For tradies
Late tax returns for tradies
Here is the part most tradies do not realise: every builder you have invoiced has already reported you to the ATO. Under the Taxable Payments Reporting System they lodge an annual report with your ABN and the total they paid you. The ATO has your income whether you lodged or not - what it does not have is your deductions.
- Fixed fees, quoted before we start
- Fee can come out of your refund
- Registered tax agent, no judgment
Free assessment
Tell us where you are up to. We'll come back with what is outstanding and a fixed fee.
100% confidential · No obligation · Registered Tax Agent
Who this is for
- Subcontractors paid by builders, developers or head contractors
- Electricians, plumbers, chippies, concreters, painters, landscapers
- Sole traders with an ABN and no company structure
- Anyone two to ten years behind on individual returns, BAS or both
- Tradies who have had a letter, a default assessment or a debt notice
What tradies can claim
Tools and equipment
Depreciation on larger purchases
Protective clothing and boots
Vehicle and travel between sites
Fuel and running costs
Trade licences and tickets
Phone and internet (work portion)
Public liability and income protection
Union and association fees
Home office for quoting and admin
Trade store and supplier accounts
Accounting and agent fees
A tradie who lodges four late years without claiming properly can hand the ATO thousands of dollars it was never entitled to. Deductions do not expire because the return was late.
How we get you square
We pull your full ATO history
Once you nominate us as your tax agent we can see exactly what is outstanding, what income has already been reported against your ABN through TPRS and prefill, and what the ATO has assessed in your absence.
We reconstruct the deductions
Bank statements, trade store accounts, fuel and tool purchases, vehicle use, phone, insurance and licences. Most tradies who lodge late without help declare the income and forget the expenses - that is where the money is lost.
We lodge the whole backlog
Every outstanding year, lodged in order, so the real figure replaces any default assessment the ATO has raised against you.
We deal with penalties and the balance
Remission request on failure to lodge penalties and interest, then a payment plan on anything left owing - or your refund paid out, with our fee taken from it.
Fixed fees, no surprises
from $699 +GST per year for a sole trader return, discounted when you catch up multiple years together. Where a refund is due, our fee can be taken from the refund.
Tradie tax questions
Does the ATO already know about my cash jobs?
It knows about far more than most tradies expect. Under the Taxable Payments Reporting System, every builder, developer and head contractor who pays a subcontractor in the building and construction industry must lodge a Taxable Payments Annual Report listing your ABN and the total they paid you. That data is already in the ATO's systems and it is matched against what you have lodged. If you have not lodged, the gap is visible.
What can a tradie claim on a late return?
The same deductions as an on-time return: tools and equipment, protective clothing and boots, vehicle running costs for travel between sites, fuel, insurance, phone and internet apportioned to work use, licences and tickets, union or association fees, home office where you do quoting and admin, and depreciation on bigger tool purchases. Lodging late does not strip your deductions - not lodging at all does.
I've lost my receipts. Can you still lodge?
Usually yes. We reconstruct from bank and card statements, supplier accounts at trade stores, invoices held by the builders who paid you, and the ATO's own prefill data. Reconstruction is standard practice on catch-up work and the ATO expects reasonable estimates supported by that evidence where original receipts are gone.
What does it cost, and can it come out of my refund?
Fixed fees, quoted before we start - $699 +GST per year for a sole trader return, with discounts once you are catching up several years at once. Where a refund is expected, our fee can be deducted from the refund when it lands, so there is nothing to pay up front.
Will I be penalised for being years behind?
Failure to lodge penalties may apply, but they are remittable and the ATO is far more receptive once you have voluntarily brought everything up to date. We lodge the full backlog, then apply for remission of penalties and interest as part of the same job.
Behind on your tax? Let's sort it.
Free, confidential assessment for tradies. Fixed fee before we start.
⚡ Complete the short confidential form. A registered tax professional will respond within one business day.