With tax time fast approaching, many Australians feeling the cost-of-living crunch will be looking forward to receiving a tax return.Ìý

But the global tax accounting firm H&R Block says you don’t have to wait – you can get a tax ‘refund’ of up to $1000 before you’ve even filed your return. Except it’s not actually a refund; it’s a loan that comes with a 5% fee.Ìý

Financial counsellors are calling it a misleading tactic that could make matters worse for people in dire financial straits.Ìý

It’s the second year running that H&R Block has partnered with wage advance business Beforepay, which extends loans against people’s forthcoming paychecks for a fee.

For those eligible, H&R Block says you can access a “Tax Refund Advance” of up to $1000 of your tax return early, then pay it back through a deduction from your actual tax return, plus a 5% fee. The fine print on H&R Block’s website reveals that this is not “your tax return early”, but simply a $1000 loan.Ìý

‘They should call it what it is’ 

Deb Shroot, a financial counsellor and sector advocate for Financial Counselling Australia, says the way the Tax Refund Advance product is marketed by H&R Block is misleading.Ìý 

“You’re not getting your tax return early if you do this, it’s a loan you are taking out. They should call it what it is,” she says.Ìý

Shroot says that, for people in financial difficulty, getting every dollar from their tax return is important. While a $50 fee on a $1000 loan might not sound like a lot, it can be significant.Ìý

“There’s also a risk if your tax return, for whatever reason such as a Centrelink debt or a debt from previous tax returns, doesn’t cover the full amount of the loan. Then can you afford the repayments that you need to make on that as well?” Shroot says.Ìý

Nowhere on the H&R Block webpage promoting the product does it say what will happen if your tax return doesn’t cover the full amount of the loan and what the repayment conditions or late fees would be.Ìý

We asked H&R Block what would happen in these circumstances but didn’t receive a response.

Conflict of interest 

We asked the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) for its view on the potential conflicts of interest in the H&R Block partnership with Beforepay but were told the organisation doesn’t comment on individual tax preparation businesses.

But the TPB did say that practitioners had obligations under the Code of Professional Conduct which included upholding ethical standards and providing advice and services only in areas they are registered and competent to provide.Ìý

“They must not provide advice on personal loans or other financial products without appropriate skills and registration to provide financial advice services,” a TPB spokesperson says, adding that practitioners must also take steps to manage conflicts of interest and disclose any referral fees they receive.Ìý

The spokesperson also says that where expected tax refunds are paid to clients in advance as loans, clients must be fully informed of the risks involved and the conditions of any loan contract.Ìý

We asked H&R Block whether they received a commission for promoting Beforepay to clients, but they did not respond.

Loopholes in the legislation 

Despite new government regulations on buy now, pay later products that came into effect  last year, wage advance businesses like Beforepay are exempt if they don’t charge fees of over 5%.Ìý

Consumer Action Law Centre policy officer Rose Bruce-Smith says the loophole is disappointing and one they would like to see closed in the next term of parliament.Ìý

“Our financial counselors on the National Debt Helpline are starting to report that they’re seeing wage advance present as often as buy now, pay later, which is really quite an increase,” she says.Ìý

“It’s definitely targeting people who are likely to experience financial difficulty already. Generally what we see is that the wage advance will be one of many things that they are struggling to pay back,” she adds.Ìý

Bruce-Smith says that for people in financial hardship, another loan often isn’t the best option and financial hardship assistance with bills and other supports are usually available.Ìý

“If they have a need for money now, there are options. We shouldn’t be encouraging them to borrow against themselves down the line and get into further financial difficulty,” she says.Ìý

If you are experiencing financial hardship, you can call the on 1800 007 007 for free, confidential and independent information and advice.

The post H&R Block accused of pushing risky ‘tax advance’ loans appeared first on ÌÇÐÄVlog.

On this page:

• 1. Promising refunds
• 2. Dodgy money-making opportunities
• 3. Requests for information
• 4. Demanding debts
• 5. Fees for free services
• How to report a tax scam

Tax time is a prime season for scammers.

It’s a period where we’re often rushing to get our affairs in order or waiting to hear from the government about refunds we’ll receive or debts we’ll have to pay.

Criminals know this and are poised to tap into any financial anxiety we might have, ready with tech solutions that allow them to pose as tax officials or government agents promising returns or demanding debts.

