Tax Assistant Online ensures that the tax return preparation process is fast and, with the assistance of your tax agent to ensure you receive the maximum legitimate refund, stress free.

1.	Create your account
	Create your account by providing your valid tax file number and contact details, such as an active email address, telephone number, home and postal address.
2.	Select an accountant to assist you in the preparation of your tax return
	Tax Assistant Online is used by many tax agents. A list of these accountants, along with information on pricing and links to their websites so you can find out more about their services, will be provided during the registration process. Simply choose the one that satisfies your criteria. As they will be sorted by postcode, you may want to consider selecting one that is near to you so you can visit their office if required.

3.	Complete the online questionnaire
	The online questionnaire is used to assess your circumstances during the financial year, thereby allowing the system to customise your tax return so it only retains items that relate to you. You will also need to provide your contact details and relevant financial information.
	Our extensive help system and comprehensive worksheets will act as a step-by-step guide as you complete your tax return. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to use our built-in messaging system requesting assistance from your nominated accountant. To minimise your data entry load, you can also ask your accountant to load an Australian Tax Office pre-filling report. These contain personal financial data collected by the Tax Office from various institutions, such as your employer(s), Centrelink, Family Assistance Office etc.
	If you wish to finish preparing your tax return at a later time, you can save any information you have already entered; ready to continue when you want. Any mistakes you make can be easily corrected as you go. Once all information is entered you will be required to validate your tax return, ensuring there are no logical errors in the answers you have supplied. Tax Assistant Online has a very powerful validation engine that will assist you in correcting any logical errors you may have.
4.	Payment and lodgment of the return
	Only once your tax return is completed and validated is payment required. The fee is calculated based on the complexity of your tax return and can vary from accountant to accountant. You can choose to have your fee deducted from your refund.
	Once payment is made and your tax return has been reviewed by your accountant, you will have to digitally sign your tax return online so it can be lodged with the Tax Office.
5.	Refund
	Your return will be processed and your refund transferred to your nominated account by the Tax Office within 14 days of lodgment. If you opted to pay the fee from your refund, the refund will be sent to a trust account. The accountant will charge their service fee from the refund and will then transfer the remaining refund amount to your nominated account.

That's it. If you have further questions, click here to go to our 'Frequently asked questions' (FAQs) page.