What accounts does the ATO check for income?

[ezza]

PAYG Payment Summaries, Interest , Dividends, Trust income... all of those automatically go to the ATO computers. If you lodge your tax return using E-Tax then you can download this information (except it doesn't guarantee all income, you still need to disclose any that isn't included). Accountants also have access to this information too from the ATO from a report they download from the Tax Agent Portal. I have clients who ring up querying income I have put in their return that they never told me about which the ATO has advised me of. Common one is interest being held in trust for kids.

Yup had one the other day. Checked his info on the Portal while he popped out to get his bank details and low and behold $6000 of undeclared Centrelink income.

I just tell clients that the ATO knows EVERYTHING so don't bother trying to pull a swifty.

 

[duckster]

If Etax can download the interest it would be great if the ATO could send a statement to each tax payer of what the interest earned was
or even better they could work it out automatically and send a statement of what it was with your tax refund or bill.

Rather than having tax payers having to chase their banks to find out how much interest they were paid every single tax year.

Mind you I do not put much money in my bank accounts as the interest rates are so low.

 

[ezza]

How hard is it to pop onto your internet banking to get your interest for the year? Most of them will give you an end of financial year total.

 

[wylie]

How hard is it to pop onto your internet banking to get your interest for the year? Most of them will give you an end of financial year total.

I find it quite annoyingly difficult. My statements don't seem to total the interest or show it separately at the end so I have to scan the total year looking for my measly interest. It generally adds up to less than ONE DOLLAR so it is not a big problem .

Maybe I am missing where they show me the interest separately, but I have looked for it, and cannot see it.