Outstanding tax debts? ATO warns about disclosure to Credit Rating Agencies

The ATO has shifted its focus from providing assistance with tax through the pandemic to now re-establishing the culture of businesses paying their tax debts on time.

Beginning from July 2023, The ATO has issued notices of intent to disclose business tax debts of more than 22,000 businesses with a tax debt of at least $100,000 that is overdue by more than 90 days, to credit rating agencies (CRAs).

Disclosure of business tax debts

The ATO may report your business tax debt if it meets the following criteria:

• you have an ABN and your business in not an excluded entity
• you have one or more tax debts and at least $100,000 is overdue by more than 90 days
• you are not engaging with the ATO to manage your tax debt
• you don't have an active complaint with the Inspector-General of Taxation Ombudsman (IGTO) about our intent to report your tax debt information.

The Commissioner has urged taxpayers, with outstanding debts, to engage with the ATO to not risk their business’s tax debts becoming visible in credit rating checks.

Intent to disclose notice – next steps

Section 255-15 of the Tax Administration Act 1953 empowers the Commissioner to enter into an arrangement with an entity which has, or which is expected to have, a tax-related liability, whereby the entity may pay the liability by instalments.

Businesses need to pay their debt or enter into an appropriate payment arrangement within 28 days of when the intent to disclose notice was issued to prevent disclosure.

In October 2023, more than 9,000 businesses are expected to have their debts disclosed and the ATO expects to issue 50,000 notices of intent to disclose by the end of 2023–24 financial year. A disclosed debt can impact your business’s ability to receive finance and your business may also lose suppliers.

Contact us

If you have received a notice of intent or have a tax debt of $100,000 or more that is overdue by more than 90 days, as your BAS Agent we can assist you in engaging/re-engaging with the ATO and help create an arrangement or payment plan that best suits your current and future financial position.

Should you have any other queries, please feel free to contact our office.

Avoid ATO’S increased tax penalties

As the ATO directs its attention towards taxpayers grappling with unresolved tax lodgements and debts, it's crucial to understand how to steer clear of facing heightened penalty rates in the upcoming fiscal year of 2023–24. 

In this article, we explore strategies to help you manage your financial compliance and minimise the impact of these changes on your obligations.

Increased Scrutiny on High-Value Outstanding Debts

The ATO (Australian Taxation Office) has received increased funding to intensify its scrutiny on taxpayers with high-value outstanding debts and aged debts. If you're among the following categories, it's time to take note:

• Public and multinational groups with an aggregate turnover surpassing $10 million.
• Privately owned groups or individuals controlling a net wealth exceeding $5 million.

The goal is to ensure that outstanding debts over $100,000 and aged debts older than two years are properly addressed. 

Rising Penalty Rates: What You Need to Know

As of 1 July 2023, the Commonwealth penalty unit rate has seen another increase, now resting at $313 per unit. This change follows a previous increase in January 2023 from $222 to $275.

What does this mean for you? 

If you fall behind on your tax lodgements, expect more substantial financial penalties.

These penalties may apply to late lodgements of various returns and reports, including but not limited to:

• activity statements
• income tax returns
• FBT returns
• PAYG withholding annual reports
• single touch payroll reports
• annual GST returns and information reports
• taxable payment annual reports.

For small businesses, these penalty rates translate to base penalties ranging from $313 (1 penalty unit) to $1,565 (5 penalty units) for every 28 days a lodgement is overdue.

Lodgement Penalty Amnesty for Small Businesses

There is some good news for small businesses facing overdue income tax returns, fringe benefits tax returns, or business activity statements. 

The ATO is extending a helping hand through a lodgement amnesty, valid until 31 December 2023.

Announced as part of the 2023–24 Budget, this amnesty covers tax obligations originally due between 1 December 2019 and 28 February 2022. 

Eligibility is granted to small businesses with an aggregated turnover of less than $10 million at the time the original lodgement was due.

Navigating the Changes: Your Next Steps

To avoid the pitfalls of revised, higher penalty rates, it's crucial to ensure you provide us with all necessary information well before the lodgement due date. This will ensure your lodgements are completed on time, safeguarding you from unnecessary penalties.

Should you anticipate any delays, we recommend engaging with the ATO and communicating your situation. We're here to assist you in requesting lodgement due date extensions, applying for remissions, or even establishing payment plans to manage your tax debts effectively.

Small businesses have the opportunity to benefit from the lodgement penalty amnesty, allowing you to submit eligible overdue forms before 31 December 2023. The ATO will automatically remit any associated failure-to-lodge penalties.

