return where talking to a small business accountant in Melbourne<\/a> pays for itself many times over.<\/p>\n If you bought, sold, swapped, or staked crypto during 2025-26, you have a CGT event to report \u2014 even if you never converted back to Australian dollars. The ATO obtains transaction data directly from CoinSpot, Swyftx, Binance Australia, Independent Reserve, and several international exchanges with Australian users.<\/p>\n Three things every crypto holder should know:<\/p>\n Wiselink works with a number of crypto investors and traders in Melbourne<\/a> who use Koinly, CoinTracker, or CryptoTaxCalculator. If your transaction history is large or complex, bring the export \u2014 we’d rather check your numbers than rebuild them from scratch.<\/p>\n To make the most of your appointment with one of our tax accountants in Melbourne or Brisbane, gather the following before you come in:<\/p>\n If you lodge your own tax return, the deadline is 31 October 2026<\/strong>. If you lodge through a registered tax agent, you generally have until 15 May 2027<\/strong> \u2014 provided you are on the agent’s client list before 31 October 2026. That nine-month difference is an enormous planning advantage.<\/p>\n More important than the deadline, though, is that the ATO treats returns prepared by a registered tax agent differently: claims supported by a tax agent’s reasoned position are far less likely to be challenged out-of-cycle, and any disputes that do arise are easier to resolve.<\/p>\n Wiselink Accountants is a registered tax agent in both Melbourne<\/strong> and Brisbane<\/strong>. Our team is CPA-qualified, NTAA-affiliated, and ASIC-registered. We service English-speaking and Mandarin-speaking clients, and we’ve helped over 500 small businesses, sole traders, and individual taxpayers across both cities. Whether your 2026 return is a simple PAYG salary lodgement or a multi-property, multi-platform, multi-currency reconciliation, we can handle it.<\/p>\n Related reading: EOFY 2026 Small Business Tax Checklist<\/a> \u00b7 Payday Super: What Employers Must Do Before July 2026<\/a> \u00b7 Superannuation & SMSF services<\/a><\/p>\n The 2025-26 financial year ends on 30 June 2026. The ATO begins processing tax returns from 1 July 2026<\/strong>, but pre-fill data (PAYG, interest, dividends, health fund, share-registry) usually isn’t fully available until mid-to-late July<\/strong>. Lodging in early July often results in amendments later, so we typically recommend lodging from late July onwards once pre-fill is stable.<\/p>\n If you appoint Wiselink (or any registered tax agent) before 31 October 2026<\/strong>, your standard lodgement deadline becomes 15 May 2027<\/strong>. If you have prior-year returns outstanding, that extension may not apply \u2014 speak to us early so we can get you back on the agent program.<\/p>\n Yes. Every disposal of crypto \u2014 including swaps between coins, paying for goods or services with crypto, and converting back to AUD \u2014 is a CGT event and must be reported. The ATO receives data directly from major Australian exchanges and many international ones, so non-reporting is no longer a realistic strategy.<\/p>\n Yes. The 70c fixed-rate WFH method applies to the hours you actually worked from home, regardless of whether you also went into the office on other days. You will need a contemporaneous record of those work-from-home hours \u2014 a diary, calendar, or timesheet kept throughout the year, not estimated at year-end.<\/p>\n You cannot use the 70c fixed-rate method without a real-time record of hours. However, you may still be able to use the actual cost method<\/strong> based on bills, percentages of use, and floor-area apportionment \u2014 or claim a more conservative deduction supported by partial evidence such as work calendars, Teams\/Zoom logs, or VPN access records. Bring whatever you have to your appointment; we can usually reconstruct something defensible.<\/p>\n The earlier you book, the better your outcome. Lodging in May 2027 with no plan is a much worse experience than lodging in August 2026 with a tax agent who has already mapped your WFH hours, rental deductions, and capital gains.<\/p>\n Book a 2026 tax return appointment with Wiselink:<\/p>\n This article was prepared by the team at Wiselink Accountants, a CPA-qualified accounting and tax agency with offices in Melbourne (Camberwell) and Brisbane (Eight Mile Plains). We are registered tax agents and members of the National Tax & Accountants’ Association (NTAA). Last updated: 27 April 2026. This is general information only based on legislation in force at the date of publication and does not constitute personal tax or financial advice. Please contact us for advice specific to your circumstances.<\/em><\/p>\nWhat’s New for the 2025-26 Tax Return<\/h2>\n
1. Working-from-home fixed rate is now 70c per hour<\/h3>\n
2. Stage 3 tax cuts are flowing through<\/h3>\n
3. Medicare Levy thresholds adjusted<\/h3>\n
4. HECS\/HELP indexation<\/h3>\n
The 4 ATO Focus Areas for 2026<\/h2>\n
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Working From Home: What 70c Actually Buys You<\/h2>\n
What’s bundled in (and cannot be claimed separately)<\/h3>\n
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What you can still claim on top<\/h3>\n
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Records the ATO will expect<\/h3>\n
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Rental Property: ATO Says 9 in 10 Landlords Get It Wrong<\/h2>\n
Interest deductions that don’t match loan purpose<\/h3>\n
Repairs claimed as deductions when they are improvements<\/h3>\n
Holiday and short-term-letting income not declared<\/h3>\n
Body corporate fees mis-categorised<\/h3>\n
Side Hustle Income: The Sharing Economy Reporting Regime<\/h2>\n
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Crypto, Shares, and Capital Gains<\/h2>\n
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What to Bring to Your Melbourne Tax Agent<\/h2>\n
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Why Use a Registered Tax Agent<\/h2>\n
Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n
When can I lodge my 2025-26 tax return in Australia?<\/h3>\n
What is the 2026 tax return deadline if I use a tax agent?<\/h3>\n
Do I have to declare crypto on my tax return in Australia?<\/h3>\n
Can I still claim home office expenses if I work hybrid (some days in the office)?<\/h3>\n
I haven’t kept proper WFH records \u2014 what are my options?<\/h3>\n
Book Your 2026 Tax Return \u2014 Melbourne or Brisbane<\/h2>\n
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