“Next 5,000” Tax Programme – Record Keeping Requirements (Mar 25 Tax Update)
Relevant For:
Owners of privately owned or wealthy business groups in the ATO “Next 5,000” tax programme.
Key Points:
- Poor record-keeping risks costly and lengthy audits.
- Substantiate income and expenses clearly.
- Deductions can be disallowed without adequate records.
- Use the ATO’s ‘Record keeping for business’ guide for compliance.
Full Article:
Ensuring your business records meet ATO standards is critical, especially if you’re part of the ATO’s Next 5,000 programme for privately owned and wealthy groups.
The 2024 Next 5,000 findings published by the ATO revealed common shortfalls, particularly regarding clear substantiation of income and expenses.
The ATO warns that privately owned and wealthy groups without well-maintained records could face lengthy audits, significant costs and potentially lose deductions or input tax credits.
To maintain compliance, the ATO requires you to adhere closely to these five key rules for effective record keeping:
- Maintain Complete Records: Retain all essential documents to substantiate your income and expenses.
- Preserve Data Integrity: Records must have safeguards against unauthorised or inadvertent changes.
- Retain Records Appropriately: Records typically must be kept for five years from their related lodgement date.
- Maintain Accessible Records: Records must be readily accessible in commonly used formats.
- In English: Records must be in English or able to be easily converted to English