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 […]
Improvements to be Made to Full Expensing Measure
| | | The government will expand eligibility for the temporary ‘full expensing measure’, which temporarily allows certain businesses to deduct the full cost of eligible depreciable assets in the year they are first used or installed. The government initially announced in the 2020/21 Budget that businesses with a turnover of up to $5 […]
ATO Data Matching Program – Visa
| | | The ATO will acquire visa data from the Department of Home Affairs for 2020/21 through to 2022/23, relating to approximately 10 million individuals for each financial year. The data will be used to identify non-compliance with obligations under taxation and superannuation laws, including registration, lodgment, reporting and payment responsibilities.
Employees on JobKeeper can Satisfy the ‘Work Test’
| | | The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (‘APRA’) has confirmed that, where an employer is receiving the JobKeeper wage subsidy for an individual, superannuation funds should consider the individual to be ‘gainfully employed’ for the purpose of the ‘work test’, even if that individual has been fully stood down and is not actually […]
Deferrals of Interest Due to COVID-19
| | | Many lenders have recently allowed borrowers with investment property loans to defer repayments for a period of time. While repayments are being deferred, interest (and fees) will usually be added to the loan balance (i.e., the deferred interest will be ‘capitalised’). However, it is important to recognise in such situations that, […]
Simplified Home Office Expense Deduction Claims Due to COVID-19
| | | Given that many Australians continue to work from home due to COVID-19, the ATO has updated its Practical Compliance Guideline which allows taxpayers working from home to claim a rate of 80 cents per hour, by keeping a record of the number of hours they have worked from home, rather than […]
Companies Holding Meetings And Signing Documents Electronically
| | | The Government has made another determination extending the timeframe within which companies can hold meetings electronically and enabling electronic signatures to be used, to relieve companies from problems they face due to the Coronavirus situation. This determination is intended to be in effect until (and will be repealed from) 22 March […]