Australian Tax Year Reviews

​

Open a year review

The Australian tax year reviews flow provides separate workspaces for the financial years ending in 2025, 2026 and 2027. Open the new flow from Australian tax, choose the legal entity, then select its financial year. Each entity has its own year list. The year that has just ended comes first, marked Just ended · to prepare; the year still under way is marked In progress. Within a workpaper, the entity name and financial year stay visible. Changing Financial year keeps the same entity; changing Tax entity keeps the same year and opens that entity’s workpaper. All financial years returns to the selected entity’s year list. The compact workpaper uses coloured totals, section headings and status badges to make the figures easier to scan. Cards have subtle, even borders. Green highlights calculated or confirmed items, blue separates supporting information, and amber draws attention to review items. Read the accompanying labels to check each item’s status. On smaller screens, scroll the tab strip and wide schedules sideways to see all columns. Investment decisions, assessments, notes, review status and saved history stay with the selected entity and year. They are not copied when you switch. Save changes before navigating away, or confirm that you want to discard unsaved changes. An older workpaper link opens the same entity and year in this flow. A year with no saved workpaper starts with independent defaults. Prior-year exemptions and confirmations do not carry forward. For the years ending in 2026 and 2027, losses and the company franking account do carry forward from the previous year’s latest saved workpaper; see Carried-forward balances. For 2025, enter any opening capital losses from that entity’s supporting records. The year ending in 2026 covers 01/07/2025 to 30/06/2026. The same convention applies to the other years. Keep records, assumptions and assessments with the entity and year to which they relate. This flow is the full workpaper behind the decision checklist in the Australian Tax Workspace: both use the same saved workpaper, so decisions made in one appear in the other. Each year shows its own rule version, source references, changes from the previous year and review coverage. A research preview has not received a professional release approval. Its figures remain provisional. You can prepare a draft or make it ready for review, but you cannot mark it Reviewed until the year’s rules have been released and the workpaper’s checks are complete. To change or save a workpaper you need the Edit tax workpapers permission. Owners and admins always have it; an owner or admin can turn it on for another member in the Tax tab of their member permissions. Without it, you can open and read the workpaper, but not change it. Only owners and admins can mark a workpaper Reviewed.

​

Confirm the profile and adjustments

In Year profile and adjustments, check the taxpayer type and tax residency for the whole financial year. Part-year residency, trusts and other special circumstances need an adviser’s calculation. Check franking credit eligibility against the supporting tax records. Company users can record adviser confirmation of eligibility for the lower company rate. Changing the taxpayer type or residency clears investment confirmations so their treatment can be reviewed again. Enter any other assessable income, deductible expenses, opening capital losses (2025 only) and confirmed withholding credits missing from the investment records. For 2026 and 2027, opening losses are on the Carried-forward step instead. Avoid counting the same amount twice. Capital losses are reviewed separately from ordinary income losses. The following amounts require adviser confirmation:

• Foreign tax offset: the amount that can be claimed, which may differ from foreign tax paid.
• Medicare levy and surcharge: the combined confirmed amount, including zero where none applies. A blank field means it has not been confirmed.
• Federal tax or refund: an adviser’s amount after offsets, levies and additional federal obligations, but before PAYG credits. This replaces the federal calculation. Enter a negative amount for a refund.

Each field says whether it is Required or Optional. Your adviser’s federal figure becomes required for trusts, part-year residency and profiles that aren’t confirmed; the Medicare levy becomes required for a resident individual unless the adviser’s federal figure covers it. Amounts can be typed with commas or a dollar sign; if an amount can’t be used, the field says how to fix it. You cannot save or mark the workpaper ready or reviewed while an amount has a typing error. Correct the entry or discard it first. Conversion rates and percentages keep their decimal precision: for example, enter a conversion rate of 0.654321 or a partner’s share of 33.3333% without rounding to cents. Add the adviser’s workpaper or assessment reference in Evidence for adjustments and eligibility. It becomes required once any amount or eligibility choice has been entered. Use Year review notes to record decisions, unresolved questions and separate schedules.