At First Class Accounts Ovens and Murray, we're here to guide you through these changes.  Should you have any questions please contact us.

Get Your Business Records Ready for Your Tax Return 2023

Organising your documents now will mean you can work with your Tax Agent to get your tax return completed earlier and access any refunds due or start planning for tax payments.

Getting your business records up to date and accurate will allow us to work with you and your Tax Agent proactively to plan for the coming year.

What Records do you Need to Have Ready for the Tax Agent?

• Have you bought or sold assets? If so, you need full details of acquisitions and disposals.
• Have you taken out a new loan or other finance? You must have details of the finance arrangements and statements of monies owing at 30 June.
• Check that any bonds or deposits paid or received have been allocated correctly.
• Have you prepaid for insurance or other large business expenses that need to be apportioned to the following financial year? Make note of the portion applicable to the current financial year.
• Do you carry stock? If so, you need to perform a full stocktake at 30 June (unless you qualify for the simplified trading stock rules).
  List any doubtful or bad debts to be written off.
• Review your debtors and creditors (accounts payable and receivable). Is the list current and correct?
• Do you have loans with related entities? Reconcile the loans to and from each entity to ensure the same value is reported in the accounts of both entities.
• Ensure that all payments to company directors have been correctly captured.
• Provide records of any government grants received during the year.
• Contact details of business owners and key personnel if any have changed.

We will let you know if there are other matters to discuss with your Tax Agent before completing your tax return, such as cryptocurrency transactions, capital gains, vehicle usage, private usage apportionment or superannuation. There may also be new elements to discuss if you have received grants, refunds, credits or deferrals of business expenses and liabilities.

Remember you need to keep all your business records for seven years, so store everything securely and where possible electronically for safety and ease. We recommend integrating Apps, such as Dext, into your cloud accounting. Talk to us about integrating Dext into your business.

Once you have all your records for the 2023 financial year, make an appointment with your Tax Agent to schedule in your tax return for prompt lodgement.

Which business expenses can you claim against tax?

Incurring expenses is an unavoidable fact of running a business. But which expenses can you claim tax deductions against and which don’t meet the tax-free criteria?

Here’s our lowdown on which expenses you can claim against tax.

Which business expenses can you claim deductions against?

If your business expense is directly related to earning your assessable income then you should be able to claim a tax deduction against this particular cost.

For example, everyday business expenses that you may be eligible include:

• Your day-to-day operating expenses
• The purchases of products or services you’ve made for your business
• Certain capital expenses, such as the cost of depreciating assets like machinery and equipment used in your business.

The amount of a deduction (and when you can claim it) will vary, based on the type of expenses you’re claiming. You can find out more on the Australian Tax Office (ATO) website here.

There are three basic rules for checking the your expense claim is a valid business deduction – and that it won’t be challenged by the ATO.

1. The expense must have been for your business, available as an allowable deduction and not for private use.
2. If the expense is for a mix of business and private use, you can only claim the portion that is used for your business.
   You must have records to prove that the expense was incurred.

Which business expenses can you NOT claim?

As we’ve explained, you can claim a deduction against most business expenses that are incurred as part of your day-to-day revenue-generation activities. But there are some business expenses you cannot claim against tax.

These non-tax-deductible expenses include:

• traffic fines you receive
• private or domestic expenses, such as childcare fees or clothes for your family
• expenses relating to earning income that is not assessable
• Non-compliant payments – payments for which you have not met your PAYG withholding or reporting obligations -
  the GST component of a purchase if you can claim it as a GST credit on your business activity statement.
• Generally you cannot claim a deduction for the cost of capital assets that are dealt with under the capital gains tax rules, although there are some exceptions.
• Your deductions may be limited for expenses incurred in relation to personal services income (PSI) if the PSI rules apply to that income.

This isn’t an exhaustive list of tax-deductible expenses. There will be various ways to claim your operational expenses against the relevant reliefs and incentives offered by the ATO. It's best to seek professional advice from your accountant to understand your options. 

If you’re looking to cut back your costs we can help. Talk to us about your regular operational expenses and we’ll work with you to find the important reliefs, incentives and allowances that can be claimed.

Get in touch to start reducing your expenses.

Tax Tips for small businesses 2022

Common Tax Deductions for Small Business

Are you claiming all the business tax deductions that you are entitled to?

There are many expenses common to most small business, and there are other expenses that are specific to the nature of the goods or services that your business provides.

