Documents & evidence

Lodgey distinguishes between documents and evidence. Understanding the difference helps you work with the agent more effectively.

Documents vs evidence

Documents are the files you upload — PDFs, images, CSVs, Excel files. They live in the Documents tab in the side panel. These are the physical proof the ATO sees.

Evidence items are the individual facts Lodgey extracts from those documents (and from email searches and conversation). Each evidence item has:

• A category (e.g., 02-Rental-Interest)
• A description (e.g., “ANZ home loan interest, account ending 4521”)
• An amount (e.g., $18,200)
• A status: confirmed, estimated, or needed
• A document link (if it came from an uploaded file)

The Live Report is driven by evidence items. If a fact isn’t filed as evidence, it won’t appear in the spreadsheet — even if Lodgey mentioned it in chat.

Evidence statuses

Status	Meaning	Colour
Confirmed	Backed by an uploaded document that’s been processed	Green
Estimated	Found in email, stated by the user, or inferred — no document yet	Yellow
Needed	Required by the ATO but no information at all	Pink

The goal is to move everything from needed → estimated → confirmed by uploading the corresponding documents.

How Lodgey processes a document

When you upload a file, here’s what happens:

1. Read — Lodgey calls process_document to extract the raw text/data
2. Extract — It identifies every tax-relevant line item (amounts, dates, names, account numbers)
3. Persist — It calls update_situation to save facts to the project’s tax situation
4. File — It calls file_evidence for each individual item, categorised and status-tagged
5. Update — The Live Report and Evidence tab update automatically
6. Follow up — Lodgey summarises what it found and suggests the next step

Supported document types

Type	What Lodgey extracts
PEXA settlement statement	Purchase/sale price, stamp duty, agent commission, rates adjustments, water, land tax, legal fees (10+ line items)
Rental agreement	Rent amount, frequency, lease dates, bond, property manager details
Loan statement	Account number, lender, balance, interest rate, interest charged, fees
Payslip	Employer name, ABN, gross pay, tax withheld, super, YTD totals
Depreciation schedule	Div 40 and Div 43 items, effective life, written-down values
Insurance renewal	Premium amount, cover period, property address
Rate notice	Council rates amount, financial year, property address
Bank CSV	Transaction-level detail, categorisable income and expenses
Prior tax return	Carried-forward losses, prior-year claims, taxpayer details

Evidence categories

Lodgey files evidence into ATO-aligned folders:

Code	Category	What goes here
01	Rental Income	Rental agreements, PM statements, letting authorities
02	Rental Interest	Loan statements, PEXA purchase settlements
03	Repairs & Maintenance	Tradesperson invoices — plumbing, electrical, painting
04	Depreciating Assets (Div 40)	Appliance/fixture invoices — aircon, dishwasher, carpet
05	Capital Works (Div 43)	Building cost, quantity surveyor schedule
06	Other Rental Deductions	Insurance, rates, land tax, PM fees, pest control, cleaning
07	Work-Related Expenses	AI subscriptions, devices, software, home office
08	Supporting Documents	Prior tax returns, ATO notices, NOAs
09	Capital Gains	ALL evidence for sold properties — contracts, PEXA sale, improvement invoices
10	Employment	Payslips, contracts, salary CSVs (subfolder per employer)

Naming convention

Lodgey names evidence files following the pattern:

{Supplier}-{Description}-{Amount}.{ext}

For sold properties, the property name is prefixed:

Thornhill-Park-PEXA-Settlement.pdf