News

The Administrative Review Tribunal (‘ART’) recently held that medical expenses incurred by a taxpayer to obtain (or regain) employment were not deductible as they were not incurred in gaining or producing his assessable income. The taxpayer was an airplane pilot.  In July 2021, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority advised the taxpayer of the steps that...

Businesses that pay contractors for ‘Taxable payments reporting system services’ may need to lodge a ‘Taxable payments annual report’ (‘TPAR’) by 28 August each year. This includes businesses paying contractors in the building and construction, cleaning and IT industries (among others). The ATO will apply penalties to businesses that have not lodged their TPAR from...

Keeping a car logbook may be required to accurately calculate the business-use percentage of vehicle expenses (e.g., fuel, registration, insurance and depreciation) for tax deductions. Taxpayers can keep the same logbook for their car for five years, but there are circumstances where they may need a new one during that period. Relying on a logbook...

The ATO is actively using departure prohibition orders (‘DPOs’) as part of a broader shift towards strengthening payment performance and debt collection.  A DPO is an enforcement action available to the ATO to prevent certain persons with tax liabilities from leaving Australia without paying their outstanding tax. Since July 2025, the ATO has issued 21...

The ATO is reminding employers that they must pay super guarantee (‘SG’) contributions for eligible employees. Employers need to pay a minimum of 12% (the current SG rate as from 1 July 2025) of each employee’s ordinary time earnings into a complying super fund on a quarterly basis (the due date for the March 2026...

The Administrative Review Tribunal (‘ART’) recently held that a taxpayer had carried on an enterprise of dog breeding for GST purposes. He had lodged activity statements for the quarters ended 30 September 2018 to 31 December 2021 inclusive, claiming input tax credits (‘ITCs’) for the dog breeding activities he carried on from his home (among...

Taxpayers should note that GST credits and fuel tax credits will expire if not claimed within the 4-year credit time limit (i.e., generally four years from the due date of the original BAS in which the taxpayer could have claimed them). Once credits expire, the ATO has no discretion or ability to amend the assessment...

The ATO has advised that it will acquire child support data from Services Australia for the 2025 to 2027 income years, including the following: client identification details (names, addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth); and child support details (child support identification reference number, child support role type, and child support category). The ATO estimates...

The ATO is warning the community to steer clear of an emerging tax scheme involving barter credits — a type of alternative currency used in some business networks. A tax scheme that involves artificially inflating deductions for donations of barter credits to deductible gift recipients (‘DGRs’) is on the rise.  While it may seem enticing,...

The ATO has announced that it will take a somewhat different approach in relation to expenses that are claimed in relation to holiday homes. Broadly, the ATO now takes the view that, if a taxpayer’s rental property is also their holiday home, certain deductions relating to holding it will be completely denied (rather than being...