The Australian Tax Office (ATO) regularly sees scammers impersonating its staff in attempts to steal from others, recently noting that reports of ATO impersonation emails had jumped by 300% in the year to June 2025.

Scam activity is only expected to ramp up from now on, with national accounting body CPA Australia saying we “should prepare for a deluge of scam activity” in the lead-up to June 30.

With many tax scams becoming harder to spot, we’ve trawled through the most common types to bring you an outline of the five recurring cons scammers are likely to deploy in the coming months.

1. Promising refunds

With the current cost-of-living pressures, many of us would happily welcome news of a tax refund.Ìý

But offering a refund in order to draw us into handing over our money and personal information is a favourite ploy of tax time scammers.

In one of its latest warnings, cyber security company MailGuard revealed it’s been intercepting suspicious emails claiming to come from the ATO employing this method.

The emails use tax office branding and tell recipients they’re eligible for a refund of almost $900.

The messages come with a link and QR code, both of which lead to a fake copy of the ATO’s website.

MailGuard says users navigating to this page are prompted to enter their credit card details in order to receive their refund.

Doing this won’t secure you a refund, rather it allows the scammers to harvest your card details for their own use.

Emails or SMS messages claiming to come from the ATO or online government service hub myGov that say you’re eligible for a tax refund are one of the most common hallmarks of a tax scam.

These messages usually come with links to click on or QR codes to scan which lead to websites designed to collect your bank, card or other sensitive details.

More and more scammers have been using QR codes in particular to phish for this information – to learn why, see our ‘quishing’ investigation.

How to spot them

QR codes might be common in other parts of daily life, but neither the ATO nor myGov will ever send you one to log in to their online services.

They’ll also never send you unsolicited links to click on via SMS or email.

2. Dodgy money-making opportunities

In one of its latest warnings to Australians, the ATO has sounded the alarm on a rise in schemes claiming to help people reduce their tax or avoid paying any whatsoever.

The tax office says these unlawful operations are often sold as investment opportunities. In one, individuals are told to put money into a start-up in order to be able to claim an investor tax offset.

In another of these schemes being promoted on social media, people are told they can avoid paying tax by setting up a purported non-profit foundation and diverting their income to it.

The ATO has described many of these initiatives as unlawful and ineffective, saying they won’t let you get away with not paying income tax.

Its warning has been followed by another from ANZ, which says it expects investment scams to become more common after the Reserve Bank shook up Australia’s money market earlier this year by making multiple cuts to interest rates.

ANZ says criminals could target Australians reconsidering their investments or deposits in the wake of these decisions, posing as financial institutions or advisers and pushing deceitful money-making schemes.

How to spot them

Have you been approached by someone promising a tax scheme that sounds too good to be true? The ATO recommends seeking advice on any arrangements from a registered tax practitioner.Ìý

Check if a practitioner is registered by using the Tax Practitioners Board’s .

You can report illegal tax schemes to the ATO via its online .

Other investment scams tend to stand out for promising returns too good to be true, urging you to get involved quickly or promoting themselves via ads on social media with photos or videos of well-known celebrities (often fake).

3. Requests for information

According to the ATO, another recent scam doing the rounds involves criminals trying to steal sensitive details using a classic technique.

It features emails claiming to come from the tax office or myGov that urge recipients to reply with their personal information, including their Tax File Number (TFN), driver’s licence number and Medicare details.

The emails are made all the more appealing by promising compensation following a “recalculation” of your taxable income and appearing to come from a legitimate-looking ATO address.

Criminals have also been known to include these sorts of appeals for personal information in ATO or myGov-branded emails that carry links to fake copies of the myGov website designed to collect personal information.

Another favourite method among scammers is to set up fake ATO or myGov accounts on social media sites such as Instagram or X and use these to respond to people looking for help from government services on these platforms.

The fake accounts will claim to be able to assist and invite the victim to chat via direct message, where they’ll be asked for sensitive details or sent links to malicious sites built to harvest valuable information.

The ATO warns that once they have details like your TFN or payslips, scammers can steal your superannuation or commit tax refund fraud in your name.

As we’ve highlighted in the past, scammers can also use sensitive details such as these down the track in more sophisticated and devastating cons, such as phone porting or SIM swap scams.

How to spot them

The ATO will never send you an unsolicited message asking you to provide sensitive personal information over SMS or email.

As mentioned previously, it won’t send you links via SMS, email or social media to log in to online services like myGov or ask you to provide any personal information through these channels.

