One in four Canberrans have not yet lodged a tax return, despite the October 31 deadline looming next week.
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The ACT had the second lowest rate of lodged returns at 75 per cent, behind NSW, at 72 per cent. Tasmania had the highest return rate, with 94 per cent of Tasmanians having already lodged their returns for 2016-17, according to figures released on Tuesday by the tax office.
Tax Office Assistant Commissioner Kath Anderson said while almost 150,000 Canberrans had beaten the deadline to lodge their return, time was running out for everyone else.
"We know some people are leaving their run pretty late," Ms Anderson said.
The October 31 deadline only applies to people lodging returns themselves. If you use a tax agent you can lodge your tax return into next year.
But Canberrans don't appear to be big users of tax agents. Tax office figures suggest they are the most likely people in the country to self-lodge.
In the 2014-15 tax period, 41 per cent of ACT residents lodged their returns themselves, compared to the national average of 26 per cent.
Ms Anderson said that while people using an agent could lodge tax returns after the cut-off date, they needed to be on the agent's books before the deadline.
Tony Greco, from the Institute of Public Accountants, said that a lack of incentive may be behind Canberrans being so late to lodge.
"Canberra-based people are more likely to work for the government, and the government pretty much reimburses most expenses that relate to work [throughout the year]," Mr Greco said.
Government employees may not have a lot of work expenses to claim back, especially if they have already claimed expenses from work.
"For Canberrans, it might not be a large enough refund to get too excited about and maybe they'll leave it to the last minute," Mr Greco said.
Head of policy at Certified Practising Accountants Paul Drum agreed that incentive was a driving factor in when people lodge returns.
"Generally people who lodge early are expecting to have a refund," he said.
People using tax agents had until May 15 next year, depending on their circumstances, he said.
Ms Anderson said that while there was usually a spike in returns lodged in the week before the deadline, people who lodged in a rush were more likely to make mistakes.
"While you have the advantage of pre-fill information to help you get it right when you lodge at the last minute, some people make mistakes under pressure," Ms Anderson said.
The most common mistakes were forgetting to include bank interest and overriding the pre-filled information.
