An online tax return with SMT is not an app that asks you twelve questions and lodges whatever you type. It is a real return prepared by a registered tax agent, with a human reading your documents, asking what the app would not, and standing behind the result. You never leave your couch, and you deal with the same accountant every year.
How it works
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Book a call or sign up online
Either book a free call to talk first, or go straight to the online engagement form. The form handles the identity check we must complete as a registered agent and gives us authority to act. It takes about ten minutes.
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Upload your documents securely
We send you a private upload link. Photograph receipts, download your private health statement, share your rental summary; whatever applies. Our tax return checklist tells you exactly what to look for, and most wage, interest and dividend data arrives through the ATO's pre-fill anyway.
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We prepare a draft and ask questions
Sohail or Syed prepares the return, then sends you a draft with a short list of questions: the kilometres you drove between sites, the hours you worked from home, whether that laptop was for work. This is where a human agent earns the fee.
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You approve, we lodge
Read the draft, sign the declaration on your phone, and we lodge the same day. The ATO states that most returns lodged online are processed within 12 business days, so a refund usually lands within a couple of weeks of lodgment.
What is different from myTax or a tax app
myTax is free and works well for a simple wage with no deductions. The gap opens when your situation has any texture to it. Three things change when a registered agent prepares the return:
- A person checks what you can claim. Software accepts whatever you enter. We look at your occupation, your documents and the ATO's rules and tell you what is deductible, what is not, and what needs a record you may not have kept.
- We deal with the ATO if questions come. If the ATO queries a claim or pre-fill does not match, the letter comes to us and we answer it. You are not left decoding ATO correspondence on your own.
- A later lodgment date. Self-lodgers are due on 31 October. Clients on a registered agent's list before 31 October are covered by the agent lodgment program, which the ATO notes gives later due dates depending on your circumstances. That breathing room is worth a lot in a busy year.
And unlike an app, the tax agent fee is itself a deduction in the following year's return.
Who it suits
- Employees with work-related claims: tools, uniforms, travel between workplaces, self-education, working from home.
- Investors with shares, managed funds, ETFs with annual tax statements, or crypto disposals that need a capital gains schedule.
- Landlords, including first-time landlords working out which costs are deductible now and which are depreciated or added to the cost base.
- Side hustles: rideshare, delivery, freelance or online sales income alongside a wage, where the business schedule and GST question both need a look.
- People anywhere in Australia who want a named accountant rather than a call centre, and expats with Australian rental, dividend or interest income to declare while living overseas.
The $1,000 standard deduction from 2026–27
From the 2026–27 income year the ATO applies a standard deduction of up to $1,000 for work-related expenses to eligible individuals who are Australian residents earning salary, wages or similar labour income. It is automatic, you do not need receipts for it, and it is reduced dollar for dollar by any work-related expenses you actually claim. So if your real claims come to less than $1,000, you are usually better off not claiming them; if they come to more, you claim them in full with records and the standard deduction falls away. It does not apply to the 2025–26 return being lodged this tax time, and it does not cover donations, tax agent fees or investment and rental costs, which are claimed separately. Working out which side of the line you sit on is exactly the kind of question we answer in the draft.
What we need from you
Less than you might think. The ATO pre-fills most income, so the work is mostly deductions and anything the ATO cannot see: rental records, sale contracts for shares or crypto, receipts for work expenses, a work-from-home diary. Our tax return checklist lists it all by category so you can gather it in one sitting.
Fees and security
We quote a fixed fee before we start, based on what is in your return, and that is the amount you pay. There is no hourly surprise. The fee is generally deductible in your next return. Your tax file number and identity documents are collected only through the encrypted onboarding form; we never ask for them by email, text or WhatsApp, and if anyone claiming to be us does, treat it as a scam and call us.
Frequently asked
Do I need to visit an office?
No. The whole process runs on your phone or computer: the onboarding form, document upload, our questions, your approval and the lodgment itself. If you would rather talk it through, we do that by phone, WhatsApp or video. Clients who are local to Shepparton can still visit by appointment, but nobody has to.
How do I send my documents?
Through the secure upload link we send you after onboarding. Photos from your phone are fine as long as the figures are readable. Your tax file number and identity documents go only through the encrypted onboarding form, never by email or WhatsApp, and we ask you not to send them that way either.
What if I am several years behind?
We prepare the outstanding years in order using the ATO's pre-fill records for each one, which usually covers wages, interest, dividends and private health details. You fill the gaps with whatever receipts you still have. Getting up to date promptly matters, because interest and late-lodgment penalties can otherwise keep accruing, and we talk to the ATO about those on your behalf.
Do you do tax returns for people in every state?
Yes. Income tax is federal, so the rules are the same whether you live in Perth, Darwin, Hobart or Shepparton. We have clients in every state and territory, plus Australians working overseas who still have income to declare here.
How is the fee charged?
We quote a fixed fee before we start, based on what is in your return (a wage-only return costs less than one with a rental property and share sales). You receive an invoice when the return is ready to lodge and pay by bank transfer or card. The fee for preparing this year's return is generally deductible in next year's return.