Four priorities for the ATO this tax time - Assistant Commissioner Tim Loh - Four key focus areas

Oct 1, 2026

Uploaded by asda1da

The Australian Taxation Office outlines four priority focus areas for Tax Time 2022: record-keeping, work-related expenses, rental property income and deductions, and capital gains from crypto assets, property, and shares. The guidance emphasizes avoiding common mistakes, applying three golden rules for claims, and using available ATO tools and pre-fill information to lodge accurately. It also explains actions taken against deliberate falsification and clarifies how to calculate eligible working from home and rental deductions.

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Four priorities for the ATO this tax time

Four key focus areas for Tax Time 2022

Three golden rules for claims

Record-keeping and consequences

Lodge right, no worries

Work-related expenses and methods

Rental income and deductions

Capital gains from crypto assets, property and shares

Four priorities for the ATO this tax time [https://www.ato.gov.au/Media-centre/Media-releases/Four-priorities-for-the](https://www.ato.gov.au/Media-centre/Media-releases/Four-priorities-for-the)ATO-this-tax-time/ Last modified: 16 May 2022 QC 69605 Four priorities for the ATO this tax time The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has today announced four key focus areas for Tax Time 2022. The ATO will be focusing on: record-keeping work-related expenses rental property income and deductions, and capital gains from crypto assets, property, and shares. These ATO priority areas will ensure that there is an appropriate level of scrutiny on correct reporting of deductions and income, so that Australia continues to have a strong tax system that can support the Australian community. Taxpayers can take steps to lodge right the first time. Assistant Commissioner Tim Loh explained that “The ATO is targeting problem areas where we see people making mistakes.” "It’s important you rethink your claims and ensure you can satisfy the 3 golden rules” Mr Loh said. 1. You must have spent the money yourself and weren’t reimbursed. 2. If the expense is for a mix of income producing and private use, you can only claim the portion that relates to producing income. 3. You must have a record to prove it. Record-keeping “We know there is still some weeks left until tax time, but if you start organising the income and deductions records you’ve kept throughout the year, this will guarantee you a smoother tax time and ensure you claim the deductions you are entitled to.” For those people who deliberately try to increase their refund, falsify records or cannot substantiate their claims the ATO will be taking firm action to deal with these taxpayers who are gaining an unfair advantage over the rest of the Australian community who are doing the right thing. Lodge right, no worries We often see lots of mistakes in July as people rush to lodge their tax returns and forget to include interest from banks, dividend income, payments from other government agencies and private health insurers. For most people, this information will be automatically pre-filled in their tax return by the end of July. This will make the tax return process smoother, save you time, and get your tax return right. If you want to lodge earlier, you must take extra time to manually add all your income. “You can check if your employer has marked your income statement as ‘tax ready’as well as if your pre-fill is available in myTax before you lodge. That way, an amendment doesn’t need to be made later, which could result in delays to your refund” Mr Loh said. Available pre-fill information and readiness to lodge can be easily checked in the ATO app this tax time. “While we receive and match a lot of information on rental income, foreign sourced income and capital gains events involving shares, crypto assets or property, we don’t pre-fill all of that information for you” said Mr Loh. Work-related expenses “Some people have changed to a hybrid working environment since the start of the pandemic, which saw one in three Aussies claiming working from home expenses in their tax return last year. If you have continued to work from home, we would expect to see a corresponding reduction in car, clothing and other work-related expenses such as parking and tolls” said Mr Loh. To claim a deduction for your working from home expenses, there are three methods available depending on your circumstances. You can choose from the shortcut (all-inclusive), fixed rate and actual cost methods, so long as you meet the eligibility and record-keeping requirements. “ Each individual’s work-related expenses are unique to their circumstances. If your working arrangements have changed, don’t just copy and paste your prior year’s claims. If your expense was used for both work-related and private use, you can only claim the work-related portion of the expense. For ex

FAQs

What four areas is the ATO targeting for Tax Time 2022?

The ATO is focusing on record-keeping, work-related expenses, rental property income and deductions, and capital gains from crypto assets, property, and shares.

What are the ATO’s three golden rules for making a claim?

You must have spent the money yourself and not been reimbursed; you can only claim the portion relating to producing income if there is both private and income-producing use; and you must have records to prove it.

How should people lodge their tax return to avoid common mistakes?

The ATO notes many errors happen when people rush to lodge and forget income such as bank interest, dividends, government agency payments, and private health insurer amounts. For earlier lodging, taxpayers must manually add all income and can check employer marking and pre-fill readiness in myTax and the ATO app.

Oct 1, 2026

Uploaded by asda1da