Several years of unlodged returns: how it gets fixed
Coming forward voluntarily through an agent is treated very differently from being caught.
People arrive with three, five, sometimes eight years outstanding. Usually the cause isn’t tax. It’s a business that got difficult, a bereavement, an illness, or one missed year that became easier to ignore than to face.
The first step is to work out where things stand. We obtain your full ATO account history and lodgement status, which shows what is outstanding, what has been default-assessed, and what penalties and interest have accrued. Frequently the position is better than the client feared, because income tax refunds in some years offset debts in others.
Returns are then prepared oldest first, so that losses and carried-forward amounts flow correctly. Where records are missing we reconstruct from bank statements, ATO pre-fill data and third-party reporting.
On penalties: the ATO has a documented practice of remitting failure-to-lodge penalties where a taxpayer comes forward voluntarily and brings everything up to date at once. General interest charge can also be remitted in part where there is a genuine explanation. Both are requested in writing with the lodgements, not afterwards.
A payment arrangement is negotiated once the true liability is known. In most cases the debt is payable over twelve to twenty-four months.
General information only, current at the date shown above. It does not take your circumstances into account and is not a substitute for advice. If it applies to a decision you are about to make, .
309 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000
02 9267 6533
