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Clients and your client list

Frequently asked questions about your client list and lodgment performance.

Last updated 30 June 2024

What happens when I lodge overdue prior-year tax returns for a client?

Only current year returns are included in your lodgment program performance.

Prior years do not form part of the calculation.

Will my on-time lodgment performance be affected if I am assisting a taxpayer with overdue returns to get up to date?

If you take on new clients with overdue prior year returns, your on-time lodgment performance will only be affected if you lodge the current year’s return after the due date or deferred date.

You can request a new or re-engaged client lodgment deferral for the current year return, to give you time to prepare and lodge the overdue returns. We will also consider delaying compliance action to secure lodgment of overdue prior year returns.

To request this type of deferral, select 'New or re-engaged client' as the deferral reason when using the lodgment deferral function in Online services for agents.

For more information, see Lodgment program deferrals.

What happens if I remove a client from my client list after I have lodged their current year tax return on time?

This will still count towards your on-time performance.

If I take on a new client who has already lodged their current year tax return on time, will this count towards my total number of returns lodged on time?

If the new client lodged their current year tax return with another tax agent, the lodgment will be counted towards that agent's performance figure.

Why is the ATO continuing to contact me for clients I have previously removed from my client list?

This can occur when you have removed a client from your client list, but your registered agent number is still attached to one of the client’s roles, or if the client's address was not updated before you removed them from your client list.

It's also important to note that lodging a final return or completing a non-lodgment advice does not remove a client from your list.

You need to remove clients through either:

Before you remove a client, you must remove your contact details from all your client's roles. This includes removing your email, phone numbers, business and postal addresses, financial institution account details, and your name from authorised contacts. This will avoid unnecessary contact from us about previous clients.

If you're unable to remove a client, see our page Client list has clients you no longer represent for details on how to request a bulk deletion.

Why are return not necessary (RNN) or further return not necessary (FRNN) clients calculated as lodged on-time in my lodgment performance percentage?

When you submit a current year non-lodgment advice, including further returns not necessary (FRNN) or return not necessary (RNN) advice, you have met the lodgment requirement for that return, and we use this information when calculating your on-time lodgment performance.

If there is no requirement to keep clients with a 'further return not necessary indicator' on your client list, then you should remove them.

What if I have recently transferred my client base?

All registered agents with an active client list will be measured and receive a performance summary, including newly registered agents or RANs undergoing client base transfers.

We understand that your performance may be affected while transferring clients between RANs and will take this into account prior to applying any support strategies.

 

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