Community Info- Tax Help is available from July to October each year. If you are eligible for the Tax Help program and want to make an appointment, phone us on 13 28 61. Where is Tax Help available? Tax Help is available in all capital cities and many country centres across Australia, with volunteers operating from convenient locations in the community. In most places, the service is available from July to October. Tax Help What is Tax Help? Tax Help is a network of community volunteers who help people complete their tax returns during tax time. This is a free and confidential service. Volunteers are fully trained, accredited and supported by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). These volunteers are people from within the community who give up their time each year. They are not ATO staff, but they receive training and support from us. Tax Help is suitable for people with simple tax affairs who earn around $50,000 a year or less. Volunteers operate from 1 July until 31 October in all capital cities and many regional areas across Australia from convenient locations in the community. If you want free help filling out your tax return and you are on a low income, our trained Tax Help volunteers may be able to help. How did Tax Help start? Tax Help began as a pilot program in Newcastle, NSW in 1988. Since 1989, it has been delivered by volunteers nationally. Why was Tax Help established? Tax Help was established to help people who have difficulty completing their own tax returns. Some people are unable or unwilling to approach the ATO when they need help, but they feel comfortable seeking assistance from someone in their community. There are others who do not have access to a local office of the ATO, so Tax Help provides an important alternative. While our enquiries service can help people with queries about specific aspects of their tax affairs, it cannot complete peoples tax returns for them – Tax Help can. Find out more why and how we pay tax - Understanding tax completing your tax return - Tax return for individuals instructions how to lodge a tax return - Lodging your tax return. End of find out more Who is Tax Help for? Tax Help is for people on low incomes, including, but not restricted to, those who are also: seniors students people from non-English speaking backgrounds people with a disability Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Tax can be complex, and Tax Help volunteers are only able to help with simple tax returns. Tax Help volunteers can help to identify and record income received through: pensions Australian government benefits and allowances, such as unemployment and sickness benefits salary or wages dividends managed funds interest. Are you eligible for Tax Help? You are eligible for Tax Help in the income year 2013–14 if your income is around $50,000 or less for the income year and you did not do any of these things: work as a contractor – for example, a contract cleaner or taxi driver run a business, including as a sole trader sell shares or an investment property own a rental property receive royalties receive distributions from a trust other than a managed fund receive foreign income other than a foreign pension or annuity. If you are not eligible for Tax Help, you can find information to help you complete your tax return by using either: e-tax Individual tax return instructions Some of the benefits of using e-tax: free preparation and lodgment of your return easy to use, with built-in help safe and secure most refunds in 14 days tax debts are not due before 21 November, even if you lodge as early as 1 July. This year it’s even easier, as e-tax has online access to your personal information, including: Centrelink payment summaries salary or wage information details of your bank interest. Get it done To download e-tax from 1 July 2014, visit e-tax. End of get it done What can Tax Help volunteers help with? If you need to complete a tax return, a volunteer can help you. In some cases, people on low incomes do not need to lodge tax returns. Tax Help volunteers can work out if a tax return is necessary in your case. If it is not necessary, and you lodged a tax return last year, it is important that we know this. Tax Help volunteers can help you to fill out a Non-lodgment advice if this is necessary. Tax Help volunteers will also be able to help you with claims for refund of imputation credits. Help that is not available Tax Help volunteers cannot help clients with: business tax returns partnership and trust matters capital gains tax (CGT) rental properties amendments. Book an appointment Tax Help is available from July to October each year. If you are eligible for the Tax Help program and want to make an appointment, phone us on 13 28 61. Becoming a Tax Help volunteer or Tax Help centre What does a Tax Help volunteer do? Tax Help volunteers help people with simple tax matters and tell clients whether they need to lodge a tax return. Tax Help volunteers help clients with tax returns, as well as claims for refunds of franking credits. They help clients prepare tax returns and lodge electronically. Tax Help volunteers actively encourage clients to prepare the tax return themselves. What does a Tax Help centre do? Tax Help volunteers operate from Tax Help centres located in a range of community venues, such as libraries, community centres and migrant resource centres. A centre supports the volunteers by taking appointments from people seeking Tax Help assistance, coordinating service availability with the volunteer, and providing facilities such as power, telephone and office furniture. Where possible, centres provide computer access to allow tax returns to be lodged electronically. The centre also advertises the service so that members of the community are aware that help is available. More than 800 Tax Help centres are active in capital cities and country areas across Australia from July to October each year. How can you help? Become a Tax Help volunteer You dont need any special experience to be a Tax Help volunteer. If you can spare a few hours each week between 1 July and 31 October, you can help. Tax Help volunteers come from all sectors of the community, with a range of ages and backgrounds – but all are willing to help clients. We will introduce you to e-tax and show you how to prepare and lodge tax returns electronically. Training is undertaken by Tax Help volunteers between March and June each year. Once you are trained, you have access to the Tax Help hotline where ATO staff can assist with the technical help you may need on behalf of your client. We will reimburse you for any reasonable out-of-pocket expenses, such as travel and phone calls. Become a Tax Help centre If your organisation is interested in helping members of your local community and can support a volunteer during tax time, we will give you the information and support you need and help you to recruit volunteers for the Tax Help program. Become a Tax Help referral centre We will provide you with the location of Tax Help centres in your area and a selection of other information so you can help your clients to access Tax Help services. What does training involve? New volunteers need to: provide documentation so that a pre-engagement check (police record check) can be completed complete the full training course undertake a progressive assessment during the training. To undertake the training, you need access to a computer and the internet. Training material is provided in a combination of written and electronic formats. The training can be undertaken at a time that suits you – it doesnt need to be done all at once. We suggest the training is completed over a four-week period for approximately six hours per week. An ATO staff member will oversee and support you through the training, as well as provide support once you begin delivering Tax Help to your community. How to apply to be part of the Tax Help program? All 2014 Tax Help positions have now been filled. We will seek applications for the 2015 program from January 2015. The number of new Tax Help volunteers and centres recruited each year depends on the needs of each community. Opportunities may exist in your area for the 2014-15 tax season. An email link will be available on this page from January to March 2015. Use this link to submit your expression of interest or to request more information. Thank you for your interest in the Tax Help program. https://ato.gov.au/Individuals/Lodging-your-tax-return/In-detail/Getting-help/Tax-Help-program/
Posted on: Thu, 17 Jul 2014 05:54:42 +0000
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