How to Maximise Your Tax Refund in Australia: 12 Proven Ways

A bigger tax refund rarely comes from one clever trick. It comes from claiming everything you are genuinely entitled to, keeping the records to prove it, and timing a few decisions well. Most Australians leave money on the table by missing legitimate deductions, forgetting prior-year costs, or failing to keep the evidence the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) now requires. This guide walks through twelve practical ways to maximise your refund, all within the rules.

The figures and rates here reflect the current 2025-26 income year and are reviewed each year. Every method below is legitimate: the goal is to claim your full entitlement, never to over-claim, because an inflated refund that triggers an ATO review can cost far more than it returns.

12 Ways to Maximise Your Tax Refund

1. Claim every work-related deduction you are entitled to

Work-related expenses are the largest source of missed refunds. If you spent your own money on something connected to earning your income and were not reimbursed, it is usually deductible. The main categories are car and travel between work sites, working-from-home running costs, tools and equipment, work-specific clothing and laundry, self-education tied to your current job, and professional memberships. Our guide to tax deductions in Australia details what each occupation can claim.

2. Keep a working-from-home record from 1 July

The fixed rate method lets you claim a set rate for every hour you work from home, but since 1 March 2023 the ATO requires a record of your actual hours for the whole year, not a four-week sample. The single biggest working-from-home mistake is trying to reconstruct hours from memory in October. Start a timesheet, roster or diary from the first day of the income year, and you protect the full claim.

3. Do not forget prior-year tax agent fees

The fee you paid last year to have your return prepared is deductible this year, in the year you paid it. This is one of the most commonly missed deductions because the payment and the deduction fall in different income years. Check your bank statements for the agent fee you paid after 1 July.

4. Claim income protection premiums paid outside super

Premiums for income protection insurance you pay outside superannuation are fully deductible, and many people forget them entirely. Life, trauma and total and permanent disability premiums are not deductible, and premiums paid inside super cannot be claimed personally, so check how your policy is held.

5. Prepay deductible expenses before 30 June

If you have significant deductible costs coming up, paying them before 30 June brings the deduction into the current year. Common examples are professional association memberships, income protection premiums, and interest on an investment loan prepaid for up to twelve months. Bringing a deduction forward one year can lift this year's refund noticeably.

6. Keep every receipt, and go digital

You can claim up to $300 of work-related expenses without receipts, but above that total you need written evidence for every claim. The most effective habit is to photograph each receipt at the point of purchase using a receipts app or the ATO myDeductions tool. By July your records are complete, and you are never guessing. Bank and credit card statements are acceptable evidence too, so keep them.

7. Claim depreciation on tools and equipment

Work equipment costing $300 or less can be claimed in full in the year you buy it. Items over $300 are depreciated over their effective life, and many people forget to keep claiming the decline in value in later years. Under the working-from-home fixed rate you can still separately claim the depreciation of a laptop, monitor, desk or chair, which is a commonly missed extra.

8. Capture your offsets

Offsets reduce the tax you owe dollar for dollar, and some are applied automatically only if your details are right. Check that your private health insurance details, any zone or remote-area entitlement, and the low-income offsets are correctly reflected. Offsets are not deductions, but they change the bottom line of your assessment and, therefore, your refund.

9. Make a deductible super contribution

If you have room in your concessional contributions cap, a personal deductible super contribution can reduce your taxable income and lift your refund, while adding to your retirement savings. You must lodge a notice of intent with your fund and receive its acknowledgement before you claim. This suits people with the capacity to contribute before 30 June, and is worth modelling against your cap.

10. Claim charitable donations to registered DGRs

Donations of $2 or more to an ATO-registered deductible gift recipient are deductible. Small-bucket donations under $10 do not require a receipt. Donations to individuals, crowdfunding and non-registered charities are not deductible, so keep the receipts from registered charities and add them up at tax time.

11. Time a capital gain or loss

If you have sold or are planning to sell an asset, timing matters. Holding an asset for at least twelve months can qualify an individual for the capital gains tax discount, and realising a capital loss before 30 June can offset a gain made earlier in the year. This is to be done before you sell, not after.

12. Use a registered tax agent

A registered tax agent knows the deductions specific to your occupation, catches the ones self-lodgers miss, and the fee itself is deductible next year. Clients who lodged their own return and later used our service commonly find missed income protection premiums, prior-year agent fees and equipment depreciation. Our tax return services in Adelaide review every deduction category for you.

The Deductions Australians Most Often Miss

If you take nothing else from this guide, check these. Each is legitimate, commonly overlooked, and easy to substantiate.

What Not to Do: Over-Claiming Costs More Than It Returns

A refund is only as good as its evidence. The ATO's data-matching program cross-checks your return against employers, banks, health funds, share registries, and rental agents, and over-claiming can lead to an amended assessment, interest on the underpaid tax, and possible penalties. The fastest ways to turn a refund into a bill are claiming private expenses as work-related, claiming commuting to your regular workplace, and claiming without the records to back it up.

How The Kalculators Can Help

Our registered tax agents in Adelaide review your situation across every deduction and offset category, so you claim your full entitlement without stepping over the line. If you run a business, our small business tax return service coordinates your personal and business claims. And if you lodged your own returns in the past two to four years and think you missed deductions, we can review them and lodge amendments where corrections are warranted.