Does anyone know how many years back the Australian Tax Office can go demanding returns?
Yellow shopping trolley’s answer is really good. Under the Tax Admin Act, the Commissioner of Tax has the power to audit and amend a tax return going as far back as necessary if there’s been tax evasion involved. As for demanding lodgment of unlodged tax returns, the same principle applies and if you don’t still have records of your income, that’s tough luck. As a last resort, they can make what is called a deemed assessment from whatever records they are able to get their hands on. And then they can charge you penalties which can more than double the tax you owe. If you’ve received a letter from the ATO recently about unlodged returns then you can read for yourself what they can threaten to do. This year the ATO has been on a national crackdown on unlodged returns. It has made many tax accountants very overworked and annoyed at the ATO.
