If you are not registered with a tax agent, your 2025-26 individual tax return is generally due for lodgement by 31 October 2026.

With the deadline only a few weeks away, now is a good time to ensure your tax affairs are up to date and your return is ready to be lodged.

Not Using a Tax Agent?

If you lodge your own tax return, you should start gathering the information you need now, including:

• Employment income and government payments
• Interest and dividend income
• Investment and rental property information
• Work-related expenses and other deductions
• Private health insurance details and other relevant tax records

Leaving it until late October can make it difficult to obtain missing information and may increase the risk of errors.

Need More Time?

If you are unable to lodge by 31 October 2026, you may be eligible for an extended lodgement deadline by registering with a registered tax agent before the deadline.

Depending on your circumstances and lodgement history, the ATO’s tax agent lodgement program may allow lodgement as late as:

• 31 March 2027 for some taxpayers, or
• 15 May 2027 for eligible clients.

To access these extended due dates, you generally need to be on a tax agent’s client list before the 31 October deadline.

We Can Help

If you have not yet arranged for your 2025-26 tax return to be prepared and would like additional time to lodge, contact our office as soon as possible.

We can assess your eligibility for the tax agent lodgement program, help you meet your tax obligations, and ensure your return is prepared accurately and on time.

Don’t wait until the end of October. Contact us now to discuss your tax return and whether an extended lodgement deadline may be available to you.

Financing a rooming house development can require a different approach from a standard residential construction project.

The property type, construction costs, existing land position and lender requirements all need to be considered when determining how the funding should be structured.

This was the situation for a recent THG client who already owned the land and had entered into a contract to develop a rooming house. The client needed funding to refinance the existing land and cover the full construction costs.

The Starting Position
The client held approximately 35% equity in the land and was seeking finance within 60% to 70% range of the total project value.

The funding needed to cover two purposes.

• Refinancing of the existing land
• Full construction funding for the proposed rooming house

This meant the finance needed to accommodate both the existing property position and the construction component within one facility.

Rooming houses are specific property type in Victoria. A rooming house is generally a building where four or more people can live in rented rooms, with individual residents usually having seperate agreements with the operator. Rooming houses are also subject to specific regulatory and safety requirements.

Finding the Right Lending Structure
The main consideration was not simply the amount of finance required.

The lender are also needed to assess the proposed use of the property, the construction project, the available equity and the overall value of the development.

THG worked with a specialist lender to structure a facility that addressed these requirements.

The final structure provided:

• $1.028 million – Loan amount
• 65% – Loan to value ratio based on Gross Realisable Value
• 35% – Existing land equity
• 100% – Construction costs funded

The facility also included the refinance of the existing land.

This gave the client a single funding structure for the land refinance and construction component

From Application to Settlement
The application progressed from lodgement to conditional approval in approximately 2.5 weeks.

Settlement followed approximately 3.5 weeks after conditional approval.

The transaction therefore progressed from application through to settlement within approximately six weeks.

Considering a Rooming House Development?
Every project has different funding requirement.

If you are considering a rooming house development and need finance for construction, land refinance or both, speaking with a mortgage adviser early can help you understand what information lenders are likely to require and what funding structures may be available.

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