Choosing the Best Tax App for Your Situation

When it comes to doing your taxes, the right tax app can save you hours of time and help you claim every deduction you’re entitled to. But with so many tax tools on the market in Australia, it’s easy to get overwhelmed.

Whether you’re a sole trader, employee, investor or just trying to get your tax return sorted without losing your mind, this guide will help you choose the right tax app for your needs.

Let’s break it down.

1. Business Accounting Software

If you’ve been Googling “best tax app Australia,” chances are you’ve come across Xero, QuickBooks, and MYOB.

These are powerful tools, but they’re built for businesses, not individuals. They’re designed to meet the needs of companies with employees, payroll, and complex reporting requirements.

If you’re a sole trader managing one or multiple hustles, or a property investor wanting more control and real-time insights, these platforms might be overkill. Many of the features are adapted for individual use rather than built for it, which means you’ll be paying for tools that don’t quite work for your needs. And once the introductory pricing ends, the costs can escalate quickly.

Pricing:

• Xero: From $35/month
  
• QuickBooks: From $29/month
  
• MYOB: From $34/month
  

Best for: Businesses with payroll, employees, and complex financial reporting.

May not suit: Sole traders / side hustlers, property investors, or individuals looking for a simpler, more cost effective and tailored solution.

2. Tax Apps for Sole Traders

Tax apps like Hnry and Thriday were created to make tax easier for sole traders. You open one of their bank accounts, have your income paid in, and they automatically set aside money for tax and super. Some even lodge your BAS on your behalf.

It’s simple and relatively hands-off, but it also comes with limitations.

These tax apps work best when all your income and expenses are managed within their system. If you have other sources like property, investments, or side gigs, you’ll often need to manually add entries, and they might not integrate fully.

Plus, features like vehicle logs, home office tracking, and depreciation tools are typically absent or require extra apps. So if your setup is even a little more complex, you could quickly outgrow them.

Additionally, many services like Hnry assign you a specific in-house accountant rather than letting you choose your own, which limits your flexibility if you’d prefer to work with someone you already trust.

Pricing:

• Hnry: 1% of income (capped at $1,500/year)
  
• Thriday: From $29.95/month + lodgement fees
  

Best for: New sole traders with simple income and no need for tracking vehicle, home office or depreciation.

May not suit: Multi-income individuals, property investors, or anyone needing custom tracking.

3. Online Lodgement Platforms

If you just want to get your tax return lodged with a bit of help, Etax and H&R Block Online are worth a look.

These online tax agents let you enter your income and expenses, answer a few questions, and then a real person checks it before submitting to the ATO. It feels like doing your taxes online, but behind the scenes, it’s still the same old-fashioned manual process.

It’s great if you’re chasing a refund and want some peace of mind. But there’s no year-round visibility or tracking.  It’s a tax app built for lodgement, not for long-term tax management. It won’t help you keep up with growing ATO compliance requirements or plan ahead for future expenses.

Pricing:

• Etax: From $82.49 for a basic return
  
• H&R Block Online: From $109 for a basic return

Best for: Simple tax returns, one-time lodgement help.

May not suit: Those with investments, complex tax needs or anyone wanting to track deductions and tax positions year-round.

4. The ATO’s myDeductions App

The ATO’s myDeductions tax app lets you capture receipts, log work trips, and back up your records, but it’s still very hands-on. You need to remember to manually back everything up. If your phone crashes, is lost, or gets replaced, your data could vanish.

At tax time, you can upload your records directly to the ATO, but the catch is that everything is uploaded, even if you don’t intend to claim it. Once submitted, that information becomes part of the ATO’s data model, not just your tax return.

And unlike purpose-built tax apps, myDeductions doesn’t help you identify or maximise deductions. It’s purely a compliance tool, not a tax planning solution.

Pricing:

• Free

Best for: Basic record keeping.

May not suit: People who want automation, reporting, or multi-income support.

5. TaxTank: The All-in-One Tax App for Australians

If you want a tax app that works for your whole financial life, not just one part of it , then TaxTank is worth a look.

TaxTank is built specifically for Australians. It’s designed to help individuals, sole traders, property investors and share/crypto traders to manage their tax in real time 365 days a year, not just at tax time. TaxTank features smart tax tools and live bank feeds to eliminate guesswork, ensuring no deduction goes unnoticed with real-time accuracy. It stands out as a user-friendly, cloud-based tax app suitable for any tax situation.

