The Fine Print Australia · PUBLISHED 27 JUN 2026 · VERIFIED 27 JUN 2026 · AU EDITION

Tax Accountant vs myTax: Is $100–$300 Worth It in Australia? 🇦🇺

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A typical Australian tax agent return costs $100–$300, and the ATO and Moneysmart both say many people with simple returns can lodge themselves instead, so the real question is whether the accountant generates more than that much in extra deductions or avoids mistakes that cost you money.

The number that matters

The central number is $300: the upper end of the typical tax return fee cited by the ABC in 2024 for Australian tax agents.

How it quietly costs you

The first hidden cost is missed deductions and claims when a taxpayer uses myTax without knowing what is deductible or how to substantiate it, because myTax does not proactively advise on claims the way an accountant may.

ABC reported that a typical tax return costs $100–$300, which means the accountant has to uncover at least that much in extra tax benefit just to break even for a simple return.

• Old way: lodge through myTax for free, but rely on yourself to identify every deductible expense.
• Better way: pay a registered tax agent when your return is complex enough that the agent can materially increase claims or reduce error risk.

The risk is not theoretical: industry articles aimed at self-lodgers explicitly warn that people using ATO systems can leave deductions unclaimed, and one tax-firm article claims self-prepared taxpayers can pay as much as $1,000 more tax over time than those using qualified accountants, though that figure is marketing-led rather than a regulator estimate.

The second, compounding trap

The second layer is error risk and later correction cost, because even when an accountant prepares a return, the taxpayer is still legally responsible for what is lodged, and early pre-fill data from the ATO may be incomplete.

That means the cost of inaction is not just a smaller refund; it can be a late correction, amended return, or ATO issue if income or deductions are wrong or missing.

ABC’s 2024 guidance says people should not assume ATO pre-filled data is complete, especially if lodging early in July or early August, which makes review quality a money issue, not just a convenience issue.

For a complex return, the financial upside of professional help is avoiding mistakes that can persist for years, but the exact dollar cost depends on the taxpayer’s marginal tax rate and the scale of the missed deductions.

What this looks like in practice

Liam, 34, Sydney office worker, salary $92,000, PAYG employee, $18,000 in super, 20 years to retirement. He has work-from-home expenses, a side-gig on weekends, and some share income, so his return is no longer “simple.”

He would discover:

• $100–$300 fee reality: a standard accountant return often costs $100–$300, so any extra refund below that range is a net loss versus DIY myTax.
• Simple vs complex threshold: Moneysmart says simple employee returns may not need an accountant, but registered tax agents become more useful as complexity rises, including multiple income sources or investment income.
• Pre-fill trap: the ATO pre-fill may be incomplete early in the season, so waiting for complete data can prevent missed income or incorrect figures that would otherwise create amendment risk.

The full cost of doing nothing

For Liam, the combined lifetime/career cost of using myTax badly can be modelled as years of missed deductions plus occasional correction costs, while the accountant option has an ongoing fee drag of $100–$300 per return.

A reasonable modelling basis is:

• one annual return,
• 20 working years,
• an accountant fee in the $100–$300 range,
• and a professional able to identify enough extra deductions to exceed that fee on some, but not all, years.

Using the marketing claim that self-prepared taxpayers can pay up to $1,000 more tax over time as an upper-bound scenario, the long-run difference can easily exceed one or two annual accountant fees if Liam has recurring investment or side-income complexity.

What to do about it

• Check your return complexity using Moneysmart’s “Choosing an accountant” guidance and compare your situation against its checklist for multiple income sources, investments, or business activity.

• Identify whether you have only salary and basic deductions, or whether you also have rental, shares, crypto, freelance, or business income.

• Match your situation against the categories Moneysmart says justify professional help.

• Decide whether your return is “simple” or “complex” enough to exceed a $100–$300 accountant fee.

• Good looks like: your expected extra refund or risk reduction is clearly above the fee range.

• Verify registration on the Tax Practitioners Board Register before paying anyone to lodge your return.

• Ask for the tax agent’s registration details.

• Check they are registered with the Tax Practitioners Board.

• Confirm they are a member of a professional accounting body if needed.

• Good looks like: the preparer is a registered tax agent, not just someone offering “tax help.”

• Use ATO pre-fill carefully in myTax and compare it with your own records before lodging.

• Open your pre-fill data in myGov/myTax.

• Compare income, bank interest, dividends, and any deductions against your records.

• Wait if necessary for July/August pre-fill to become more complete.

• Good looks like: all income and bank details match, and any deduction claim is supported by records.

A myth worth clearing up

Myth: “Using an accountant automatically gives a bigger refund.”

Fact: An accountant can only improve your result if they identify legitimate deductions, correct errors, or handle complexity better than you can; for very simple returns, Moneysmart and ABC both say many people do not need one.

Sources

• ATO
• Moneysmart
• Tax Practitioners Board
• ATO
• ATO

Researched 2026-06-27.

Corrections & disclosure: an AI-assisted, human-reviewed guide. Every figure is dated and sourced above. Spot something out of date or wrong? Tell us and we’ll correct it — corrections are noted here and in the video description.