​

Review tax credits

The Summary tab shows Tax credits and offsets directly below the headline tax amounts. It separates:

• Foreign income tax offset, including foreign tax supported by the schedule and the adviser-confirmed amount.
• Franking credits, including eligible credits in the income schedule and whether eligibility still needs review.
• Low income tax offset, using this year’s income and taxpayer profile.
• PAYG and withholding credits, entered from confirmed payment records.

Select Review tax credits, or open the Tax credits tab, to check eligibility, enter amounts and record the supporting evidence. These are the same credit inputs shown on Summary; editing either view updates the same entity and year. A blank foreign offset means Not confirmed, which is different from entering zero. The credit total shows what is deducted separately in the federal balance. When an adviser’s federal amount replaces the calculation, the calculated offsets are shown for reference and are not deducted again. Only the entered PAYG and withholding credits are deducted from the adviser’s amount. If the federal balance is awaiting review, the credit deduction total also shows Awaiting review. Credit and withholding records lists the tax entries on this year’s investment transactions, with their recorded currency, Australian dollar equivalent and source reference. Entries remain visible even when a credit is ineligible, excluded or awaiting confirmation. Missing conversions are shown explicitly. These source amounts are not additional claims; reconcile records that may describe the same tax before entering a credit. The Income and CGT schedule also shows eligible franking credits and supported foreign tax beside each transaction.

​

Review each investment

In Investment tax treatments, investments are listed alphabetically. Search by name, then open an investment to review its income and capital gains treatment. Use Show more to see further investments. The settings apply to all supported transactions for that investment in the selected year. Different treatments within one year need a separate review. For 2026 and later, turn on Trust or fund distributions for a managed fund, ETF, unit trust or other trust. Its payments then need the annual tax statement, entered under Distributions (see below), and the year flags it if the statement is missing. For property, select Property investment and its state or territory. Record a Primary residence claim only where it is relevant. This flag alone does not establish an exemption. Choose the capital gains treatment separately:

• A full main residence exemption.
• A partial main residence exemption, with the taxable percentage calculated by your adviser.
• Standard capital gains treatment.
• Another evidenced exemption.
• Adviser review where the treatment is unresolved.

Residence dates, absences, rental or business use, ownership, valuations and tax residency can affect the result. Retain the supporting records. The workspace does not decide those conditions automatically.

​

Keep income treatment separate

A home may qualify for capital gains relief while its rental income remains assessable. Choose the income treatment independently: assessable, exempt, non-assessable non-exempt, a capital receipt requiring review, or adviser review. Use the description on the tax statement and your adviser’s explanation. Tax-deferred distributions and capital receipts can affect the investment’s cost base or create a capital gain even when they are not ordinary income. Complete the Reason for this treatment and Supporting evidence before confirming an investment. References can include tax statements, valuations, residence-period records and adviser workpapers. Keep the original documents with the year’s records. Changing a field clears the confirmation; confirm the new decision after checking it. Until an investment can be confirmed, the card lists what is still needed under Before confirming, such as the reason, the evidence or the property’s state.

​

Parcels and disposals

For the years ending in 2026 and 2027, each holding measured in units, such as listed shares or units in a fund, is kept as parcels. A parcel is one purchase, dividend reinvestment, transfer in, rights issue or opening balance, with its own date and cost. The cost includes brokerage, and the brokerage on a sale is added to the cost of the parcels it takes.

• Splits and bonus issues keep each parcel’s original date and spread its cost over the new number of units.
• Capital calls, such as a call on partly paid shares, add to each parcel’s cost in proportion to its units.
• Returns of capital reduce each parcel’s cost in proportion to its units. Any amount beyond a parcel’s cost is a capital gain. A return of capital never makes a loss.
• Shares bought before 20/09/1985 are pre-CGT: their gains and losses are left out until 30/06/2027.

