Accounting marketing
Tax time
marketing.
Tax time marketing is about timing and capacity. Individual returns open 1 July and self-preparers must lodge by 31 October, while clients of registered agents get later dates under the lodgment program. The ATO's figures show more self-prepared returns than agent returns lodged by late September, even though agents lodge most returns over a full year. Market hardest when people are deciding, aim at the clients you most want, and stop advertising before your team is full.
Written by Dan Picken, a marketer who checks the sources. Last checked 2 November 2026.The dates that
drive demand.
Individual returns are due 31 October if people lodge themselves. Under the registered agent lodgment program, prior-year returns still outstanding are due 31 October, and new clients must be added to your client list by 31 October to get program dates. Clients with a larger tax bill are due 31 March, and most others 15 May (5 June if paid by then).
Business clients add the quarterly BAS dates: 28 October, 28 February, 28 April and 28 July.
Who's looking,
and when.
The ATO publishes lodgment numbers through tax time. By 24 September 2026, over 4.2 million self-prepared returns had been lodged, against over 3.7 million by agents. Over a full year, agents lodge most returns, so their work runs well past October.
For marketing, that means two waves. July to October for people deciding whether to do it themselves, and a longer tail for agent clients and businesses.
How many can
you take?
Advertising into a full calendar wastes money and annoys people who then wait weeks. Put in your team's numbers.
Capacity planner
How many new clients
can you actually take?
Advertising into a full calendar wastes money and annoys people. Put in your team's numbers. The starting ones are made up.
Room for new returns
-
What to
say.
Speak to the reasons people stop doing it themselves: a new rental property, starting a side business, a first year with shares or crypto, or a letter from the ATO. Those are the moments a return gets complicated.
Avoid promising refunds. The ATO has warned people about promises of bigger refunds and shortcuts. Promise what you control instead: a thorough review, a clear fee, and a date it'll be done.
Where to
spend it.
Search first. People deciding whether to use an agent search for it, often on a phone, often close to a deadline. Hire-ready searches and your Google Business Profile carry most of the tax-time work. The Google Ads page covers keeping do-it-yourselfers out.
Then your own clients. Last year's clients are the cheapest returns you'll get this year. A reminder in June with what to bring, and a booking link, fills the calendar before you spend a dollar on ads.
Social ads can help for specific situations, like first-time investors or new sole traders, but they rarely beat search and reminders at tax time. Keep them small and aimed at one kind of client.
And track calls. Many tax-time enquiries come by phone, and without call tracking nobody knows which ad or listing made the phone ring.
After
tax time.
The quiet months are when advisory work and business clients are won. Year-end planning conversations in May and June often lead to the most valuable relationships.
And ask for referrals when the news is good, right after the return is lodged. The referral calculator shows what that's worth.
What I see most often
What I'd check first
at tax time.
- 1
Ads running when the firm is full
Budget spent in October bringing enquiries nobody can take on.
- 2
'Maximum refund' messages
Promises nobody can keep, which also attract the wrong clients.
- 3
No plan for the quiet months
All the marketing in July to October, nothing aimed at business and advisory clients the rest of the year.
The honest bit. The planner is only as good as your numbers. Count how many returns each person really finishes in a busy week, not a good one.
Questions
people ask.
When is tax time in Australia?
The financial year ends 30 June, and individual returns can be lodged from 1 July. Self-preparers must lodge by 31 October; clients of registered agents may have later dates.
When should accountants advertise for tax time?
From late June into October for individuals, while you can take on work, and around the lodgment program and BAS dates for business clients.
Can accountants promise a bigger refund?
It's best avoided. No one controls the size of a refund, and the ATO has warned people about such promises.
What are the BAS due dates?
For quarterly lodgers: 28 October, 28 February, 28 April and 28 July.
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