In the last few years, you might have noticed some ATO correspondences being sent to your myGov account inbox or being posted to you, instead of being sent to your accountants at Shakespeare Partners.
As a business owner, you have a few options regarding communication preferences from the ATO. You can choose to have all communications sent to you, or all to Shakespeare (as your accountants and tax agents), or some communications being sent to you and some to Shakespeare.
We are aware that many business owners are time-poor, and logging in to check your MyGov inbox and forwarding documents and notifications to your tax agent is time-consuming and probably not high on your priority list. We would therefore recommend that you nominate Shakespeare Partners as the recipient of all communications from the ATO so that nothing is missed.
If you have a MyGov account linked to the ATO, you can view your communication preferences in MyGov. Just log into your account and navigate to ATO > My profile > Communication > Preferences. To change your communication preferences on your behalf, your registered tax and/or BAS agent will need your written permission and a declaration that the information you have provided is true and correct. For further details on correspondence preferences from the ATO click here.
Currently, the ATO can send you or your tax agent electronic communications concerning the following categories:
- Income tax
- Activity statement
- Study and training support loans
- Superannuation
- Debt
- Employer and business obligations
Note that correspondence that falls outside any of these six categories and cannot be sent electronically will be delivered to whichever postal address you have on record with the ATO.
It is advisable that you check your MyGov inbox at least once per quarter, but certainly more often if you receive a notification via email or SMS that there is a new message in your MyGov inbox. This is especially important if you have chosen to have all communications sent to yourself rather than us as your tax agent.
Security reminder: Please note that the ATO may use SMS or email to ask you to contact them, but they will never ask you to return personal identifying information through these channels. If you’re ever unsure whether an SMS or email is really from the ATO, don’t reply or click on any links or attachments. Please contact one of the advisors at Shakespeare to assist if you are unsure whether it is the ATO contacting you.
If you don’t have a MyGov account but would like one, you can view the details on how to create one here. MyGov is a simple and secure way to access government services online in one place. You can choose which services you want to link to your myGov account, including the ATO. It has a secure inbox where you can get messages from some of your linked services.
You can also make payments such as your activity statements to the ATO via your MyGov account. Alternatively, click here to view the various other ways you can make payments to the ATO. You can also check lodgement and payment dates for the ATO here.
If you would like to update your ATO correspondence preferences to Shakespeare Partners or if you have any concerns or questions about communications from the ATO, please get in touch with us today on 08 9321 2111.
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