The Pre-filling report 2011 has undergone some changes this year as a result of a range of tax agent co-design and consultation activities.
We have been working closely with data providers, such as employers, financial institutions and share registries, to improve the quality of the data we receive and encourage them to send their data to us earlier than they are required by law. Our aim is to provide better quality data sooner for the pre-fill service.
The Pre-filling report 2011 includes the following enhancements:
Share disposals (new section)
We are trialling providing some share disposal transactions to remind taxpayers about capital gains tax events that may have occurred during the year. Not all transactions will be included in this trial.
Although we were expecting this information to be available in two instalments (July to December 2010 records available on 1 July and January to June 2011 records available at a later date), we are now pre-filling this information on a weekly basis with most records now available.
Family tax benefit (new section)
From late July, we will provide the periods your client was registered to receive family tax benefit part A from Centrelink to help you work out whether your client is eligible for the education tax refund.
Employee share scheme (ESS) (new section)
Details will be pre-filled to the relevant labels. A subscription service providing ESS news and updates is also available.
Parental leave payments
Parental leave payments made by employers and Centrelink will now be displayed in the pre-filling report. Payments made by employers will be reported as part of the gross amount on the payment summary, not as separate amounts.
Tax-free government pensions
Tax-free pensions from Centrelink and the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) will be displayed for the relevant income test related item (label IT3) and in the government section.
All Centrelink tax-free pensions will be available in 2011, along with most DVA tax-free pensions. We are working to make all DVA tax-free pension data available in the 2012 report.
Foreign employment income
Details reported on the foreign employment income payment summary will now be pre-filled to the relevant label. However, income reported as 'joint petroleum development area' payments cannot be pre-filled to a label because of the complexities associated with residency considerations and the relevant tax offsets.
Non-super annuities
Details will now be pre-filled to the relevant label, along with the existing data about super income stream payment summaries. The total of these amounts will be displayed in the income summary.
Ongoing weekly extracts of prior year data
From 1 July, both the 2011 and 2010 reports will have weekly extracts of prior year income tax return data to ensure you receive the most current information. This includes the overdue tax returns reminder message. The 2008 and 2009 prior year data will remain static.
ATO interest
ATO interest has undergone some display changes in the pre-filling report. ATO interest amounts will now be combined and displayed as either assessable or deductible amounts, rather than separating them by type. You can still view a breakdown of interest types (for example, general interest charge, shortfall interest charge, or late payment interest) by using the 'client account' function in the tax agent portal.
Payment summary and investment data dates
This year, we will display the dates each individual payment summary and investment record relates to. This will be especially helpful where multiple records have been reported.
Last Modified: Monday, 16 January 2012