About investment income reporting for investment bodies

Investment bodies should report investment income paid to their investors

Investment bodies are required to provide the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) with an Annual investment income report (AIIR) containing the details of:

• investment income paid to the accounts of investors
• any tax withheld from these accounts
• tax file numbers and Australian business numbers quoted against investments, and
• movements of principal in farm management deposits.

How the AIIR information is used

The tax file number (TFN) system is designed to detect non-disclosure of income and to enable the ATO to match the details of income disclosed in a taxpayer's income tax return with details received from other sources. These sources include employers reporting employment income and investment bodies reporting investment income. The purpose of the AIIR is to facilitate the matching process for investment income.

For income matching purposes, the information which the investment body supplies in the AIIR needs to mirror the information which the investors provide in their tax return. When an AIIR is received, the investor's identity is matched to client records held by the ATO. This is done by using the TFN or ABN and name supplied by the investor or, if no TFN or ABN is supplied, by identity matching using the investor name supplied in the AIIR.

If an incorrect TFN or ABN is supplied in the AIIR, the ATO will contact the investor, using the address supplied by the investment body, and advise them to correct their TFN or ABN with their investment body.

What to do/read next

To check if you have an obligation to provide an AIIR see What is an investment body and what should be reported?

Phone us on 1800 072 681 or send an email enquiry to the ATO, if you would like to:

• receive further information about the Annual investment income report
• update contact details for an existing investment body
• register the details of a new investment body
• ask a question.