What is a Sole Tax Trader? How to Maximise Your Return?
A sole trader or sole proprietor is someone who establishes and operates a business on their own. Plumbers, electricians, gardeners, freelancers and independent contractors like tutors, food delivery drivers, or courier suppliers are a few sole trader examples.
As a sole trader accountant managing your own small business in Australia, you are lucky enough to have the flexibility and freedom to do things your way. But unfortunately, during tax time, you must fall in line with everyone else. A sole trader tax is an additional burden; you must pay tax like any other business or individual.

Understanding of Sole Trader Individual Tax Return
The rate you’ll pay as a sole trader is the same as a personal income tax return and is reported as a sole trader individual tax return. Your pay depends on how much you earn each year and is worked out by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
However, filing your annual return can be intimidating if you need to be up to speed. You are not very well-skilled with:
- What rules apply?
- What deductions can you claim?
- What paperwork do you have to do?
- What exactly is a sole trader tax, and is it optional?
Also, note that if you are a sole proprietor registered for GST, you must send Business Activity Statements (BAS) to the ATO every three months. Your annual tax return excludes the GST portion of your income and expenses.
Need for Sole Trader Tax Return Accountant
Now, as a sole trader, you have to submit your tax return on your own directly with the ATO, and your tax submission must include the following:
- All income received
- List of expenses, broken into categories (stationery, licences, rent, insurance)
- Other Tax claims include the use of home, vehicle, phone and internet for work purposes
In a nutshell, sole traders have a lot on the go: a healthy cash flow, sound financial management practices, regular interpreting of monthly results and more. Legitimate planning is needed to work through this successfully. Instead, why not take the help of a professional sole trader tax return accountant?
As a registered and experienced Tax Agent, Expert Tax assists you in putting together your worksheet to track all income and expenses, as well as the GST portions, daily.
Call us on 0449 952 855 (Williams Landing) or book an appointment with our experts for all your tax accounting solutions.