A registered tax practitioner will have complied with the taxation laws in the conduct of their personal affairs (Code item 2) if they have paid their tax debts by the due date or have entered into, and are complying with a formal payment arrangement with the ATO to pay their tax debt by instalments. However, you are still required to declare this arrangement when you renew your registration.

If you are working for a tax practitioner entity, such as a partnership or company where you are a partner, public officer, director or hold some other form of role or duty, you may have obligations under taxations laws. However, in a more traditional sense, if you're simply an employee or contractor of an entity, it may not affect your registration. 

If you receive a notice from us, it is important to take immediate action as we will now be taking firmer action against tax practitioners who fail to meet the high standards of professional conduct and trust. 

Tax practitioners who are found to have outstanding tax obligations may be cautioned or issued an order in the first instance, however if they do not rectify the situation and comply with their tax obligations, we may impose further sanctions. This can include a suspension or termination of registration. 

Importantly, a tax practitioner's failure to address outstanding tax obligations may also impact an applicant's eligibility for registration or renewal. 

Generally, an individual director or partner is not liable for the specific conduct of an offending director or partner. However, if that person knows of the misconduct or improper or unprofessional conduct of the director or partner and fails to take any steps to address the issues caused by them, this failure may be considered to reflect adversely on their own fitness and propriety.

You must ensure that you comply with your personal tax obligations, including those of your associated entities. Code item 2 requires a registered tax practitioner to comply with the taxation laws in the conduct of their personal affairs. This includes the affairs of all associated entities of a registered tax practitioner and any entity the registered tax practitioner has direct or indirect control over, particularly in circumstances where the tax practitioner is responsible for and/or actively involved in the tax affairs of the entity. A failure to comply with Code item 2 may also have implications for the tax practitioner regarding their overall fitness and propriety to be a registered tax practitioner. This is considered on a case-by-case basis and depends on the facts and circumstances of a case.

We may terminate the registration of a tax practitioner if the TPB is satisfied that a tax practitioner no longer meets the ‘fit and proper person’ requirement for registration. We may also determine a period (of no more than 5 years) during which the tax practitioner may not apply for registration. The primary purpose of imposing a non-application period is to protect the public and the integrity of the tax profession.

The ATO is over 100 years old and at its core it has one goal: to collect the taxes for the Australian Government to fund the services that Australians need.

Not paying tax affects everyone, and it’s important we take action to help prevent businesses from putting other small businesses and employees at risk. 

This means you may see the ATO taking different steps to those you have seen in the past. This is a deliberate and targeted approach. They are making it fairer for businesses that do the right thing and are changing their approach to collecting unpaid tax and super. They are now focusing on business who refuse to engage and continue to ignore ATO SMS and reminder letter.

Director Penalty Notices and Directors of multiple companies who allow amounts of GST, PAYG withholding and employee super to go unpaid, and do not engage with the ATO, can expect the ATO to look at their debts more holistically. These directors can expect to receive Director Penalty Notices (DPNs) capturing the total value of these amounts across all related entities. If these directors don’t take action, the ATO can recover these amounts directly from them, putting their assets at risk.

Debts are largely comprised of amounts that have been withheld from employees’ wages and collected from consumers as Good and Services Tax (GST). It is important that the ATO take action to ensure taxpayers who do pay the right amount are not unfairly disadvantaged by those who do not – a level playing field is important.

The ATO may place a debt on hold if they decide that taking the action required to collect is not an economical option.

Even when a debt is on hold it remains legally payable. The ATO do not actively try to collect the debt, but any credits or refunds will be used to pay the debt.

The ATO may take a debt off hold if new information causes them to conclude that collection is now an economic option. This will usually happen when:

• a taxpayer has requested to pay.
• the ATO has reason to believe the taxpayer may now be able to pay the debt.

For more information visit ato.gov.au/debtsonhold.

Pay as you go (PAYG) instalments are regular prepayments of the tax on business and investment income.

If you receive an:

• business activity statement, complete and lodge it to report your pay as you go (PAYG) instalment.
• instalment notice, you do not need to complete or lodge, unless you wish to vary the amount. You can simply pay the amount shown on the notice.

The due date for your next PAYG instalment will be on your business activity statement or instalment notice.

For help when lodging and paying, see the ATO resources:

• Lodging and paying PAYG instalments
• How to vary your PAYG instalments

You can lodge Payment-only deferral requests for registered agents if:

• there are, or have been, exceptional or unforeseen circumstances beyond your client's control
• the exceptional or unforeseen circumstances must be consistent with those outlined in Practice Statement PSLA 2011/14 General debt collection powers and principles.

You may also apply for a lodgment deferral if you or your clients experience exceptional or unforeseen circumstances which impact your ability to lodge on time. Your request should be consistent with PS LA 2011/15 Lodgment obligations, due dates, and deferrals.

If your clients are struggling to manage or pay their tax due to unexpected circumstances, the ATO have options to help them, including tailored support for registered agents. 

The ATO provides an account summary screen showing debt amounts for each taxpayer and account type. See Online services for agents user guide.

The ATO continues to update Online services for agents to:

• align with legislative changes
• enhance functionality based on your feedback.

If you decide to lodge using your own registered agent number, you must add yourself as a client using Online services for agents (OSfA) or the practitioner lodgment service.

To help maintain your privacy, you can restrict who within your practice can access your details in OSfA by using Access Manager. This is a stand-alone system used to manage access and permissions for our online services.

If you lodge your personal return without a registered agent number, or by paper, you will not be eligible for any lodgment program due dates available to you as a registered agent.

Entities not covered by the lodgment program include unregistered clients and clients that have not appointed you as their registered agent are not covered by your lodgment program.

Generally, when the ATO identify a compliance risk they will review your tax affairs. The ATO may decide to conduct an audit if they identify areas of concern that need closer examination. 

They are guided by the facts and won't necessarily follow every step of the typical tax assurance process. For example, during a risk review you may make a voluntary disclosure that resolves the issue.

The ATO offer different ways to pay so you can find a method that suits. The quickest way to pay is with BPAY or through our online services, such as:

• Your payment options
• Electronic transfer
• Direct debit
• Government EasyPay
• In person at Australia Post
• Mail

The ATO are moving away from cheques and encourage you and/or your clients to pay electronically. How to pay.

You can also share with your clients the ATO’s tips and tools to help them build good cash flow habits and to prevent a tax debt. For more information visit:

• Manage your business cash flow
• Cash Flow Coaching Kit
• Tips to prevent business tax debts