Should You Do Your Own Tax Return or Use an Accountant?

If your tax affairs are simple — a single salary, a couple of straightforward deductions, no business or investments — then doing your own return through the ATO's free myTax system is genuinely fine, and you probably do not need to pay anyone. But the moment your situation gets more complex — a side business, investments, a rental property, significant work expenses, or you are self-employed — an accountant usually pays for themselves, through a bigger legitimate refund, time saved, fewer costly mistakes, and the peace of mind of knowing it is done right. And the fee is tax-deductible, which softens the cost further.

Key Takeaways

• 🧾 A simple single-salary return with basic deductions is fine to do yourself on myTax — for free
• 📈 Add a business, investments, a rental, or complex deductions, and an accountant usually pays for itself
• 💸 Accountants often find legitimate deductions you'd miss, and the fee is deductible next year
• ⏳ Using a registered agent also extends your lodgment deadline well past 31 October
• 🛡️ For complex returns, professional help means fewer errors, less ATO risk, and someone to stand behind the return
• 🤝 It's not all-or-nothing — many people start simple and switch to an accountant as life gets more complicated

"Should I just do it myself, or is it worth paying someone?" is one of the most sensible questions you can ask at tax time, and the honest answer is: it depends entirely on how complicated your situation is. There is no universal right answer, and any accountant who tells you everyone needs an accountant is not being straight with you. Plenty of people have simple affairs and are perfectly well served by the free tools the ATO provides. The skill is knowing which camp you are in.

The ATO's myTax, accessed through myGov, is genuinely good software. It pre-fills much of your income information, walks you through the questions, and for a straightforward return it is quick, free and entirely adequate. If you earn a salary from one employer, have a few simple deductions like union fees or a bit of work-related expense, and nothing else going on, doing it yourself is a reasonable choice. You do not need to feel you are missing out by not paying for help you do not need.

But complexity changes the equation fast, and it creeps up on people. A side hustle, some shares, a rental property, cryptocurrency, working for yourself, a year with a redundancy or a capital gain — any of these turns a ten-minute myTax return into something with real traps and real opportunities. This guide walks through when doing it yourself is fine, when an accountant genuinely earns their fee, what that fee actually buys you, and how to decide for your own situation. What we see with our clients is that the people who benefit most from an accountant are often the ones who assumed their situation was too small to bother — and were leaving money on the table for years.

When Is It Fine to Do Your Own Tax Return?

Doing your own tax return is perfectly sensible when your financial life is simple and your income is easy to report accurately. If you can honestly tick most of the "straightforward" boxes, myTax will handle you well and there is little an accountant could add. Being honest with yourself about your complexity is the key — and for a lot of people, the honest answer is that they are genuinely simple.

The clearest case is a single employer, salary or wages, and a small number of easy deductions. If you work one PAYG job, your income statement pre-fills automatically, your deductions are limited to obvious things like union fees, a professional subscription, or a modest amount of work-related expenses with receipts, and you have no business, investments or rental income, then your return is about as simple as they come. myTax will pre-fill most of it, you plug in your deductions, and you are done. Paying for that would be paying for very little.

A few other situations are usually fine to self-lodge too: a student with a part-time job, someone who only had employment income for the year, or a person whose affairs did not change from a previous simple year. If last year's return was straightforward and nothing has changed — no new job on the side, no shares bought, no property — this year will be just as straightforward. Consistency and simplicity go together.

The advantages of doing it yourself in these cases are real: it is free, it is fast once your pre-fill is ready, and it puts you in control of your own affairs. The ATO has deliberately made the simple case easy, and for the millions of Australians whose tax life genuinely is simple, that is a good thing. There is no virtue in paying for help you do not need, and no shame in doing your own tax when your situation calls for nothing more.

The one caution even for simple returns is timing and accuracy: wait until your pre-fill data has finalised (usually late July) so you are not reporting incomplete figures, and keep records of any deductions you claim in case you are ever asked. Do that, and a simple self-lodged return is a perfectly good outcome. The moment you find yourself unsure whether something counts, or your situation has grown a new limb, is the moment to reconsider — which brings us to the other side.

When Does an Accountant Actually Pay for Itself?

An accountant genuinely earns their fee the moment your tax affairs become more than a single salary — and for most people, the tipping point is a business, an investment, a rental property, or significant or unusual deductions. In these situations, the extra refund a good accountant finds, the mistakes they prevent, and the time and worry they save you very often exceed what they charge, which is why complexity is the real signal that it is time to get help.

Running a business or being self-employed is the biggest one. The moment you have business income, you are dealing with a different level of complexity: what is a legitimate business expense, how to handle GST and BAS if registered, depreciation of assets, home-office and vehicle apportioning, superannuation, and structuring decisions that have real tax consequences. The opportunities to claim legitimately are much greater, and so are the ways to get it wrong. This is exactly where an accountant's knowledge translates directly into money — both in claims you would have missed and in errors you would have made.

Investments and property are close behind. Shares, managed funds, cryptocurrency and rental properties all bring capital gains, dividends, franking credits, depreciation schedules, and deductions with specific rules that myTax will not hold your hand through. A rental property alone has a long list of what can and cannot be claimed, and getting the interest, repairs-versus-improvements, and depreciation right can swing your result meaningfully. Errors here are common and expensive, and the ATO watches property claims closely.

