ATO Links Its MyDeductions App Straight To Your Tax Return

Did you know the Australian Taxation Office has an official app that can make things much easier on you this coming tax time? Though released last July, the ATO’s myDeductions tool will come into its own this year, with the ability to either automatically upload all your deductions straight into your tax return, or email your information to your tax agent or accountant.

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myDeductions works much like a lot of business accounting apps that keep track of work expenses — when you make a tax-deductible purchase, you can just enter the details, snap a photo of the receipt and save it to your deductions for the year. It even has GPS tracking for logging work-related car trips. The ATO also sees it as a useful way of reminding Aussies what they can and can’t claim come tax time.

“Tax time can be stressful enough without the added trouble of sorting and filing through a year’s worth of receipts. myDeductions is an easy and convenient way for Australians to track their expenses on the go, as and when they need,” said Assistant Commissioner Graham Whyte.

“Typically, more than eight million Australians claim over $20 billion in work-related expenses on their tax return. That’s a lot of receipts to keep track of throughout the financial year. By using myDeductions, users will never miss out on claiming a deduction because of a lost or faded receipt again; everything can be stored electronically. Gone are the days of keeping all of your receipts in a shoebox and sorting through them at tax time.”

myDeductions comes with the official ATO app, which is available for iOS, Android and Windows Phone.