The ATO is active on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X, but will never use these platforms to discuss your personal information or ask you for documentation or payments.

You can spot phishing attempts on social media by taking a closer look at the accounts purporting to be the ATO.

Most of the organisation’s official profiles have tens of thousands of followers and have been active for up to 10 years, so steer clear of any ATO-affiliated account that doesn’t have many followers and was only created recently.

4. Demanding debts

Just as scammers will exploit our appetite for a refund, they’ll also take advantage of the fact that the ATO will sometimes request money from us.

In a classic case, scammers impersonating tax officers may contact you by phone or SMS, claiming you haven’t paid enough tax and demanding you pay them immediately to cover the shortfall.

To get you to act quickly, they might also claim that a warrant will be issued for your arrest unless you pay right away.

Scammers have also been known to claim that your Tax File Number (TFN) has been suspended due to illegal activity and that you’ll need to make a payment to avoid being arrested or to protect your TFN.

How to spot them

The ATO doesn’t suspend TFNs and will never threaten you with immediate arrest or demand you stay on the phone until a payment is made, so anyone employing these tactics is a criminal.

The ATO will also never make you pay with gift cards, vouchers or cryptocurrency or ask you to transfer money to a personal bank account to settle a tax debt.

If you’re not sure if a call is really coming from the ATO, call them back on 1800 008 540 to verify anything you’ve been told.

The tax office does use an external debt collection agency, Recoveriescorp.

The ATO says this agency may contact you if you’ve been referred to them. If you’re not sure whether it’s really Recoveriescorp, phone them directly on 1300 323 495 to check.

5. Fees for free services

Con artists passing themselves off as being from the tax office may also offer services (for a price) which are actually available from the ATO for free.

For example, ads offering to help you get a TFN for a fee have been known to circulate on social media. In reality, these posts direct victims to websites built to steal money or personal information.

How to spot them

Applying for a TFN is free and can be done through the .

If you’re applying for one through a tax agent, check that they’re registered with the .

How to report a tax scam

If you receive suspicious communication from the ATO, don’t give away any information, click any links, scan any codes, download software or open any attachments.

Call the ATO directly on 1800 008 540 to double-check what you’re being told.

If you’ve encountered a scam, report it to the ATO by emailing screenshots of social media posts and accounts or SMS messages to reportscams@ato.gov.au. You can also forward suspicious emails to the same address.

If you’ve given money or personal information to a scammer, contact the ATO on 1800 008 540. Also report these incidents to your financial institution, and to police via .

If you’ve encountered a myGov-related scam, call Services Australia on 1800 941 126.

For more on what to do in this situation, read our guide to the five things to do if you’ve been scammed.

The post 5 tax scams to watch out for this year appeared first on ÌÇÐÄVlog.

On this page:

• What you can claim
• Laptops and tablets
• Smartphones
• Wireless routers and Wi-Fi mesh and extenders
• Printers
• Can you deduct the cost of working from home?

Bought any tech in the last year that you use for work? Or maybe you’ve got your eye on a new device that’ll come in handy on the job?

As we approach the end of the financial year (EOFY), more than a few of us will be dreading the chore of doing our taxes.Ìý

But filing returns is an opportunity to reduce how much we owe in tax and maybe even get a refund, thanks to the opportunity to deduct expenses related to our job.

More than 10 million Australians (around 70% of the working population) claimed a work-related tax deduction last year and many also claimed costs they had incurred working from home.

With so many of us looking around for expenses to claim, plenty of retailers are already cutting prices on tech and other products lots of us use for work in order to boost their margins and clear stock before a new financial year.

Here, we look at some of the common work items you’ll see marked down in the EOFY sales and explain how you may be able to claim these, along with ·É´Ç°ù°ì-´Ú°ù´Ç³¾-³ó´Ç³¾±ðÌýcosts, as tax deductions.

What you can claim

Unfortunately, tax deductions aren’t exactly free money and don’t equate to a dollar-for-dollar reimbursement in your tax refund.

Instead, they help reduce your taxable income, which is the figure the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) uses to determine how much tax you owe for the year.

More deductions leads to less taxable income, which can mean you’ll owe less tax.

Costs you’ve had to pay to do your job count as deductions, but must meet the ATO’s three golden rules:

1. You must have spent your own money on something that directly relates to you earning an income.
2. You can’t have been reimbursed by someone else.
3. You must have a record of your spending, such as a receipt.