Holdings measured by value, such as private funds, have no parcels. Each withdrawal takes a proportional share of every contribution, as before.

​

Choose how a sale’s parcels were chosen

Open the Parcels tab, or the Parcels and disposals step in the checklist. Each sale shows the parcels it took, the gain or loss on each, and whether each parcel was held for 12 months. A sale’s gain is worked out from those parcels, and each parcel gets the CGT discount only if that parcel was held for 12 months, not counting the day it was bought or sold. With nothing recorded, a sale takes the oldest parcels first (first in, first out) and the step asks you to record the method. Select Record method to choose:

• First in, first out: the oldest parcels first.
• Last in, first out: the most recent parcels first.
• Highest cost first: the parcels that cost the most per unit first.
• Minimum gain: the parcels that give the smallest taxable gain first, after any discount.
• Specific parcels: choose the parcels and the units sold from each. They must add up to the units sold.

The ATO accepts the parcels you identify as sold. Last in, first out, highest cost first and minimum gain are ways of choosing them, so they count as specific identification. Record the choice when the sale is made, with the date, the reason and where the record is kept, such as the broker’s sale instruction or contract note, and keep that record. You can use a different method for a different sale; the sale shows a note when it changes from the holding’s previous one. Sales in the year ending in 2026 use the parcel choices saved with that year’s latest workpaper. Sales before 01/07/2025 always take the oldest parcels first. If the previous year’s parcel choices change after this year was saved, the Carried-forward balances step asks you to use the latest or keep the saved ones, as it does for the balances.

​

Compare with the portfolio

Each sale also shows the gain the portfolio records. They can differ: the portfolio always takes the oldest units first, and it measures holdings that were revalued or started from an opening balance from that value. A difference of more than $1 shows a note with the likely reason. It never stops you: the gain worked out from the parcels is the one used for tax. Opening balances. An opening balance becomes a parcel at the cost recorded with it, dated at the opening date. If the units were bought earlier, check the original purchase records: the CGT discount may apply even though the parcel shows a later date. If no cost was recorded, the workpaper asks for it and uses the portfolio’s gain until then.

​

Values for later years

Some later rules need each parcel’s market value at a set date. These values are kept with the workpaper; nothing in this year’s calculation uses them.

• 2026–27 (individuals and trusts), optional for now: from 01/07/2027 the CGT discount is replaced. You can record each parcel’s value at 30/06/2027, or choose the apportioning method instead, for parcels still held at the end of the year. These values are only needed for rules that start on 01/07/2027, so a 2026–27 workpaper can go for review without them.
• 2025–26 (SMSFs): a fund making the Division 296 election records each parcel’s value at 30/06/2026. Tick the election on the Parcels tab first.

Select Record values on a holding, enter the values, and add the evidence, such as the closing price or a valuation.

​

Distributions received

For 2026 and later, a trust, managed fund, ETF or partnership’s payments are taxed from its annual tax statement (often called an AMMA statement), not from the payments themselves. The statement splits the year’s distributions into parts that are taxed differently. Open the Distributions tab, or the Distributions step in the checklist. Each investment that paid distributions this year is listed. Select Enter statement and fill in the amounts as the statement prints them:

• Who issued it: an attribution managed investment trust (AMIT, most managed funds and ETFs), another trust, or a partnership.
• Australian income: the franked amount, franking credits, unfranked amount, interest and other income.
• Capital gains: the discounted gains, the CGT concession amount, and gains by the indexation or other method.
• Foreign income and the foreign tax paid.
• Non-assessable amounts: tax-deferred, tax-free and non-assessable non-exempt amounts.
• AMIT cost base net amount: the excess or shortfall, on an AMIT statement.
• Amounts withheld for a missing TFN or a non-resident.

Then tick the payments the statement covers, and record where the statement is kept.

