Depending on the type, industry and size, a Business is required to report and pay a range of taxes to the Australian Taxation Office. Some of these taxes may be reported either on a monthly or quarterly basis, whereas others are reported annually. 

Taxes are reported to the ATO by lodging 'Tax Forms', either in paper form or electronically.

The most common Tax Forms for Businesses are:

1. Business Activity Statement
   This Tax Form is lodged to the ATO either on a quarterly or monthly basis, depending on the specific ATO requirements for the Business. In the Activity Statement a Business reports one or more of the following taxes:
   • Goods and Services Tax (GST)
   • Pay As You Go Withholding (PAYG-W)
   • Pay As You Go Instalment (PAYG-I)
   • Fringe Benefits Tax Instalment (FBT-I)
   • Wine Equalisation Tax (WET)
   • Luxury Car Tax (LCT)
   • Fuel Tax Credits (FTC)
2. Income Tax Return
   This Tax Form is lodged to the ATO annually. In the Income Tax Return, the Business declares the total taxable income for the Financial Year.
3. Fringe Benefits Tax Return
   This Tax Form is also lodged to the ATO annually. However, the FBT Year is different from the Financial Year and ranges from 1st April to 31st March. In the FBT Return, the Business declares the total taxable Fringe Benefits for the FBT year. 
4. Superannuation Guarantee Charge Statement
   This Tax Form is only required to be lodged when an Employer has not paid Superannuation or has paid Superannuation late. The SGC Charge Statement can be lodged at any time during the year. However, a separate SGC Statement must be lodged for each Quarter Superannuation was not paid or was paid late. For more information on how to create and submit a Superannuation Charge Statement to the ATO, please refer to the User Guides published on our Knowledge Base Website.

ATO Accounts

The Australian Taxation Office manages the lodgements and payments of all these tax liabilities through a number of 'ATO Accounts'.

As a concept, an ATO account is the same as a Bank (Loan) account. When a tax form is lodged, the tax payable is shown as a debt in the relevant ATO Account. Once the tax liability is paid, the balance of the ATO account will return to zero. If tax payments or lodgements are made late, interest charges or penalties are also charged.
For example, a Business may lodge the Annual Tax Return 6 months before is due for payment. The Business could then choose to pay the Income tax in one lump sum on the due date or make multiple payments during the 6 month period. All of these lodgements and payments would be listed in the ATO Income Tax Account. 

There are four ATO Accounts:

1. The Integrated Client Account (ICA) > manages all lodgements and payments of Activity Statements;
2. The Income Tax Account (ITA) > manages all annual Income Tax lodgements and payments;
3. The FBT Account (FBA) >  manages all annual FBT Tax lodgements and payments;
4. The Super Employer Account > manages all Superannuation Charge Statements' lodgements and payments.

Each ATO Account has specific BPay details for a Business. Any time a Tax liability is paid, this payment must be made to the relevant ATO Account, using the same Bpay details every time (i.e. all Activity Statements' payments must be made using the same Integrated Client Account Bpay details). Businesses should save the Bpay details of their ATO Accounts in their Internet Banking to ensure they pay the relevant tax liabilities into the correct ATO Accounts.

ATO Accounts are maintained in a running-balance format. Payments are not applied to a specific tax lodgement, they are applied to the running balance of the Account.

Access to ATO Accounts

ATO Accounts can be accessed via Online Services. However, different people involved with the Business can see different Accounts. The table below displays the visibility of each ATO Account for Business Owners, BAS Agents and Tax Agents via Online Services.

ATO Accounts Management

Any ATO Account applicable to a Business should be set up and managed in the Client's Accounting System (i.e. the Xero Organisation or MYOB AccountRight Company File). These Accounts should then be reconciled against the ATO Account Statements downloaded from Online Services. As BAS Agents can only access the Integrated Client Account, the Statements from other ATO Accounts must be requested from the Client's Accountant. 

Download a Client's ATO Integrated Client Account Statement

1. Log into Online Services for Agents using your username, password and MyGovID
2. Click on [View client list] and open the Client's Business
   
   è  The Client's screen opens
   
   
   
   
3. Click on [Accounts and payments] > Accounts Summary
   
   è  The Accounts Summary screen opens displaying the ATO Accounts relevant to your Business
   
   
   
   
4. To download the Statement, click on the Activity Statement Account
   
   è  The Integrated Client Account Statement opens on the screen
   
   
   
   
5. Click on [Download] to download the Statemen as a csv file or on [Print-friendly version] to print/save it as a PDF file.

How to read the ATO Accounts' Statements

The ATO Account's Statement includes a number of columns:

• Description | Debit (DR) | Credit (CR) | Balance
  When a Tax Form is lodged to the ATO, the ATO Account will show the description and total amount payable in the Debit Column. If the lodgement relates to multiple tax liabilities (i.e. Activity Statements), a breakdown of each tax is also displayed.
  
  è  An example of an Activity Statement tax breakdown
  
  
  
  Tax payments are recorded in the Credit Column. Finally, the Balance column shows the Account's running balance (similar to any other Bank Statement).
  
• Processed Date | Effective Date
  The ATO Account's Statement includes two dates:
  • Processed Date > This is the date a transaction has been processed by the ATO;
  • Effective Date > This is the date a transaction has affected the ATO Account's balance;

Other Transaction Types

General Interest & Penalties' Charges and Remission

The ATO Accounts also include:

• General Interest Charges > Interest calculated on any outstanding account balance;
• Late Lodgement Fees > Penalties applied for late lodgements;
• Remissions (of Interest or Late Lodgement fees) > Interest charges or Penalties the ATO has reversed
  Note: General Interest Charges are calculated on a daily compounding basis for each day the account balance is outstanding. All General Interest Charges under $50.00 are automatically remitted at the time the account balance is settled. 
  
  è  An example of General Interest Charges and Remission of General Interest Charges
  
  

Revised Lodgements

If a tax lodgement is revised at a later date, the ATO Account will display the revision as the difference between the original amount lodged and the new lodgement amount.

è  An example of a revised lodgement

ATO Accounts Transfers

Credits available in one ATO Account can be transferred to another ATO Account to decrease the balance.

è  An example of an internal Account Transfer

All of the above transaction types will affect your ATO Accounts reconciliation in your Accounting System.