The amnesty was announced in the 2023–2024 Budget. It applies to tax obligations that were originally due between 1 December 2019 and 28 February 2022 and runs from 1 June 2023 to 31 December 2023.
To be eligible for the amnesty, the small business must be an entity with an aggregated turnover of less than $10 million at the time the original lodgement was due.
During this time, eligible small businesses can lodge their eligible overdue forms and the ATO will then proactively remit any associated failure to lodge (FTL) penalties.
When forms are lodged with the ATO under the amnesty, businesses or their tax professionals will not need to separately request a remission of FTL penalties.
The ATO encourage all businesses to lodge any overdue forms even if they are outside the eligibility period. Whilst forms outside the amnesty eligibility criteria will attract FTL penalties, the ATO will consider your circumstances and may remit such penalties on a case-by-case basis.
The ATO want to make this process easy and encourage small businesses to do the right thing. If you have a registered tax agent, now is a good time to reach out to them to make sure you are up to date with your tax affairs.
The ATO offers a range of support options, including payment plans. Small businesses are also able to set up their own payment plan online.
If your business has ceased trading, you need to advise your registered tax agent, or the ATO directly.
The amnesty applies to income tax returns, business activity statements, and fringe benefits tax returns. It does not apply to superannuation obligations and excludes other administrative penalties such as penalties associated with the Taxable Payments Reporting System.