GST, WET, LCT and fuel tax credit voluntary disclosures

You may make a voluntary disclosure in relation to a net amount or net fuel amount by revising your previously lodged activity statement. You may also be able to correct a mistake in relation to goods and services tax (GST) or fuel tax credits on your current or later activity statement.

If you claim your fuel tax credits using a claim form, you may make a voluntary disclosure by asking for an amendment to your claim (see Fuel scheme claims).

Activity statements

You may be able to correct a mistake on your current activity statement (see Correct an activity statement). If you're not eligible to do this, you need to revise the earlier activity statement that you got wrong.

If the revision increases your GST or reduces your fuel tax credits, we treat the revised activity statement as a voluntary disclosure. This is likely to mean a reduction in penalties and interest imposed on you.

You can also make a voluntary disclosure if you've made a false or misleading statement on a previous activity statement.

However, if we've told you that we are going to conduct a review or examination in relation to a particular accounting period or in relation to a specified matter, you can only correct errors for that period or matter by making a voluntary disclosure of any errors directly to the tax officer conducting the review or examination. You can no longer correct those errors through the channels outlined above.

Property-related GST transactions

If you're a property owner, developer or are registered for GST and you use your property in a way that is different from the way you planned to, you may have to make a voluntary disclosure to report a GST adjustment.

For example, if you decide to rent out rather than sell new residential premises, you have changed the business use or the 'creditable purpose' of your property. This means you may have an increasing adjustment that you must record in your activity statement.

An adjustment is required even if you intend to sell the premises at a later date or are in the process of marketing the property.

If you later sell the new residential premises, you may then have a decreasing adjustment.

If you did not report a property transaction at the time it occurred, you can still make a 'creditable purpose' adjustment, rather than revise the activity statement for that earlier period.

The benefit of making a voluntary disclosure is that you won't have to pay any shortfall penalties that would otherwise be applicable, and any general interest charge (GIC) will be reduced.

See also

• GST and property  
• Change in use of property