ATO Compliance Hotspots for Tax Time 2024: What You Need to Know
As tax time approaches, tax professionals and their clients must stay informed about the Australian Taxation Office's (ATO) compliance hotspots. By understanding these areas of focus, individuals can ensure they meet their tax obligations accurately and avoid potential audits or penalties. Let's delve into the key compliance hotspots for tax time 2024:
Work-related Expenses:
The ATO is scrutinizing deductions for working-from-home expenses, including the new fixed-rate method and enhanced substantiation requirements.
Claims for mobile phone and internet costs, work-related clothing, overtime meals, union fees, and motor vehicle expenses will be closely examined.
Taxpayers must ensure they have valid records to substantiate their claims.
Rental Property Income and Deductions:
Property owners need to be cautious of excessive interest expense claims, incorrect apportionment of rental income and expenses, and claims for periods when the property was not genuinely available for rent.
Claims for newly purchased rental properties must adhere to the appropriate deduction rules.
Shares
Capital gains tax applies when disposing of shares, with different rules for investors and traders.
Share traders, characterized by frequent transactions and a profit-making intent, may be subject to different tax treatment.
Accurate record-keeping of share transactions is essential for reporting to the ATO.
Sharing Economy:
Individuals participating in the sharing economy through platforms like Uber, Airtasker, Airbnb, and Stayz should accurately report their income. The ATO receives data from these platforms, allowing them to identify discrepancies.
Taxpayers involved in renting out assets or providing services through sharing economy platforms must ensure their reported income aligns with third-party data.
Cryptocurrency
The ATO is focusing on taxpayers who trade in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, ensuring they declare profits or losses for tax purposes.
Data matching programs are being used to identify individuals who fail to disclose their cryptocurrency-related income correctly.
Taxpayers should be aware of their capital gains tax obligations when trading cryptocurrencies.
