A young woman who received a smaller tax refund than she expected has warned Australians to manage their expectations of receiving a big tax refund this tax season.
Nat Zelez, 24, filed his tax return on time on July 1, anxiously awaiting a refund of more than $5,000, which he planned to use for a trip to Southeast Asia.
However, after completing her tax return, she only received $3,000.
“I got my tax return and I’m not happy. I filed it on July 1st and I was so excited, like, oh my gosh, because it said I was getting $5,300 back, but I got it this morning and I got $3,000,” she said in a video posted on TikTok.
Ms Zelez, who works in hospitality and marketing, said that at one point during the financial year she received social benefits, which may have affected her overall performance.
She told her followers that while $3,000 was still a good amount, she still felt disappointed.
“I still feel like I lost $2,300, that’s what I feel. I know I didn’t, but what the hell happened?” Ms. Zelez said.
“Don’t do it on July 1st because you’ll just hurt your feelings.”
Nat Zelez, 24, from Australia (pictured), said she felt “lied to” by the tax office after receiving a $3,000 tax refund when she was due to receive $5,300.
Social media users were not sympathetic to Ms Zelez’s situation, with many reminding her that the initial refund estimate was uncertain.
“It’s always an estimate, never expect to get the full return,” one said.
“Do you realize that you shouldn’t expect to get your money back every time? You only get it back if you’ve overpaid taxes,” added another.
Another person said Ms Zelez’s statement was significantly different from the estimate because the ATO probably did not have all the necessary information on 1 July as her employer may not have finalised the summary yet.
A recent Finder survey found that the average Australian is expecting a refund of $1,288 and during the cost of living crisis, many were counting on such refunds.
“Australians are fed up with barely getting by and are hoping their tax return will provide some financial relief,” said Finder financial expert Sarah Megginson.
‘Many are struggling with debt and a significant proportion of people plan to reduce that burden with their cash injection at tax time.’
Ms Megginson reminded Australians that while they can file early, their employers have until July 14 to finalise their details with the tax office.
“If you try to file your tax return before this, you could run into problems as your details are not yet officially registered with the ATO,” he said.
“If you’re sure you’re going to get a tax return, it makes sense to file it as soon as possible so you can get that money.”
Ms Zelez urged Australians who filed their returns on July 1 like she did, before their employers finalised their tax details, to lower their expectations about their returns.
(tags to translate)dailymail
