Lodging past years' tax returns after a working holiday

Can you still lodge a tax return for a year that has passed?

Yes. The ATO's page on lodging a prior year tax return gives three ways to do it: online with myTax, through a registered tax agent, or on a paper return. It also says it is important to get up to date as soon as possible, to reduce the risk of penalties and interest.

Each year is lodged on its own. If you worked from March 2024 to February 2025, March to June 2024 falls in the 2023-24 year and the rest in 2024-25, so that is two returns. The Australian financial year guide shows how a working holiday splits across years.

Can you lodge past years from overseas?

Yes. The ATO says that if you link the ATO to your myGov account, you can lodge your tax return online with myTax from overseas, as long as you have myGov sign-in options you can use from overseas. A registered tax agent can also lodge for you, and a paper return can be posted.

The harder part from abroad is usually identity rather than the return. To confirm who you are, the ATO asks for your tax file number and other identifying details, such as a previous notice of assessment, so dig those out first. Lodging your tax return from overseas covers the practical side, from verification codes to post that goes to an old address.

How far back can you lodge?

Further back than most working holiday makers need. The ATO sets out the routes by income year, where the 2016 year is the one that ended on 30 June 2016:

• 2016 and later: online with myTax
• 2014 and 2015: with myTax if you meet that year's eligibility criteria
• 2013 and earlier: not online, so through a registered tax agent or on a paper return

For a working holiday in the last few years, every year can go in through myTax.

What if you did not need to lodge for one of the years?

Then you tell the ATO instead of leaving the year blank. The ATO says that if you do not need to lodge, you usually still need to lodge a non-lodgment advice. The quickest way is through ATO online services in myGov, it can be done online for income years back to 2000, and paper forms are also available.

What does the ATO need for each year?

Income figures for every employer, and something behind them. For wages, your income statement is in ATO online services through myGov or in the ATO app. One that is not marked tax ready is one your employer has not finished.

If an older year has no income statement or payment summary you can find, the ATO's page on a lost or missing payment summary lists the alternatives:

• Ask the employer or payer for a copy, or for a letter stating your income and the tax withheld
• Use the pre-fill in myTax
• Work from your payslips, timesheets and bank statements
• If none of that gives accurate figures, estimate your income and tax withheld, and keep your workings, because the ATO may ask for written evidence of how you reached them

A statutory declaration is no longer needed when a payment summary is missing. Beyond the income figures, you need your TFN, an Australian bank account for any refund, and records for any deductions you plan to claim.

Is there a penalty if a late return results in a refund?

Generally not. The ATO says it generally won't issue a failure to lodge penalty notice for a late tax return when lodging it produces a refund or a nil result, and that it generally does not penalise isolated cases of late lodgement. The exception to know: if a penalty was already applied before you lodged, the refund rule does not apply.

Where the penalty does apply, which is mostly a return that produces a debt, it is one penalty unit for every 28 days or part of 28 days the return is overdue, capped at five units. The ATO lists a penalty unit at $364 on or after 1 July 2026, and $330 from 7 November 2024 to 30 June 2026.

You can ask for the penalty to be remitted, but the ATO expects your outstanding returns to be lodged first. It says requests based on severe illness, information you could not get from others despite genuine efforts, a disaster, or vulnerability such as family violence are likely to be accepted, while holidays, work commitments, short term illness and not receiving ATO reminders are likely to be declined. The late tax return penalty guide covers how the penalty builds up and when interest is added.

Where is the refund paid?

Into an Australian bank account, and nowhere else. The ATO's financial institution details instructions say: "We'll only pay tax refunds into recognised financial institution accounts located in Australia." An overseas account cannot receive it, and without bank details, lodging online through myTax might not be possible.

So check that your old Australian account is still open before you lodge, and keep it open until anything owed to you has landed. If it has already been closed, deal with that before the return goes in, not after. Whether a year produces a refund at all depends on that year's figures, and nothing is settled until the ATO has assessed the return.

Should you lodge the years yourself?

myTax suits a year with one or two employers and finalised income statements. Several years, a missing employer, ABN income or a closed bank account make it slower, and that is where help is worth having. A working holiday tax return with us can cover earlier years you never lodged, one return per year. Each return is reviewed and signed off by a registered tax agent before it is lodged with the ATO.

What decides how simple your catch up is?

Catching up on old years is routine. How long it takes depends on these points:

• How many financial years are unlodged, since each one is its own return
• Whether every employer finalised your income statement, or you will need copies, letters or an estimate
• Whether your myGov sign-in still works from overseas
• Whether any year is before 2016, which limits or rules out myTax
• Whether a year produces a debt rather than a refund, which is where penalties and interest come in
• Whether an Australian bank account is open to receive anything owed to you

However many years are open, each one is settled through its own tax return.