The ATO has recently changed how they are sending correspondence to taxpayers and are pushing towards paperless communication. Here’s a quick breakdown of what this means for you:

myGov

When you have a myGov account and have linked it to your ATO account, all ATO correspondence will go directly to your myGov. This also means it no longer comes via us, your tax agent. We are therefore strongly encouraging all our clients to check their myGov accounts as soon as email/SMS notifications are received from myGov. While we can access copies of what the ATO has sent to you via logging in to our ATO tax agent portal, we don’t get any notification directly that they have sent you correspondence.

paper mail [old school]

If you do not have a myGov account or you have a myGov account but it’s not linked to ATO online services, you will still receive paper mail to the address recorded with the ATO, which in most cases, is our address [as your tax agent]. When we receive this mail we forward it onto you the same day.

activity statements

This includes quarterly PAYG instalment notices, quarterly/monthly Business Activity Statements [BAS] and Instalment Activity Statements [IAS].

Where there is a myGov account set up, the ATO will send these directly via myGov. You will receive a notification via email/SMS prompting you to log in to myGov and check your inbox messages.

Some taxpayers are still receiving their activity statements via paper mail, which may be going to you directly. But when sent to our address, we forward it to you via email. We note however, that if a BAS, IAS or PAYG instalment variation is then lodged electronically, it will change the paper method of delivery to electronic delivery for all future notices. It is crucial in this case that the ATO has a current email address for you on their system, otherwise, the future activity statement seems to be sent into the abyss and we generally do not know about it being missed until an overdue lodgement/payment notice is issued from the ATO sometime after it was due. Rest assured though, in this case we will always seek remission of any penalties should these be imposed by the ATO.

Where the taxpayer has registered for ‘online services for business’, you will receive a notification [much like myGov] that an activity statement is available when it is due for lodgement and payment [if applicable].

Things you can do to make sure you stay on top of ATO communication:

Make sure all your contact details are current and correct in your:

  • myGov account
  • ATO online services [via myGov] – you can check and update your personal details under ‘my profile – personal details’. You can also view all communication sent from the ATO for the last 5 years [from all delivery channels] under ‘my profile – communication history’

Don’t ignore any myGov notifications!

If you are a director of a company [or want to become one] you should also check out our recent blogs on the director identification number [DIN] and how to apply for one.

If you are unsure about any correspondence you receive from the ATO, please contact us! We are here to help.