Our approach for small business

Our focus

We focus on areas where our audits, data matching and intelligence show businesses may not be correctly registered or may be operating outside the tax and super systems.

Our treatment approaches vary depending on the level of risk we identify.

Education and awareness activities

We want to help small businesses get it right. We aim to:

• provide education and tailored support to address common errors
• offer free, self-paced courses on essentials to strengthen your small businessExternal Link
• promote the benefits of regular reporting and timely payments to support cash flow management
• work with professional and industry associations
• intervene early when we see debts growing or taxpayers going off track
• send reminders or prompts to keep obligations on track
• deliver industry specific guidance and messaging to keep small businesses on track
• publish relevant information on
  • ato.gov.au website
  • Small business newsroom
  • Tax professionals newsroom
  • ATO webinarsExternal Link and other masterclasses.

Help and correction activities

If we find a concern, we contact the small business owners' tax professional (or small business owner if they don't use an agent) to clarify or correct errors. This may include:

• pre-issue checks to correct any claims before a refund is released
• phone calls direct to the small business owner's tax professional (or small business owner if they don't use an agent)
• issuing direct letters or emails to the small business owner's tax professional (or small business owner if they don't use an agent) on specific issues
• moving small businesses to monthly BAS reporting, rather than quarterly to get them back on track.

Firmer action

If a small business deliberately avoids us or their obligations, we take firmer action to ensure that the correct amount of tax is paid. This may include:

• reviews or audits
• penalties (up to 75%) and interest on any unpaid tax, plus debt collection activities
• applying administrative penalties, or seeking the application of civil or criminal sanctions in more serious cases.