• Operating expenses include accounting, administration, advertising and marketing, office premises, office running expenses, trading stock, legal fees, insurance and vehicle expenses.
• Employment expenses include salary and wages, fringe benefits, superannuation and training costs.
• Other operating expenses may include things specific to your business, for example point of sale systems, freight, professional membership fees, professional education, protective equipment, tools or specialised software.
• Capital expenses include machinery and equipment, vehicles, furniture and computers. Depreciation for these assets may also be deductible if the expense was not written off immediately.
• Repairs and maintenance to assets and business premises.

Expenses must relate to the running of the business and providing the goods or services that your business offers.

Some common expenses that are not deductible are fines and penalties, provisions for employee leave, donations to entities not registered as deductible gift recipients and entertainment.

There may be some expenses you want to check such as private usage of business vehicles, prepaid expenses, bad debts, loss of stock and borrowing expenses. 

What’s on the ATO Radar for 2022?

This year the ATO will be taking a closer look at record keeping, work related expenses, rental property income and deductions and cryptocurrency transactions.

• Keep records for all business transactions (income and expenses), activity statements and financial reports for at least five years.
• Keep all records relating to employees, contractors and payroll for at least five years.
• If your business is a company, keep all records for at least five years, including director meeting minutes.

Other Common Tax Return Issues

Work-related travel expenses

Travel fares, accommodation, meals. The travel should be directly related to income producing activities and you need records to verify the travel claims.

Motor vehicle expenses

Keep records for fuel, repairs and servicing, finance arrangements, insurance and registration. Keep a logbook to record private travel.

Fringe benefits

Have you captured all benefits provided to employees? Vehicle and entertainment benefits are usually scrutinised. This year you’ll need records of any extra benefits provided to employees because of COVID-19.

Superannuation

Have you paid the superannuation guarantee on time to employees’ super funds? The ATO will examine your Single Touch Payroll records including superannuation payments.

Current temporary tax depreciation incentives

There are currently three temporary tax depreciation incentives available to eligible businesses:

• Temporary full expensing - for assets you start to hold, and first use (or have installed ready for use) for a taxable purpose, from 7.30pm (AEDT) on 6 October 2020 to 30 June 2023.
• Increased instant asset write-off - if the asset was purchased by 31 December 2020, and first used or installed ready for use before 30 June 2021. The threshold remains at $150,000.
• Backing business investment.

Talk to your accountants about what applies for your business.

Get Your Business Records Ready for Your Tax Return 2022

Organising your documents now will mean you can get your tax return completed earlier and access any refunds due or start planning for tax payments.

Getting your business records up to date and accurate will allow us to work with you proactively to plan for the coming year, which will continue to be unusual (and possibly difficult) for many.

It will also be one less thing to do when your normal business activity resumes later in the year!

What Records do you Need to Have Ready for your Tax Agent?

• Have you bought or sold assets? If so, you need full details of acquisitions and disposals.
• Have you taken out a new loan or other finance? You must have details of the finance arrangements and statements of monies owing at 30 June.
• Check that any bonds or deposits paid or received have been allocated correctly.
• Have you prepaid for insurance or other large business expenses that need to be apportioned to the following financial year? Make note of the portion applicable to the current financial year.
• Do you carry stock? If so, you need to perform a full stocktake at 30 June (unless you qualify for the simplified trading stock rules).
• List any doubtful or bad debts to be written off.
• Review your debtors and creditors (accounts payable and receivable). Is the list current and correct?
• Do you have loans with related entities? Reconcile the loans to and from each entity to ensure the same value is reported in the accounts of both entities.
• Ensure that all payments to company directors have been correctly captured. Talk to us now if you want to make director payments before 30 June.
• Provide records of any government grants received for COVID-19 or natural disaster impacts on your business.
• Gather records of any COVID-19 related benefits that were provided to staff this financial year as there may be fringe benefits implications.
• If contact details of business owners and key personnel have changed let us know.

This year, there may also be new elements to discuss with your accountant if you have received grants, refunds, credits or deferrals of business expenses and liabilities.

Remember you need to keep all your business records for five years, so store everything securely and where possible electronically for safety and ease.

ATO Line of credit ending

As new reporting powers come into play, businesses are being warned against using the ATO as an alternative line of credit.

Debt Reporting Powers

In 2019, the ATO was afforded new debt reporting powers. While this took a backseat to the Covid-19 pandemic, the ATO is now cracking down on outstanding tax debt. 

Businesses without a payment plan, that are more than 90 days in arrears, and who owe more than $100,000 in tax are more likely to be reported to credit agencies by the ATO.

Impact on credit rating

In the past, business owners have sometimes used the ATO like a ‘line of credit’ by not paying their ATO commitments on time.

