ATO’s taxable payments reporting system helps tradies compete on the level
The ATO’s taxable payments reporting system (TPRS) is a black economy measure designed to assist the ATO identify contractors who don’t report or under-report their income.
The ATO estimates that around 280,000 businesses need to lodge a Taxable payments annual report (TPAR) for 2019-20, 60,000 of which are overdue.
It’s not just businesses that pay contractors in the building and construction industry that need to lodge a TPAR.
2020 was the first year that businesses that pay contractors to provide road freight, information technology, security, investigation or surveillance services may need to lodge a TPAR with the ATO. This is in addition to those businesses providing building and construction, cleaning or courier services.
Businesses that have not yet lodged their TPAR need to as soon as possible in order to avoid penalties. Forms were due to be lodged by 28 August 2020 and are now well past that deadline.
Some businesses may not realise they need to lodge a TPAR but may be required to, do so depending on the percentage of payments received for deliveries or courier services.
Many restaurants, cafés, grocery stores, pharmacies and retailers have started paying contractors to deliver their goods to their customers. These businesses may not have previously needed to lodge a TPAR. However, if the total payments received for these deliveries or courier services are 10 per cent or more of the total annual business income, you’ll need to lodge.
More information
The ATO’s ‘Black Economy Taskforce’ estimates that Australia’s black economy is costing the community as much as $50 billion, which is approximately three percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Got a question on lodging your TPAR form correctly or want to know if your business is required to do so? Get in touch with our Tax & Accounting team in Brookvale on 02 9981 2300 for advice and assistance.
Additional information and resources in the form of videos, fact sheets, webcasts and examples to help businesses work out if they need to lodge, how to lodge and what to report is available at ato.gov.au/TPAR.