Latest News
PAYGW reminders for activity statement lodgments
The ATO will be sending certain employers a reminder to lodge their activity statements. The reminder will include the amounts the ATO has on record for them, such as: PAYG withheld amounts reported through Single Touch Payroll; and any other pre-filled amounts, including GST instalments and PAYG instalments (instalment amount option). The ATO’s reminders are […]
ATO AFCX data-matching program
The ATO will acquire relevant account and transaction data (data-matching) from the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange (‘AFCX’) for the 2025 to 2027 income years, including the following: Client identification details (names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, identity verification document details, IP addresses, etc); and Bank account transaction details (bank account details, transaction date and […]
Small Business Superannuation Clearing House is closing
The Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (‘SBSCH’) will close on 1 July 2026. Editor: The SBSCH is a free online service provided by the Australian Government through the ATO. The SBSCH can be used by employers to pay superannuation for all their employees through a single payment. The SBSCH will then distribute the money to […]
Getting the main residence exemption right
The ATO has the following tips for taxpayers in relation to the CGT main residence exemption. They should consider if they have bought or disposed of property in the past income year. If they have sold property, were they using it solely as their primary place of residence, earning income from it (rental or business), […]
Bill to reduce student debt now law
Legislation has recently been enacted which delivers on the 2025/26 Federal Budget announcement to reduce student debts. Pursuant to this legislation: there is a one-off 20% reduction to Higher Education Loan Program debts and other student loans that were incurred on or before 1 June 2025; the minimum repayment threshold is increased from $54,435 in […]
ATO to include tax ‘debts on hold’ in taxpayer account balances
From August 2025, the ATO is progressively including ‘debts on hold’ in relevant taxpayer ATO account balances. Editor: A ‘debt on hold’ is an outstanding tax debt where the ATO has previously paused debt collection actions. Tax debts will generally be placed on hold where the ATO decides it is not cost effective to collect […]
More COVID-19 business grants are now tax-free
The Federal Government has expanded the list of State and Territory COVID-19 grant programs that may be tax-free to eligible businesses. A State or Territory Government COVID-19 grant payment will generally be tax-free if: the payment is received under a grant program that is formally declared to be an eligible program; the recipient carried on […]
Tax Time Focus On Rental Property Income And Deductions
The ATO is focusing on four major concerns this tax season when it comes to rental properties. Concern 1: Include all rental income When preparing tax returns, make sure all rental income is included, such as from short-term rental arrangements, renting part of a home, and other rental-related income like insurance payouts and rental bond […]
Sessional Lecturer Entitled To Superannuation Support
The Federal Court has agreed with the ATO that a lecturer providing services to a higher education provider was a common law employee and therefore entitled to superannuation support, despite being engaged as an independent contractor. The ATO reviewed the situation and concluded that the lecturer was entitled to receive superannuation support. This was on […]
Discretionary Trusts And Corporate Beneficiaries
When a trustee of a trust makes a decision to create an entitlement to income of the trust in favour of a corporate beneficiary (i.e., a privately held company), certain steps need to be taken to ensure that if the entitlement to the distribution remains unpaid (that is, no cash equal to the amount of […]
Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment Reinstated
In recognition of the risks associated with more infectious new Covid-19 variants through the winter period, the Federal Government has agreed to reinstate the ‘Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment’ to 30 September 2022, which was otherwise set to end as of 30 June 2022. Eligibility for the payment will be backdated to 1 July 2022, to […]
ATO To Target Disposal of Assets Via ‘Wash Sales’ This Tax Time
The ATO is warning taxpayers to not engage in ‘asset wash sales’ to artificially increase their losses to reduce gains (or expected gains). Wash sales are a form of tax avoidance that the ATO is focussed on this tax time. Wash sales typically involve the disposal of assets (e.g., cryptocurrency and shares) just before the […]