The good news is if you buy an item for work (and not for running a business) and it costs $300 or less, you can claim the full amount as a single deduction in one tax return.

If you buy something that costs more, such as a laptop, you won’t be able to claim it all in one go.

Instead you’ll have to claim a proportion of the cost each year as the item depreciates in value over its lifetime.

The ATO has guides on how you can do this using one of its two recommended formulas, or you can use its , but in any case, you’ll have to keep track of the product’s original value and its effective life.

The tax office sets guidelines for how long various items are meant to last that you can use in your calculations (two years for a laptop, for example).

It’s also important to note that if the item you bought is for both personal and work use, you should only deduct the percentage that reflects how much you use the product for work.

So, if you buy a $199 printer and 60% of the time you use it for work (and 40% is for personal printing), you can claim $119.40 as a deduction.

This rule applies whether the deduction is less than $300 and you’re claiming it all in one year, or if it’s more and you’re deducting depreciation over several years.

For more info on how to work this out, see the ATO’s .

The in the ATO app is also a useful resource for keeping track of expenses.

What you can’t claim

The tax office says it often sees people trying to slip through outlandish claims in order to reduce their tax and says it’ll be paying close attention to work-related and working from home deductions this coming tax season.

Last year, it uncovered attempts to deduct air fryers, TVs and $10,000 in luxury clothing and accessories by people for whom these purchases had little to do with work.

While few of us could claim we need these products to do our jobs, sometimes you do need to splash out on the latest entertainment or kitchen appliances – even if it won’t be a tax deductible purchase.

For advice on these products and more, check out ÌÇÐÄVlog product reviews.

Laptops and tablets

These work-from-home essentials are a regular fixture among EOFY bargain stock and grabbing one before the end of June could help end your tax year with a decent deduction.

“Retailers tend to have good EOFY deals, but most manufacturers also offer good prices if you buy directly from their websites,” says ÌÇÐÄVlog tech expert Peter Zaluzny.Ìý

“For example, brands such as Lenovo, Dell and HP typically have some sort of EOFY sale.”

Once you’ve found a retailer offering good deals, think about what you’ll be using your device for before throwing your cash at the latest models.

“You can save a bit of money by opting for a slightly older laptop released in the last couple of years,” Peter says. “You probably won’t notice much of a difference between a slightly older model and a newly released one if you’re just emailing, browsing and streaming video.”

It’s also useful to remember that EOFY sales aren’t the be all and end all.

“Keep an eye on stores throughout the year. Flash sales or brand-specific deals can sometimes offer better prices outside the typical sales periods,” Peter suggests.

If you’ve managed to score a model you can use for work for less than $300, you can claim it as an immediate deduction.

However, it’s no secret that most laptops (including those recommended by ÌÇÐÄVlog) will sell for more than $300, even with an EOFY discount applied.

Therefore, it’s likely you’ll only be able to claim the depreciation of the device this financial year, but this could be more than $300 if you’ve bought a high-end device.

For more advice, see which sort of laptop will work best for you and get the lowdown on the best performers with our laptop and tablet reviews.

Smartphones

Buying a new phone you’ll mostly use for work? You can claim a percentage of the cost at tax time in accordance with the method outlined previously (depending on the percentage you use it for work versus personal use).

But firstly, with all of Australia’s major telcos having recently shut off 3G, make sure any phone you buy can run off the networks servicing your area.

This means being wary of older 4G-enabled phones or refurbished models originally optimised for overseas markets.Ìý

While they’re unlikely to feature in EOFY deals, some of these devices circulating in Australia have lost triple zero access after the demise of 3G.

Once you’ve found a suitable phone, it’s important to consider if it’ll meet your requirements for battery life, camera quality and providing other functions, such as serving as a Wi-Fi hotspot for other devices.

We consider these metrics and more in our latest smartphones review and have further advice on how to buy a good smartphone.

Wireless routers and Wi-Fi mesh and extenders

If you’re setting up to work from home, you’ll of course want all your gadgets working quickly and reliably with a fast wireless router for your Wi-Fi.

Routers usually have a range of around 50 metres in line of sight, but obstructions like walls and furniture can shorten this.Ìý

If you want a stronger signal at the edge of your Wi-Fi range, an extender or mesh network is what you’re looking for.

Head to our guide to routers, mesh networks and extenders to understand what could work best in your home.

