Deadline approaching for millions of Aussies yet to file tax returns as ATO warns of $1650 penalty
Time is running out for millions of Aussies who are yet to meet this simple deadline – or risk penalties of up to $1650.
Millions of Aussies have been warned they have just weeks left to file their tax returns or face more than $1600 in penalties.
The call-out from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) was issued on Tuesday to more than two million taxpayers who are yet to lodge their income tax returns by the cut-off date of October 31.
More than 8.7 million taxpayers have already lodged their returns.
ATO Assistant Commissioner Rob Thomson said missing the deadline by the end of the month could result in a failure to lodge (FTL) on time penalty.
“There’s a bit of a myth that delaying lodgement of your tax return will buy you more time to pay – that’s not true,” Mr Thomson said.
“If you have prepared your own tax return and incur a tax bill, it will be due on November 21.”
A FTL on time penalty may be issued to taxpayers who have an obligation to lodge or report by the particular date and fail to do so.
It can include not lodging your tax return, reporting pay as you go (PAYG) instalments, goods and services (GST) or PAYG withholding on an activity statement by the due date.
For individuals, the FTL penalty is calculated at one penalty unit ($330), increasing by a single penalty unit for every 28-day period (or part thereof) that the return is overdue.
It caps out at five penalty units or $1650.
For medium entities – defined by the ATO as a medium withholder for PAYG withholding purposes or having assessable income or GST turnover of more than $1m and less than $20m – penalty units are multiplied by two.
“Remember, there are three golden rules for claiming a deduction for any work-related expense – you must have spent the money yourself and weren’t reimbursed, the expense must directly relate to earning your income and you must have a record of the purchase, usually in the form of a receipt, to prove it,” Mr Thomson said.
Of the 8.7 million who had filed their returns, Mr Thomson said more than 4.4 million self-lodged and more than 4.2 million lodged through a registered tax agent.
Originally published as Deadline approaching for millions of Aussies yet to file tax returns as ATO warns of $1650 penalty
