As part of the 2023–24 Federal Budget handed down on 9 May 2023, the Government announced this lodgement penalty amnesty program for small businesses to get their tax obligations up to date.
The amnesty applies to overdue income tax returns, Business Activity Statements (BAS) and FBT returns that were originally due between the period
1 December 2019 and 28 February 2022.
Failure to lodge penalties will be automatically remitted for eligible late lodgements made via a tax agent and during the period 1 June to 31 December 2023.
Obligations to which the amnesty applies
For many small business taxpayers, these would equate to:
- Income tax returns for the 2018–19 and 2019–20 income years
- BAS (quarterly) for the December 2019 to December 2021 periods
- FBT returns for the 2019–20 and 2020–21 years
- Please bear in mind the amnesty does not apply to any interest charges which may be charged to overdue payments or to other administrative penalties such as penalties associated with the Taxpayer Payments Reporting System.
If you have fallen behind and need assistance to bring your lodgements up to date, give us a call to discuss. Ignoring the problem will only make the outcome worse.
