News

The way the ATO applies and remits interest on unpaid tax debts is attracting close scrutiny. With the Tax Ombudsman now conducting a review into how these charges are managed, it’s an issue that may affect many taxpayers and small businesses already under financial pressure. We’re sharing the following article from AccountantsDaily, which outlines the...

The ATO will acquire relevant account and transaction data 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 amount,...

The Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (‘SBSCH’) will close on 1 July 2026. The SBSCH is a free online service provided by the Australian Government through the ATO and can be used by employers to pay superannuation for all their employees through a single payment. The SBSCH will then distribute the money to each employee’s...

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),...

From August 2025, the ATO is progressively including ‘debts on hold’ in relevant taxpayer ATO account balances. 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 the...

Since February 2023, the Australian government has been planning to introduce a new tax of 15% on a portion of “earnings” relating to total superannuation balances over $3 million. The idea was to inject some equity in a system with generous tax concessions weighted in favour of the wealthy. The tax change was proposed to...

Effective 1 July 2025, businesses can no longer claim income tax deductions for interest charges imposed by the ATO on unpaid or underpaid tax liabilities. This change applies to general interest charge (GIC) and shortfall interest charge (SIC) amounts incurred in income years starting on or after 1 July 2025. Previously, businesses could deduct ATO-imposed...

If you run a small or medium business, you know that financial accuracy’s important but sometimes mistakes can happen or information can change. Starting this year, though, you have more time to amend your return and get things right. Before this change, small and medium businesses generally had a two-year period from the date of...

Overview The Treasury Laws Amendment (Better Targeted Superannuation Concessions) Bill 2023 (Bill) proposes to insert new Division 296 (Div 296) into the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth) (ITAA) to impose an extra 15% on certain member’s superannuation balances. Broadly, from 1 July 2025, the Div 296 tax will apply where a member’s total superannuation balance (TSB) exceeds $3...

The way superannuation is paid may be about to undergo a significant transformation. The Labor government’s proposed “payday super” reforms would require employers to pay employees’ superannuation contributions within seven calendar days of every payday. Draft laws have been released for comment, and payday super is intended to apply from 1 July 2026, it’s important...