ATO Assistance – businesses and individuals impacted by coronavirus
Published 9.00am AEST Tuesday, 17th March 2020
Australian Tax Office support measures
The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has announced it will implement a series of administrative measures to assist Australians experiencing financial difficulty as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Options available to assist businesses impacted by COVID-19 include:
- Deferring by up to four months the payment date of amounts due through the business activity statement (including PAYG instalments), income tax assessments, fringe benefits tax assessments and excise
- Allowing businesses on a quarterly reporting cycle to opt into monthly GST reporting in order to get quicker access to GST refunds they may be entitled to
- Allowing businesses to vary Pay As You Go (PAYG) instalment amounts to zero for the March 2020 quarter. Businesses that vary their PAYG instalment to zero can also claim a refund for any instalments made for the September 2019 and December 2019 quarters
- Remitting any interest and penalties, incurred on or after 23 January 2020, that have been applied to tax liabilities
- Helping affected businesses pay their existing and ongoing tax liabilities by allowing them to enter into low interest payment plans.
Anyone impacted by COVID-19 is advised to contact the ATO to request assistance on their Emergency Support Infoline 1800 806 218, when they are ready, to discuss their situation.
Thank you to the LPA for supplying this information.