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 […]
SMSF Limited Recourse Borrowing Arrangements Interest Rates
| | | The ATO has confirmed that the following interest rates charged under a limited recourse borrowing arrangement (‘LRBA’) to an SMSF would be consistent with the safe harbour terms the ATO will accept for the 2021/22 financial year. Note that these rates are unchanged from those the ATO accepted for the 2020/21 […]
Introducing SMSF Rollover Alerts Using Superstream
| | | Since February 2020, the ATO has been issuing alerts via email and SMS when certain changes are made to a self-managed super fund (‘SMSF’). With the inclusion of SMSF rollovers in SuperStream, the ATO will send the fund an email and/or text message alert when the fund uses the SMSF verification […]
Lost, Damaged Or Destroyed Tax Records
| | | The ATO knows that many taxpayers are facing lasting impacts left in the wake of natural disasters, so if they find their records have been lost or destroyed, whether in cyclones, floods or bushfires, the ATO can help. According to ATO Assistant Commissioner Tim Loch: Government agencies, private health funds, financial […]
Government Payments Data-Matching Program
| | | The ATO’s government data matching for payments will acquire government payments data from government entities who administer government programs for 2017/18 to 2022/23 financial years. The data items include: service provider identification details (names, addresses, phone numbers, email, dates of birth, service type, ABN, ACN); and payment details (service provider ID, name […]
Preparing For The New Director ID Regime
| | | As part of its Digital Business Plan, the Government announced the full implementation of the ‘Modernising Business Registers’ program. This included recently enacted legislation introducing the new director identification number (‘director ID’) regime. The director ID is a unique identifier that a director will need to apply for once and will keep […]
Do You Use the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House?
| | | The ATO has advised employers intending to claim a tax deduction for super payments that they make for employees in the 2020/21 income year that any such payments must be accepted by the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (‘SBSCH’) on or before 23 June 2021. This allows processing time for the […]