We're here to help
The ATO is here to help you get your tax and super right in a way that supports you and your long-term success. We know most small businesses are doing their best to meet their obligations. That’s why we’re committed to giving you clear, timely and practical guidance, so you can feel confident, informed and supported.
Reach out early for support
Unexpected events like cash-flow pressures, supply chain issues, rising costs, or personal setbacks can make it difficult to stay on top of tax and super. If you need support, reach out early, either directly or through your registered tax professional, to discuss your situation. We’re here to help you navigate your options, including managing debts.
Lodging and paying in full and on time
Our role is to collect tax so that the government can deliver services to the Australian community and it is our job to ensure everyone pays the right amount, to the benefit of all Australians. We will continue to encourage on-time lodgment and payment behaviour by:
- being firm, consistent and clear on the principle that those who can pay, must pay on time
- supporting those who have capacity to pay, but need some support to get back on track
- applying firmer actions for those who are choosing not to engage with us or are deliberately not paying their debt
- supporting those who do not have capacity to pay to exit the system.
Early engagement gives us the best chance to work with you to manage your debt.
Helping you get it right
We publish on a quarterly basis what is attracting our attention as part of our ‘Getting it right’ campaign, which is focused on preventing small issues from becoming big ones. We’re seeing that common errors like omitted income and incorrect expense claims often happen unintentionally. We’re here to help you avoid these mistakes by providing transparency on the areas we’re focused on. The ATO has a responsibility to level the playing field, as small business owners rightfully expect of us, to ensure fair competition and compliance.
Good record-keeping is one of the most effective ways to protect your business. Keeping accurate and organised digital records not only simplifies tax time but also strengthens your understanding of how your business is performing. You can also use our small business benchmarks as a health check, allowing you to compare your performance including average expenses against other businesses in the same industry.
Fairness matters
We know small businesses value a level playing field. Tackling the shadow economy, such as unreported cash payments and unpaid super, helps ensure that businesses doing the right thing aren’t disadvantaged by those who aren’t. Addressing these behaviours also helps reduce the small business tax gap of $27.2 billion.
Reducing the small business tax gap, together with tackling the shadow economy, means the tax and super systems are working more fairly for everyone.
Getting ready for change
With Payday Super starting on 1 July 2026, employers will be required to pay super at the same time as wages. We understand this can be a significant shift, so we encourage small businesses to start preparing now by using practical guidance like the Payday Super checklist for employers (PDF, 200KB)This link will download a file.
This tax time we’re also introducing pre-fill for taxpayers who receive taxable payments reporting system (TPRS) income. We will use data reported to us by employers and government entities on the Taxable payments annual report (TPAR). It’s more important than ever to lodge your TPAR on time if you’re a business in the building and construction, cleaning, courier and road freight, information technology (IT) or security, investigation or surveillance industry. This will ensure the information we use for pre-fill is accurate and complete and will help contractors and sole traders finalise their tax returns correctly. If you're a contractor or sole trader, most TPAR data will be available after 28 August each year. Lodging your tax return after this date may give you a better experience and reduce the risk of errors.
Engaging a trusted, registered tax or BAS agent can also be an invaluable way to stay on top of these changes. A good adviser can ease your workload, provide personalised support and help you avoid common pitfalls. You can check the Tax Practitioners Board's (TPB) public register to see if a tax professional is registered at https://www.tpb.gov.au/public-registerExternal Link.
Practical tools you can rely on
Our Tax Time toolkit for small business (PDF, 1.57MB)This link will download a file brings together resources designed to help you meet your obligations confidently, not just during tax time but all year round. We update this toolkit every year to make sure you and your advisers have access to clear, relevant and practical information.
Our Essentials to strengthen your small businessExternal Link website includes more than 30 free short courses to help build your tax and business knowledge. These courses cover common day-to-day scenarios and offer practical steps to avoid mistakes before they happen.
I hope you find our resources helpful, and I encourage you to share them with others in your small business community. We're here to support you and to ensure every small business has the opportunity to succeed on a level playing field.
Angela Allen
Assistant Commissioner for small business experience – Australian Taxation Office