This is an area the ATO is increasingly focusing on, and advisers will need to continue to take great care to ensure the accuracy of returns and reduce client risk.
INCOME PROTECTION INSURANCE DATA MATCHING
The ATO will acquire income protection insurance policy data from insurers for 2021–2022 to 2025–2026 for its new data matching protocols. The ATO has concerns around income protection insurance payouts from either personal insurance policy or from super fund policy, that they are not included as income in the tax returns.
The data items include:
- policy owner details (names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, account name, BSB, account number etc.)
- policy details (policy name, year, policy type, policy brand, start/end dates, premiums, payouts etc.)
- insured person details (names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, account name, BSB, account number etc.).
The sharing economy reporting regime will also commence from 1 July 2023. Electronic distribution platforms relating to services such as taxi services, ride-sourcing and short-term accommodation will be required to report details of customer activities. That is, businesses such as Uber and Airbnb will now report income derived through those platforms to the ATO.