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 […]
Melbourne man sentenced to jail for attempting to defraud the ATO
A Wheelers Hill man was recently sentenced to three years and six months imprisonment for defrauding the ATO of nearly $35,000 and attempting to defraud the ATO of a further $458,000, following a joint investigation by the Australian Federal Police (‘AFP’) and ATO’s serious financial crime taskforce. The investigation began in June 2020, after the […]
New ATO guidance on “who is an employee?”
The ATO recently issued a ruling which explains when an individual is an ’employee’ of an entity for pay as you go (‘PAYG’) withholding purposes. A useful approach for establishing whether or not a worker is an employee of an engaging entity is to consider whether the worker is working in the business of the […]
Small business concessions
The ATO has recently issued a reminder that small business owners may be eligible for concessions on the amount of tax they ultimately pay. This depends on their business structure, their industry and their aggregated annual turnover. For example, small business owners who have an aggregated annual turnover of less than: $2 […]
FBT time is fast approaching!
The ATO has advised employers that ‘FBT time’ is just around the corner, and they need to stay on top of their fringe benefits tax (FBT) obligations. Employers need to ensure they have attended to the following matters this FBT time: Identify if they have an FBT liability regarding fringe benefits they […]
Super contribution caps to rise
The big news story for those contributing to super is that the contribution caps are set to increase from the 2025 income year. The concessional contribution cap will increase from $27,500 to $30,000. This ‘CC’ cap is broadly applicable to employer super guarantee contributions, personal deductible contributions and salary sacrificed contributions. The non-concessional contribution cap […]
Jail sentence for fraudulent developer
A developer who conspired to lodge fraudulent business activity statements has been convicted and sentenced to 10 years in jail with a non-parole period of six years and eight months. The developer was involved with two companies that formed part of a group known as the ‘Hightrade Group’ which developed properties such as a hotel […]