Taking this road is much more likely to have an adverse impact on your credit ratings and credit insurance limits. This, in turn, makes it more difficult to maintain or extend credit terms with suppliers.

Therefore, it's important to maintain a high level of communication with your creditors. 

Staying on the front foot

As business owners, if you owe tax, it's vital that you stay on the front foot with this ATO crackdown. We suggest you seek the advice of your BAS agent.

First Class Accounts Ovens and Murray, as your BAS Agent, are able to advocate on your behalf to deal with the ATO.

As Busy01 Consulting, we can also to assist with:

• preparing a business plan
• management advice
• cash-flow planning and projection
• systems development
• business expansion
• budget development
• trading-structure planning.

Get in touch to discuss which options are best for your business. 

Work From Home Shortcut Claim Extended

Good news if you work from home.

The shortcut method* for calculating work from home deductions has now been extended to 30 June 2021. (*Practical compliance guideline PCG 2020/3.)

The guideline covers working from home and incurring additional running expenses in relation to your income-producing activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Originally introduced in April 2020, the guideline was first due to expire on 30 June 2020 (which was then extended to September 2020, and then to the end of December 2020). Interestingly, unlike previous extensions, the PCG no longer states whether further consideration will be given to extend the latest end date.

The shortcut method

The shortcut method contained in the PCG provides a rate of 80 cents per hour for running expenses and only requires taxpayers to keep a record of the number of hours worked from home. This could be in the form of timesheets, rosters, a diary or similar document that sets out the dates and hours worked. A notation stating “COVID-hourly rate” will need to be placed next to your deduction for home office expenses in the 2019/20 and 2020-21 return.

All told, the PCG now applies from 1 March 2020 to 30 June 2021. Taxpayers eligible to use this new shortcut method are employees and business owners who:

• work from home to fulfil their employment duties or to run their business during the period from 1 March 2020 to 30 June 2021 and
• incur additional running expenses that are deductible under s 8-1 or Div. 40 of the ITAA 1997.
  Running expenses include: electricity, gas, computer consumable such as printer ink, cleaning expenses, telephone, internet, depreciation on computers and other equipment (e.g. chairs, desks, filing cabinets).

Taxpayers who use this method, cannot claim any other expenses for working from home for that period.

Example

Jay is an employee who is working from home as a result of COVID-19. He purchases a computer on 5 April 2021 for $900. He marks in his diary when he commences and finishes work each day and also the length on any breaks he takes. All told, from his records he calculates that he worked 355 hours through to 30 June 2021.

Provided he retains his diary entries and receipt for the computer purchase, Jay’s 2020-21 deduction under the new shortcut method is $284 (355 hours x 80 cents).

Claims for working from home expenses prior to 1 March 2020 cannot be calculated using the shortcut method, and must use the pre-existing methods as follows:

Method 2 - the fixed rate method. 

Under this method, you claim all of the following:

• a rate of 52 cents per work hour to cover heating, cooling, lighting, cleaning and depreciation of office furniture
• the work-related portion of your actual phone and internet expenses, computer consumables, stationery, etc
• the work-related portion of depreciation on a computer, laptop or similar device.

Method 3 – the actual cost method. 

Under this method, you claim the actual work-related portion of all your running expenses, which need to be calculated on a reasonable basis.

The methods are not mutually exclusive across the financial year. It may be the case that you use more than one method during 2019-20 and 2020-21.

For example, you could choose methods 2 or 3 for the period July 2020 through to February 2021, and then choose the shortcut method for the period from March through to the end of June 2021.

Feel free to talk to us if you need more information.

Reporting PAYGW Correctly 

PAYG and claiming tax deductions

From July 1 2019, If you don’t meet PAYG withholding obligations for your workers, by not withholding tax from their payments and not reporting it to the ATO, you could lose your tax deduction.

This will apply to income tax returns lodged for the 2020 financial year and beyond.

If you withhold tax from payments to workers, you must withhold the required amount and report correctly to the ATO in order to receive a tax deduction for your business.

PAYG withholding and reporting obligations apply to payments for:

Withholding rules still apply to cash payments. Similarly, for non-cash payments such as property or exchange of services, withholding rules still apply even if your worker agrees to receive a non-cash payment in place of money.

PAYGW

The payment of PAYGW to the ATO is a separate issue. The new rules are aimed at getting employers to report correctly and on time. Once you have reported an amount to the ATO, they expect payment of that obligation by the due date.

If you make an honest mistake, such as treating an employee as a contactor, you won’t be penalised. You can correct your mistake by lodging a voluntary disclosure

Talk to us

Contact us to review your PAYGW reporting obligations.