ATO TARGET LIST For 2015 Individual Tax Returns
The ATO will pay particular attention to the following areas when processing the 2015 Individual Tax Returns:
Data Matching items to be matched from the ATO data sources to each individual tax return:
The ATO will run matching programs to ensure that all payment summaries from employers, interest received, dividends received, distributions received from managed funds, partnership distributions, trust distributions, payments from a business to a contractor and government benefits received are included in each and every return. In addition Private Health Fund details on each return will be checked against data submitted by the health funds.
These checks are not usually done at the time of lodgement, but up to 24 months after the lodgement date.
Three new wide ranging data matching programs will be instituted:
The ATO has obtained data from online selling sites, such as Ebay, to determine all individuals who have sold goods and services to the value of $10000 or more from the 2012 financial year onwards. Those individuals will be asked why the information was not included on their tax returns and will have to prove to the ATO that they were not running a business. If the ATO deems that it is a business, the income will have to be declared from the client records. If those records are not available the ATO will issue assessments based on industry benchmarks. Any taxpayer who have omitted including the Online Selling Income should amend the tax returns involved and ensure inclusion of the 2015 financial year income and expenses in the 2015 tax return.
The ATO will be implementing a share sale data matching process. Information will be obtained from Share Registry Services, such as Computer share, to determine the taxpayers who have sold shares during particular financial years. An individual who has not included share sales in the last four financial years, should amend those tax returns to include the share parcels sold with the capitals gains and / or losses made. Any shares sold during the 2015 financial year should be declared in the 2015 tax return. The ATO will definitely pick-up any omissions.
Any taxpayer who has been issued with a Commonwealth Senior Health Card will be assessed to ensure that they actually should have been issued with one. Any undeclared or under declared income will be determined by matching the tax returns against various data sources. If a tax payer thinks they should have not been in possession of the card they should contact the Department of Human Services.
TRAVEL EXPENSES TO BE SCRUTINISED:
The ATO will pay particular attention to the expenses claimed by individuals for work related travel. (Please note: This does not include motor vehicle expenses claimed at a separate label on the tax return.)
There are two methods of claiming work related travel:
The first method is to claim the expenses, (such as meals, accommodation, toll fees and parking fees), based on actual receipts.
The second method is to use the ATOs reasonable daily allowance table. Please note that this method can only be used when the tax payer has received a travel allowance from the employer. If no travel allowance has been received the first method must be used.
The ATO will match the amount claimed by a taxpayer against benchmarks they have determined as per various occupation codes. Any amount above the benchmark for a particular occupation will attract the ATOs attention.
A wide discrepancy between an allowance received and the actual amount claimed will also attract the ATOs attention.
Fly-in Fly-out or Drive-in Drive-out Employees usually cant claim any travel expenses. They usually receive a Living Away from Home Allowance (LAFH). That allowance is not actually a travel allowance but more a fringe benefit to be assessed to the employer.
CLAIMS FOR THE WORK RELATED PORTION OF COMPUTERS AND OTHER DEVICES TO BE SCRUTINISED:
There has been an increase in the amount being claimed for the work related use of computers, IPADS, telephones, cameras, other devices and home internet contracts.
The ATO will be checking that against benchmarks they have determined based on occupation codes. Any amounts exceeding the benchmark will raise the ATOs attention.
In the event of an audit or work related expense schedule completion , the ATO will expect the individual to prove the work related usage percentage based on a four week record being kept indicating the date / time of each usage, the time spent, and whether it was related to work or private. The record should be completed not just by the individual, but by each member of the family unit or household using that particular device or service during the four week period.
If no record can be produced to justify the particular percentage being used, the ATO will completely reject the claim that is deem it to be 0% work related.
RENTAL PROPERTIES CLAIMS TO BE SCRUTINISED BY ATO:
As per usual the ATO will check rental properties carefully. This year the emphasis will be on the following claims
Purchase related costs not to be claimed as expenses:
The costs related to the purchase, such as the pre-purchase inspection fee, stamp duty on the purchase and legal fees cant be claimed as an expense. These expenses are all capital expenses and will only come into play when the property is sold to be used to calculate the appropriate capital gain or loss amount.
Properties not genuinely available for rent especially in holiday areas:
Rental expenses can only be claimed if the property is genuinely available for rent. Word of mouth and the occasional advert in a local paper will not be sufficient. Usually listing the property with an agent or using a wide advertising campaign in papers or magazines or internet sites will be required.
If a property has been taken off the rental market or is being used by the owners for weekends or holidays, the claims will have to be apportioned. The expenses will be claimed based on the number of days the property was genuinely available for rent as a proportion of the total number of days in the year.
Expenses claimed before the property is genuinely available for rent:
Expenses incurred in getting the property available for rent cant be claimed. They will all be classed as capital expenses. If it is a new rental and the owner incurs expenses to get it ready for the first tenant, all of those expenses will be classed as capital expenses and can only be used when the property is sold.
If a rental property is purchased it is best to avoid spending money on repairing or improving the property in the first period of ownership, up to 12 months, to prevent those expenses being classed as capital expenses. For example if a property is purchased and the exterior and / or interior is painted prior to the first tenancy the ATO will classify that as a capital expenditure, not a rental related expenditure.
评论
的确是查这些
而且的确很多人被查。
我碰到过三个。
评论
评论
我的会计师说他的客户从来没有被查过,你有三个?
评论
都是因为啥呢?
评论
我只好说凡事无绝对
100% NO AUDIT?要么客户太少
评论
ATO对每个Tax Agent有一定的Risk Profile. 抽查比率会跟这个有关。
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