With the most significant changes to Australia's tax system in decades now on the table, CPA Australia is urging taxpayers to stop turning to social media and AI tools for guidance — and the ATO's own data shows exactly what the cost of getting it wrong looks like.
CPA Australia tax lead Jenny Wong (pictured) flagged that the 2026–27 federal budget has introduced reforms — spanning capital gains tax (CGT), negative gearing, and discretionary trust income — that are too complex and too consequential to be navigated without qualified advice. The scale of those changes is already reshaping investor behaviour, with many clients actively reconsidering their portfolio structures.
"With major changes proposed across capital gains tax, property investment and trust structures, it would be very unwise to rely on generalised advice from social media or AI tools," Wong said. "The rules are becoming more complex and more nuanced."
The ATO's own numbers underscore the risk of getting tax wrong in any year. During 2024–25, its data-matching program adjusted more than 595,000 individual returns for missing income, overstated deductions, and other errors — and taxpayers who lodged before pre-fill data became available were more than twice as likely to face an amendment. This year, with sweeping reforms in play, the margin for error is narrower still.
Wong was particularly pointed about online commentary encouraging people to restructure into self-managed super funds in response to the proposed CGT changes.
"It's one thing to promote potential tax savings, but a minute and a half of online commentary rarely captures critical considerations like preservation rules, trustee obligations and long-term compliance," she said.
The proposed changes are not yet law — a minimum 30% tax on capital gains is slated for July 2027, with discretionary trust reforms following in July 2028 — but the legislation has cleared the lower house and received Senate committee endorsement, with a Senate vote expected before Parliament rises on 2 July, and Ms Wong's point is that the window to seek proper guidance is open now, not once the rules are locked in.
"Tax law doesn't operate in headlines or short-form videos — and it certainly can't be applied correctly without understanding the full detail and how the rules interact," she said.
CPA Australia is urging anyone with investments, property, or trust structures to consult a registered tax agent this year. Wong noted the cost of that advice is itself tax deductible — and that if an incorrect return is lodged based on bad online guidance, the taxpayer, not the influencer, wears the consequences.
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