Tax lodgement amnesty ends 31 December

Small businesses have until 31 December 2023 to access the ATO’s Lodgement Penalty Amnesty Program.

As part of the 2023-24 Budget, the federal government announced a lodgement penalty amnesty program for small businesses to encourage them to re-engage with the tax system and get their obligations up-to-date.

The amnesty applies to overdue income tax returns, business activity statements and fringe benefits tax returns that were due between 1 December 2019 and 28 February 2022.

If eligible overdue forms are lodged between 1 June 2023 and 31 December 2023, any failure to lodge penalty applying to the late lodgement will be cancelled. No action is required to request a remission.

To be eligible for the amnesty the small business must have had an annual turnover of less than $10 million at the time the original lodgement was due.

This does not apply to privately owned groups, or individuals controlling over $5 million of net wealth.