​

How each part is taxed

• Income is taxed, with the franking credits once franking eligibility is confirmed in Tax credits. An individual with $5,000 or less of franking credits in the year doesn’t need to meet the 45-day holding rule.
• Capital gains are added to the year’s other gains. Discounted gains are doubled back to the trust’s full gain, then the entity’s own capital losses and discount apply: half for individuals and trusts, a third for super funds, none for companies.
• Foreign income is taxed, and its foreign tax supports the foreign income tax offset you enter in Tax credits.
• Tax-free and non-assessable amounts aren’t taxed. They’re shown as excluded.
• Cost base changes. Another trust’s tax-deferred amount reduces the cost of your units. On an AMIT statement the net amount reduces or increases it instead. The change is made at 30 June to the units held then, shows on the Parcels tab and carries into later years. Anything beyond the cost is a capital gain.
• Amounts withheld are credited against the entity’s tax.

The payments a statement covers aren’t counted again as income. A payment from the same investment that isn’t ticked is flagged, so it isn’t taxed twice.

​

Match the payments to the statement

The payments covered should add up to the statement’s net cash. If they don’t, the year flags it. Tick the right payments or correct the amounts. If the difference is genuine, such as a June distribution paid in July, explain it in the statement and the flag clears. A partnership share that wasn’t paid out needs the same explanation. If a statement is missing for an investment marked as a trust or fund, the year asks for it.

​

Distributions made

For 2026 and later, a trust, a company or a partnership also records what it distributed. Open the Distributions tab, or the Distributions step in the checklist: Distributions made sits below the distributions received.

​

Recipients

Beneficiaries, shareholders and partners are saved for the entity, so later years can use them. Owners and admins add each one by name, or with Add next to an entity that the organisation’s ownership links show holds an interest in this one. Nothing is added automatically. For each recipient, record their residency and whether they quoted a tax file number. The TFN itself is never recorded. When someone stops receiving distributions, select Deactivate: they stay in earlier years’ records and can be reactivated.

​

A trust

Record the trustee’s resolution:

• Income resolution date. Beneficiaries must be entitled by 30 June.
• Capital gains resolution date, only if capital gains were streamed by a separate resolution after 30 June. It must be recorded by 31 August.
• Each beneficiary’s allocation: their percentage share of the income, any franked distributions or capital gains streamed to them, what was paid or applied, what was still unpaid at 30 June and, for a closely held trust, any tax withheld because no TFN was quoted.
• Section 100A conclusion: the risk zone, why, and the evidence. This is a judgement for you and your adviser; nothing is calculated.
• Where the resolution minutes are kept.

The workpaper works out the trust’s net income from its investments and the year’s adjustments. Streamed capital gains and franked distributions (with their franking credits) go to the beneficiaries named in the resolution; the rest, and all other income, is shared by the income percentages. A beneficiary’s capital gains are shown grossed up, so they apply their own losses and discount. If the resolution is late, the year flags it. Streaming in a late resolution doesn’t count: those amounts follow the income percentages instead. If a late resolution still stands, for example under the deed’s default beneficiary clause, record why. Income no beneficiary is entitled to is taxed to the trustee. The year asks you to allocate it, or to record that the trustee is assessed on it, and that tax belongs in the adviser’s federal amount. So does tax on a foreign resident beneficiary’s share. If the trust has no net income, nothing is shared and its franking credits can’t pass to beneficiaries.

​

A company

Select Add dividend for each dividend paid: the date, the franked percentage and the amount paid to each shareholder. Then add the income tax and PAYG instalments paid in the year, and any refunds. Franked dividends and refunds of income tax come out of the franking account; tax paid and franking credits on distributions the company received go into it. Leave out any part of a refund that comes from a refundable research and development tax offset. The rate for franking depends on whether the company was a base rate entity on last year’s turnover and passive income: 25% if it was, or if it didn’t exist last year, otherwise 30%. If last year’s saved workpaper confirmed the company as a base rate entity, that’s used. Otherwise the year asks you to record it, with evidence, under Rate for franking. The same rate turns any excess franking credits into a tax loss. Every dividend in the year should be franked at the same percentage as the first. If they differ, the year asks how this was dealt with. A franking account in deficit at 30 June is confirmed in Carried-forward balances. The franking deficit tax becomes an offset against later tax. The offset is cut by 30% for the part of the deficit that came from franked dividends (and refunds in the same year) when that part is more than 10% of the year’s franking credits. Record there if any other debits weren’t from franked distributions, or if the cut doesn’t apply because it’s a private company’s first year of tax or the Commissioner has decided so.