Here’s what makes TaxTank stand out:

💰 For Everyone

• Know exactly how much tax you owe, live all year round
• Track your net worth with live tax and equity forecasts
• Connect bank accounts with live feeds for real-time visibility
• Track your HECS/HELP balance and repayments as part of your live tax position
• Plan smarter with a simple monthly budget tool
• Create rules to automate the allocation of recurring transactions
• Access a full range of live tax reports all year round
• Store and manage all your documents and receipts securely in the Spare Tank
• Invite your accountant or advisor anytime for easy collaboration
• Get your return done faster with clean, complete records
• Use the myTax report to self-lodge with confidence

👩‍💼 Employees

• See live tax calculations to track your estimated tax position year round
• Compare forecasted tax positions against actuals to help with planning
• Track income from trusts, partnerships, directors’ fees, government payments, and more
• Easily manage wage adjustments, like allowances and pre-tax deduction, for accurate reporting
• Allocate work-related expenses from live bank feeds so nothing gets missed
• Log hours and track apportioned expenses with a compliant home office diary
• Track kilometres and expenses with a compliant vehicle logbook
• Manage work-related assets over $300 with automated depreciation
• Use amortisation schedules to manage vehicle loans and interest expenses
• Store all work-related documents and receipts securely in the Spare Tank

🧾 Sole Traders

• Track your live tax position year round to avoid end-of-year surprises
• Manage multiple sole trader businesses under one subscription
• Create and send professional invoices in seconds
• Allocate business expenses from live bank feeds to make sure nothing is missed
• Track PSI income, labour hire, and other assessable income and expenses
• Manage business assets with automated depreciation and instant asset write-offs
• Track apportioned running and occupancy costs with a compliant home office diary
• Log kilometres and manage expenses with a compliant vehicle logbook
• Automate vehicle loan tracking with amortisation schedules
• Use the non-commercial loss calculator to check if losses can offset other income
• Automatically track carry-forward losses so nothing gets overlooked
• Access live BAS reporting to manage GST and ATO lodgements
• Separate primary production and non-primary businesses for accurate reporting
• View real-time business schedules and transaction reports to simplify tax time
• Store all sole trader business documents and receipts securely in the Spare Tank

🏡 Property Investors

• Manage all properties in one place using Portfolios, regardless of ownership structure
• Track income, expenses, tax, and cash positions in real time
• Monitor performance, including capital growth, LVR, and yields
• Maximise claims with automated depreciation
• Create DIY projects to manage structural improvements
• Automate borrowing expenses for loans and refinancing
• Create custom portfolios to track properties in trusts, companies, or your SMSF
• Easily calculate claim percentages for shared properties, including Airbnb, Stayz, and room rentals
• Track expenses in a custom land portfolio before your property is available to rent
• Use the real-time CGT calculator to see the impact on your tax return
• Update live property values and growth percentages, powered by CoreLogic
• Calculate borrowing power with the interactive Net Surplus Ratio report
• Access instant property tax reports to share with your accountant
• Connect with Sharesight to sync live property data in the Sharesight platform
• Store all property documents securely in the Spare Tank’s dedicated property folder

📈 Share & Crypto Investors

• Track the performance of shares, crypto, and unlisted assets in one place
• Automatically calculate CGT for shares, crypto, and other assets
• Manage income and expenses, including dividends, interest, and staking
• Create custom tickers to track unlisted assets or other investments
• Access live CGT reports year round
• Automatically track and carry forward capital losses to offset future gains
• Connect with Sharesight to sync your trade history

Pricing:

• From $6/month (with different tanks/modules available depending on your needs)

Best for: Sole traders, side hustlers, investors, employees, and anyone with multiple income streams who wants to stay tax-ready year-round.

May not suit: Those who prefer a once-a-year manual tax return and don’t need ongoing tracking or insights.

Final Thoughts: Which Tax App Should You Use?

The best tax app for you depends on what kind of taxpayer you are:

Ready to simplify your tax?

Check out TaxTank and see how it stacks up.

No more last-minute scrambling. Just live tax tracking, clear insights and better outcomes, all in the one tax app.