Tax season can be a particularly laborious, complicated and tedious time for most people, but an extra chore for sole traders who have to handle their own paperwork. Research from Hnry, an Australasian digital accounting service for sole traders, shows that the average independent earner spends eight hours and $1000 preparing their tax return, alongside seven hours every week on financial admin – with many procrastinating until the last minute.
With the tax return deadline just one month away (31 October if self-lodged), Hnry shares five common mistakes that creative sole trader Aussies often make:
Thuy On is the Reviews and Literary Editor of ArtsHub and an arts journalist, critic and poet who’s written for a range of publications including The Guardian, The Saturday Paper, Sydney Review of Books, The Australian, The Age/SMH and Australian Book Review. She was the Books Editor of The Big Issue for 8 years and a former Melbourne theatre critic correspondent for The Australian.
She has three collections of poetry published by the University of Western Australian Press (UWAP): Turbulence (2020), Decadence (2022) and Essence (2025).
Threads: @thuy_on123 Instagram: poemsbythuy