​

A partnership

There’s no partnership taxpayer type yet, so leave the taxpayer type unconfirmed and enter nil as the adviser’s federal amount. Enter each partner’s share of the net income or loss; the shares should add up to 100%. Capital gains are shown separately, because each partner makes them on their share of the assets.

​

Statements of distribution

Each recipient’s statement shows their share by type: franked amounts and franking credits, capital gains, foreign income and tax, and other income, with what was paid, unpaid and withheld. For the year ending in 2027, a closely held trust’s statement also shows whether each beneficiary quoted a TFN, which replaces the quarterly TFN reports.

​

Record state and territory assessments

In State and territory assessments, select Add assessment and enter the state, tax, amount, period, date of issue and assessment or adviser reference. All are required: a field you leave empty says what to enter, and the workpaper can’t be saved until each assessment is complete. Remove an entry if it was added in error. These are reviewed amounts from notices or separate workpapers. The workspace does not calculate state taxes from portfolio values. States and territories use different ownership dates, aggregation rules and exemptions, and a federal main residence claim does not settle state land tax. Review all relevant jurisdictions, including property outside the entity’s home state. Confirm the state review even where no assessment amounts apply. Editing assessments clears that confirmation. Federal balances and state assessments remain separate obligations.

​

Read the year summary sheet

Open Year summary sheet within the workpaper. It identifies the entity, financial period, rule version and release status, then presents the year’s rules and changes side by side. Each rule shows its explanation, change from the previous year, effective dates, coverage status and source links. Rules that continue unchanged are included. You do not need to open each rule to read its changes. The State and territory summary brings together each jurisdiction’s assessment period, year changes and matters to review for the entity. The coverage information distinguishes matters calculated in the workspace, matters needing adviser review and matters outside its scope. Open Full source references and checked dates for the supporting reference details. A source date records when the rule was checked; it is not the same as a professional release approval. Year rules may need updating following later or retrospective legislation. A reviewed workpaper does not approve the year’s tax rules for general use.

​

Resolve outstanding checks

Open Checks to work through the outstanding items without leaving the workpaper. Select a check to open its relevant fields. The check remains open until the required information is complete and the calculation has been updated; adding a note alone does not resolve it.

• Profile, eligibility and treatment checks: confirm the relevant profile, credit or investment decision and its supporting evidence.
• Missing transaction amounts: enter a workpaper correction for the gross income, Australian dollar conversion or realised gain, as appropriate. Check the original amount, explain the change and record the statement or adviser schedule supporting it. Enter zero only when the records confirm zero.
• Calculations needing separate advice: use Complete-year adviser reconciliation to record a complete year schedule. Enter the adviser’s taxable income, net capital gain, capital losses carried forward and federal tax or refund before PAYG, along with the preparer’s name, evidence reference and an explanation for each check covered by the schedule.

