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 […]
Independent Review Service for Small Businesses Made Permanent
| | | Following a successful multi-year pilot, the ATO’s small business independent review service will be offered permanently as a dispute resolution option for eligible small businesses. ATO Deputy Commissioner Jeremy Geale said the service is all about ensuring small businesses are given the opportunity to achieve an independent, fast, free, and fair […]
Div.293 Concessional Contribution Assessments Have Been Issued
| | | The ATO has recently issued approximately 30,000 Division 293 assessments for the 2018/19 and 2019/20 financial years. Division 293 tax is an additional tax on super contributions, which reduces the tax concession for individuals whose combined income and contributions are greater than the Division 293 threshold (currently $250,000). Due to a […]
Cash Payment Limit Bill Shelved
| | | It appears that the Government has decided not to proceed with its proposal to limit cash payments in Australia to $10,000. This measure was originally raised as part of the 2018/19 Budget, and the Government subsequently introduced a Bill to the House of Representatives, proposing to make it an offence for […]
New FBT Retraining and Reskilling Exemption Available
Recent legislative amendments mean that employers who provide training or education to redundant (or soon to be redundant employees) may now be exempt from fringe benefits tax (‘FBT’). The ATO has reminded eligible employers that they can apply the exemption to retraining and reskilling benefits provided on or after 2 October 2020. There are […]
Avoiding Disqualification From SG Amnesty
The superannuation guarantee (‘SG’) amnesty ended on 7 September 2020. Employers who disclosed unpaid SG amounts and qualified for the amnesty are reminded that they must either pay in full any outstanding amounts they owe, or set up a payment plan and meet each ongoing instalment amount so as to avoid being disqualified and […]
Further STP Developments
In an indication of the far-reaching changes that Single Touch Payroll (‘STP’) will be bringing, Treasury has recently finished consulting on draft legislation that expands the data that may be collected through STP by the ATO (as announced in the 2019/20 Budget). The legislation, if enacted, will broaden the amounts that employers can voluntarily […]