Then there are the life events and edge cases: a redundancy payment, a capital gain from selling an asset, income from multiple sources, working across borders, or a year where your circumstances changed significantly. Any of these introduces rules most people do not know, and the difference between handling them well and poorly can be substantial. In all of these, an accountant is not a luxury — they are the person who makes sure you neither overpay the ATO nor expose yourself to a costly correction.

There is also the extended-deadline benefit that applies whatever your complexity: being on a registered tax agent's books before 31 October generally pushes your lodgment date well into the following year, taking the time pressure off entirely. Add up the bigger legitimate refund, the errors avoided, the time reclaimed, the extended deadline, and the fact that the fee itself is deductible next year, and for anyone beyond the simplest situation, an accountant is usually not a cost at all — it is a net gain. What we consistently see is that clients who thought they were "too small to need an accountant" end up better off, sometimes by more than they imagined.

What Does an Accountant Actually Do for the Fee?

It is fair to ask what you are actually paying for when you use an accountant, because "peace of mind" can sound vague. In practice, a good accountant does four concrete things: they maximise your legitimate deductions, they keep you compliant and out of trouble, they save you significant time and stress, and they give you someone who understands your whole financial picture and stands behind the work. None of that is abstract once you have experienced it.

Maximising your refund is the most tangible. A good accountant knows what people in your occupation and situation can legitimately claim, asks the questions that surface deductions you would never have thought to mention, and applies the rules correctly to get you your full entitlement. This is not about anything dodgy — it is about not leaving your own money with the ATO through simple ignorance of what you are allowed. For many clients, the extra refund alone covers the fee, sometimes several times over.

Compliance and protection are the flip side, and just as valuable. The ATO's data-matching is sophisticated, and an over-claimed or incorrect return can mean penalties, interest and a stressful review. An accountant makes sure every claim on your return is legitimate and defensible, so you get your entitlement without the risk. If the ATO ever does ask questions, you have a professional who prepared the return and can deal with them on your behalf. That protection is worth a great deal to anyone whose situation is complex enough to attract scrutiny.

Time and stress are the quiet wins people underrate until they feel them. Gathering documents, wrestling with rules, second-guessing whether you have got it right, and worrying about the deadline all take hours and headspace. Handing that to someone who does it every day frees you up and removes the low-level dread that hangs over tax time for so many people. For business owners especially, the hours saved are hours back in the business.

Finally, a good accountant is a relationship, not a transaction. Over time they come to understand your whole picture — your income, your business, your goals — and can offer advice beyond just lodging a return: how to structure things, plan ahead, manage cash flow, and make decisions with the tax consequences in mind. That ongoing, year-round value is what separates an accountant from a once-a-year form-filler. What we aim for with our North Brisbane clients is exactly that: not just a return lodged, but a genuine partner in the financial side of their life and business.

The Bottom Line: DIY or Get Help?

So, should you do your own tax return or use an accountant? If your affairs are simple — one salary, a few basic deductions, no business or investments — doing it yourself on the ATO's free myTax is genuinely fine, and you should not feel you need to pay for help you do not need. But if you have a business, investments, a rental property, significant deductions, or any of the trickier life events, an accountant usually pays for itself through a bigger legitimate refund, mistakes avoided, time saved, an extended deadline, and a fee that is deductible next year.

The honest test is your own complexity. Be truthful with yourself about how many moving parts your financial life has. If it is one, self-lodge with confidence. If it is several, getting help is very likely the better-value choice, not the extravagant one.

Not sure which camp you are in, or ready to hand tax time to someone who will make sure it is done right? For a sense of cost with us: individual tax returns are $132, sole trader and ABN returns are $330, and company and trust returns start from $660, with a $20 deposit to book and the balance at your appointment. That fee is generally deductible on next year's return.

Book online at versatileaccounting.com.au/book or call us on (07) 3154 2822 — we will tell you honestly whether you even need us, and if you do, we will make it easy and make sure you get every dollar you are entitled to.

📍 Versatile Accounting · Dales Rd, Kobble Creek QLD 4520 · (07) 3154 2822 🧾 Individual & business tax returns · Small business accounting · BAS & bookkeeping

FAQ

Is it worth paying an accountant for a simple tax return?

Usually not. If you have a single salary and a few basic deductions, the ATO's free myTax will handle it well, and there is little an accountant could add. Paying for help you do not need is a false economy. It is when your situation gets more complex — business, investments, property — that an accountant starts to pay for itself.

At what point should I switch from doing my own tax to using an accountant?

The usual trigger points are starting a business or becoming self-employed, buying investments or a rental property, having significant or unusual deductions, or a year with a big life event like a redundancy or a capital gain. Any of these adds rules and opportunities that myTax will not guide you through, and that is when professional help typically pays off.

Will an accountant really get me a bigger refund?

Often, yes — not through anything dodgy, but by knowing what people in your situation can legitimately claim and asking the questions that surface deductions you would have missed. For many clients the extra legitimate refund covers the fee. Just as importantly, they keep every claim defensible so you are not exposed to penalties for over-claiming.

Is the accountant's fee tax-deductible?

Yes. The cost of managing your tax affairs, including fees paid to a registered tax agent, is generally deductible on your next return. So this year's fee reduces your taxable income next year, which softens the cost and is one reason using an accountant often works out cheaper than it first appears.

Can an accountant help if my tax situation is messy or overdue?

Absolutely — that is one of the most common reasons people first see an accountant. A registered agent can lodge overdue years, untangle a complex situation, deal with the ATO on your behalf, and often reduce penalties and arrange payment of any debt. Whatever state your tax is in, it almost always improves the moment you get professional help involved.