Select Apply correction or Apply adviser schedule when the entries are complete, then Save draft to retain them in a revision. Unapplied edits prevent saving and prompt you before you leave the check. Use Discard changes to return to the recorded entries. The list updates as checks are resolved; you can search by check, investment or transaction reference. A workpaper correction changes this entity and year’s calculation while keeping the original transaction visible. It does not edit the investment ledger. If the source record itself needs fixing, correct it in the appropriate investment record and reload the workpaper. An applied adviser year reconciliation replaces those year totals and the federal amount. For the years ending in 2026 and 2027 it also asks for the closing revenue losses, so the next year starts from the adviser’s capital and revenue losses. The transaction schedule remains supporting detail and may not add up to the adviser’s replacement totals. The adviser’s federal amount must already include offsets, levies and other federal obligations. PAYG and withholding credits are deducted separately once. Review the tax credit labels to distinguish reference amounts from credits deducted in the balance. The adviser schedule can resolve supported review questions, such as a separate parcel or tax-component reconciliation. It cannot dismiss missing transaction amounts, invalid inputs or inconsistent evidence. Complete those checks in their own fields. A resolved check records the explanation and evidence; it does not constitute independent approval of the tax treatment. Review saved corrections and the adviser schedule in Checks. Edit or remove a correction or remove the adviser reconciliation to reopen its underlying checks where they still apply. Save a new revision after making the change; earlier revisions retain their original decisions and results. Changes to the source records or year rules make existing corrections and adviser reconciliation require review again. Changes to calculation inputs can also make the adviser schedule out of date. The previous entries stay visible for comparison but are not applied until updated for the current workpaper. Confirm the year’s coverage and state reviews after reconciling the records. This flow supports an investment review. It does not prepare or lodge a complete tax return automatically.

​

Save revisions and keep the audit record

Save a Draft while preparing the workpaper. Use Ready for review when the required checks are complete. Owners and admins can record a Reviewed revision once the year’s rules are released and the workpaper’s review requirements are met. The Mark reviewed action remains unavailable for research previews. Each save creates a new revision with the inputs, source records, rule version and results used at that point. Earlier revisions remain available in the history. If the records change, review the updated figures and save a new revision so the change can be traced. Use Export to Excel to download the latest saved workpaper as an Excel workbook. Save a draft first to enable the export. The workbook contains separate sheets for the summary, tax credits, income and capital gains, investments, adjustments, state assessments, checks, corrections and adviser reconciliation. For 2026 and 2027 it also has a Carried forward sheet with the opening balances, where they came from, any changes and the closing balances, and a Distributions received sheet with each statement’s amounts, the payments it covers and how it was taxed. Its net cash, payment totals and difference are formulas, and each payment links to its source transaction. A trust, company or partnership also gets a Distributions made sheet with a statement of distribution for each recipient; their totals, and a trust’s amount taxed to the trustee, are formulas. It also includes the saved year’s rules and changes, state coverage, source references, original transactions, tax entries and audit details. The summary totals are Excel formulas linked to the schedules, so you can trace each figure to the rows behind it:

• Taxable income, net capital gain, the federal balance, state assessments and open checks are formulas.
• The income and capital gains schedule and the state assessments end with a totals row. The totals follow any filter you apply.
• A figure replaced by your adviser’s complete-year schedule stays as the saved amount.

The workbook also has links:

• Open on the summary goes to each sheet.
• Go to source jumps from a calculation line, check, correction or tax entry to its original transaction.
• Open transaction, Open investment and Open the live workpaper open that record in EveryWealth. You need to be signed in, and the record may have changed since the revision was saved.

In Audit history, each saved revision offers an Excel workbook, a CSV schedule and an Audit record. Use these links to download an earlier version. The audit record uses JSON format and retains the complete saved record. Exports always use the selected saved revision; unsaved changes are not included. Editing the Excel file does not recalculate the tax figures or update your workpaper. Make changes in the workpaper and save a new revision for a fresh export. The workbook preserves the original source amounts alongside corrections, adviser totals, preparer details, evidence and check explanations. Decisions requiring further review are labelled as not applied. Keep the workbook and audit record with the original statements, valuations and notices. This workpaper is not final tax advice. Speak to your tax adviser to confirm the figures, eligibility and obligations before relying on them or lodging a return. This reminder appears in the workpaper and on every Excel sheet. A saved or reviewed workpaper still needs advice that considers your circumstances. Saved history and evidence references support traceability. They do not establish that a tax decision is correct or that the underlying records cannot be changed. Keep the audit download with the adviser’s review and source documents for the entity and year. When updating an adviser reconciliation, changing one check keeps the other selections and explanations you have entered.