The 2025-26 financial year ran from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026, and returns can now be lodged. Whether you're doing it yourself through myTax or working with a registered tax agent, a few smart moves before you lodge can make a real difference to your bottom line. Here are five practical tips to help you get the most out of your refund this year — the right way.
1. Note: the new $1,000 no-receipts deduction does not apply this year
There's been a lot of buzz about a new $1,000 standard work-related expense deduction — but it's important to get the timing right. This deduction does not apply to your 2025-26 return; it only starts from the 2026-27 return. For your 2025-26 return, the existing rules still apply in full: you must have actually spent the money, it must directly relate to earning your income, and you need a record — usually a receipt — to prove it.
What this means for you: don't assume you can skip record-keeping this year. If you've been light on receipts hoping the new rule would cover you, it's worth pulling together whatever documentation you can before you lodge.
2. Top up your super before 30 June cut-offs (for next year) or check your 2025-26 contributions
Salary sacrificing into super remains one of the most effective ways to boost your refund, because contributions are taxed at 15% rather than your marginal tax rate. The concessional contribution cap for 2025-26 is $30,000, covering employer super guarantee payments, salary sacrifice, and personal deductible contributions combined.
If you made personal (not employer) super contributions during 2025-26 and want to claim a deduction for them, don't forget: you need to lodge a notice of intent to claim with your super fund before you lodge your tax return, or the deduction is forfeited.
3. Claim your working-from-home expenses properly
You can claim working-from-home costs using the fixed-rate method — 70 cents for every hour worked from home, covering internet, electricity and phone use — but you'll need a timesheet or similar record of your actual hours. The alternative actual-cost method can sometimes produce a larger claim but requires more detailed records, so it's worth comparing both if you worked from home regularly.
4. Get rental property deductions right — the ATO has sharpened its focus
If you own an investment property, this is an area worth extra care in 2025-26. New ATO guidance sets out how to apportion deductions for rental properties, including short-term rentals booked through online platforms, and clarifies when deductions for a holiday home will be denied because it's treated as a "leisure facility" rather than a genuine income-producing property. This ruling applies to the 2025-26 year, so if you've used a rental property personally at any point, getting the apportionment right matters more than ever.
5. Avoid the claims that trigger ATO reviews
The ATO's message this tax time is that accuracy matters more than claiming as much as possible — the golden rule is to only claim deductions genuinely tied to earning your income that you've actually paid for yourself. Claims that spike well above your prior years or don't match typical claims for your industry are a common trigger for ATO reviews, as are unusual claims that clearly aren't work-related.
The ATO continues to expand its data-matching across banks, employers and digital platforms, so your financial activity is more visible than it's ever been — which cuts both ways: it also means legitimate deductions and income sources are increasingly pre-filled and easy to overlook if you're not checking carefully.
A registered tax agent can help here on both fronts — finding deductions you're entitled to but might miss, while keeping your claims defensible if the ATO does ask questions. Their fee is deductible too.
The bottom line
For the 2025-26 financial year, the winning strategy isn't chasing a deduction that doesn't apply yet — it's getting the fundamentals right: solid records, sensible super contributions, accurate work-from-home and rental claims, and nothing that looks out of place next to your industry or your own history. Get those right, and you're in the best possible position for a strong, stress-free refund.