The Australian Taxation Office has collated important information for small businesses to keep in mind while planning for the end of the financial year.
Please note that all advice is general in nature, and you should always discuss your individual circumstances with an accountant or the ATO.
Is your small business tax time ready?
With tax time fast approaching, now is a good time to check if there are any tax-deductible items your business may need or any concessions that can be accessed before 30 June.
You could be eligible for simplified depreciation rules, immediate deductions for pre-paid expenses or temporary full expensing. These can help you reduce your tax bill and some may also save you time.
End-of-year finalisation through Single Touch Payroll (STP)
Employers must finalise their employees’ STP data by 14 July. If you have closely held payees, you may have a later due date for those payees only.
Remember to finalise all employees you’ve paid and to double-check you’re finalising STP data for the 2022 – 23 financial year – particularly if doing so in the first few days of July.
Taxable payments annual report
As you prepare for the new financial year, it’s time to check whether you need to lodge a Taxable payments annual report for payments made to contractors for certain services.
Prepare for your TPAR by keeping records of contractor payments and get ready to lodge by 28 August to avoid penalties for failing to lodge on time. If you don’t need to lodge, submit a Non-lodgement advice to let us know and avoid unnecessary follow-up. The ATO’s website has more information about who needs to report and how to lodge.
ATO PAYGW pre-fill is coming to activity statements
As an employer, you need to report your pay-as-you-go (PAYG) withholding information every time you pay your employees through Single Touch Payroll (STP).
From July 2023, the ATO will use the amounts you report through STP to pre-fill labels W1 and W2 in your activity statements in ATO online services.
ATO PAYG withholding pre-fill will be available from the:
• July activity statement for monthly PAYG withholders
• September activity statement for quarterly PAYG withholders.
ATO PAYG withholding pre-fill will appear when your activity statement is made available in ATO online services.
There may be times when you need to correct pre-fill. You will be able to change pre-filled amounts to match your records. Remember, your software and payroll records are your main source of data.
You should continue to complete any remaining labels on your activity statement before you lodge and pay (where applicable), as you do now.
Does your small business have overdue lodgements?
The small business lodgement penalty amnesty can help you bring your overdue income tax returns, business activity statements (BAS), and fringe benefits tax (FBT) returns up to date. For lodgements eligible for the amnesty, failure to lodge penalties will be remitted, without the need to apply. To be eligible for the amnesty, you must meet the following criteria:
• had an annual turnover of less than $10 million at the time the original lodgment was due
• have overdue income tax returns, business activity statements or fringe benefits tax returns that were due between 1 December 2019 and 28 February 2022
• lodge those overdue forms between 1 June and 31 December 2023.
The amnesty does not apply to privately owned groups, or individuals controlling over $5 million of net wealth.
Is your business facing insolvency?
Protect yourself by seeking specialist advice from a qualified and registered insolvency practitioner.
Watch out for advisers who suggest illegal Phoenix activity. This means liquidating or abandoning your business and reopening it under a new name to avoid paying your debts. Following this advice will make things much worse, and can result in a fine, criminal conviction or even jail.
