23 Feb 1818 Regarding Member 44’s comment ‘Client’s outstanding payment for their PAYGI’

MEMBER 49 writes: 

Thanks for a great read. I agree with Member 44 in TaxVine 5 of 2018 (16 February 2018). The ATO are totally inconsistent when processing client transactions. There also appears to be total lack of common sense. 

If a tax refund is generated, the ATO will offset that against a BAS instalment that is not yet due BUT – and it’s a big BUT – if a tax return is lodged and the June PAYG instalment is overdue, the ATO does not take into account that instalment when calculating the refund. 

What should happen is the unpaid instalment should be added to the tax refund and the amount of the instalment then should be offset against the outstanding account. This would be a zero sum game. 

What happens is the ATO ignores the instalment, processes the refund and then sends a letter demanding payment of the June Instalment that is now no longer relevant. 

It then takes forever for the ATO to cancel the instalment. This has happened to two of my clients this year. 

The work around is to submit the instalment online, wait a week for the system to catch up, and then lodge the tax return, again creating more work for the accountant. 

Come on ATO, get your act together.