The ATO has released its key areas of focus for privately owned and wealthy groups for the 2024-25 income year.
This annual list outlines the foundational issues, emerging risks, and targeted areas that will guide the ATO’s compliance and enforcement efforts.
Businesses and individuals in these categories are encouraged to review their tax practices to ensure compliance and avoid potential penalties.
The list is separated into foundational issues, emerging and evolving risks, and targeted focus areas.
Foundational issues
The ATO’s foundational focus areas address core compliance obligations that apply broadly across private groups. These include:
- Registration, lodgment and payment
- Incorrect reporting
- Tax advisers and professional firms – failure to lodge / pay personal returns, allocation of professional firm profits
- Division 7A
- CGT
- Property and construction
- International transactions
Emerging and Evolving Risks
The ATO has also highlighted newer risks that are gaining attention as tax law and business practices evolve. Key areas include:
- Incorrect reporting – trust deductions, R&D claims, GST credits on employee allowances
- CGT – Division 149 and pre-CGT assets
- Other emerging areas – trust loss trafficking, inappropriate use of private ancillary funds, share buybacks, thin capitalisation rules, cryptocurrency based business models.
Targeted Focus Areas
The ATO has identified specific industries and issues as areas of concentrated focus for the coming year:
- Succession planning
- Private equity
- Retirement villages
- GST for the retail and construction industries.