If you’re looking for service for your new connections, check out our review of broadband providers.

Printers

These office mainstays often feature in EOFY markdowns, and having one on deck can come in handy, depending on your work.

But printers are also notorious for their high running costs (see our list of five surprising items cheaper than printer ink).

Therefore, while the cheapest printers might be tempting, beware of inefficient models and think about how much printing you’ll actually be doing.

If you regularly run off documents at home, an ink-efficient model with a higher purchase price may work better for you, as it’ll keep your ongoing costs lower.

But if you only print from time to time, then a cheaper printer could suffice, as you won’t be buying new cartridges very often.

To see which models deliver the best print quality and how much each will cost you annually in ink, see our printer reviews.

Can you deduct the cost of working from home?

If you work from home, you can also claim any extra costs resulting from you spending more time in your house.

The ATO allows you to claim a flat rate of 70 cents per hour that you worked from home, to cover extra use of things like electricity and gas, as well as internet data, stationery and computer consumables, such as printer ink and paper.

Alternatively, you can calculate the actual cost you’ve incurred (in case it’s more than 70 cents per hour or you want to factor in depreciating assets), but this will require lots of number-crunching and record-keeping.

If you’re making these sorts of deductions, you’ll need records of how many hours you worked from home and evidence you paid for the extra strain on your home facilities.

For specific information on how to process your working at home deductions, see the ATO’s .

The post Tech at tax time: What you can claim to boost your return appeared first on ÌÇÐÄVlog.

On this page:

• Work-related expenses
• Bank fees
• Donations to charity
• Clothing expenses
• Other expenses you can claim

Work-related expenses

You can claim some deductions for expenses incurred while performing your job. You need receipts if the total of your work-related claims exceeds $300, but that limit doesn’t apply to claims for car, meal allowance, award transport payments allowance and travel allowance expenses.Ìý

Some work-related expenses that you may be able to claim – depending on your circumstances – include (deep breath): union fees, overtime meals, formal education courses provided by professional associations, seminars, conferences or education workshops, books, journals and trade magazines, tools and equipment, protective items such as sunscreen and sunglasses, computers and software, and telephone and home office expenses.

Also, if you buy income protection insurance, the premiums can also be claimed as a deduction. Life, trauma and critical illness insurance aren’t tax deductible though.

While things like magazines and CDs may be deductible, it’s important to note you can only claim for what’s directly relevant to your job or income. According to the Australian Taxation Office, ”a truck driver can claim a deduction for a subscription to Australian Truckie magazine, but cannot claim a deduction for subscribing to magazines with no specific occupational focus – for example, Wheels magazine.”

Bank fees

Some bank fees are deductible; the key to claiming them is whether the fees are connected to your ability to earn income or access your income. If you pay ATM or over-the-counter fees to withdraw your income from your account, they’re deductible, as are any monthly fees for a savings account that generates income for you.

On the other hand, if the account is simply a way for you to pay your bills and other expenses and it doesn’t earn interest, the fees can’t be claimed. Similarly, if you pay a single annual fee for a banking package (home loan, credit card, transaction account, etc.) it’s unlikely that fee is deductible.

Donations to charity

Monetary donations of $2 or more to charity may be claimed as a tax deduction, provided the organisation has deductible gift recipient (DGR) status, which you can check at . However, not all payments to charities can be claimed. For instance, you can’t claim charity raffle tickets, items like pens and chocolates, or the cost of attending a fundraising ball.

Clothing expenses

You can claim the cost of buying, washing, drying and ironing , including laundromat expenses and dry cleaning. Examples of eligible clothes are work uniforms, protective clothing required for your job and occupation-specific clothes, like the checked trousers chefs wear.

If the clothes are eligible, you can even claim for the cost of the washing, drying and ironing you do yourself; the ATO considers $1 for a full load of work clothes to be a reasonable basis for working out your laundry claim. If you choose a different basis to work out your claim, you may be asked to explain. When your clothing expenses claim exceeds $150, the ATO requires written evidence such as diary entries and receipts.

Other expenses you can claim

Go to to find further expenses you can claim to reduce your taxable income. You can do your own tax return for free, and the ATO says refunds are usually paid out within 14 days.

Otherwise, see a registered tax agent, who’ll charge you for an individual’s simple tax lodgement – but it’s good to know that fee is tax-deductible in next year’s return.

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