An overdue tax return simply means you haven’t submitted your tax paperwork by the deadline set by the government. Think of it like a deadline for a task—except this task involves organizing your financial information and sending it to the tax office.

1. Overdue Tax Return – ATO
Tax Lodgement Advice
An overdue tax return simply means you haven’t submitted
your tax paperwork by the deadline set by the government.
Think of it like a deadline for a task—except this task
involves organizing your financial information and sending
it to the tax office.
Safe & Secure
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2. What is the FTL Penalty on Overdue Tax
Return?
An FTL (Failure to Lodge) penalty comes into play
when you miss the deadline for submitting your tax-
related documents, such as tax returns, reporting
PAYG installments, or GST/PAYG withholding on an
activity statement.
However, it’s not an immediate slap on the wrist.
Sometimes life gets busy, and despite your best
efforts, you might miss the due date. The tax office
understands this and doesn’t rush to penalize for a
one-off late lodgment.
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3. Overdue Tax Returns to which FLT Penalties are
Applied
Now, ATO uses a system that automatically slaps a penalty on late
submissions. This penalty can apply to various things you need to
submit, like your activity statements, tax returns, reports about
fringe benefits tax (FBT), annual GST returns, and more.
Automated FTL Penalties:
Applied to late-lodged returns, reports, and statements including:
● Activity statements
● Tax returns
● FBT (Fringe Benefits Tax) returns
● PAYG (Pay As You Go) withholding annual reports
● Single Touch Payroll reports
● Annual GST returns and information reports
● Taxable payment annual reports.
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4. Can you Avoid Overdue Tax Return FLT
Penalties?
If you receive a penalty notice for failing to lodge on
time, you can request a remission if there are
extenuating circumstances.
The ATO has the discretion to reduce (remit) the
penalty based on your individual circumstances.
Applicable circumstances include
Natural disaster.
Serious illness, or other unforeseen circumstances
beyond your control that prevented you or your agent
from requesting more time to lodge.
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5. How to Be Safe from FLT Penalties?
The safe harbour provision shields you from an FTL (Failure to Lodge)
penalty if you hired a registered tax agent or BAS (Business Activity
Statement) agent to lodge your tax return or statement, given that both
conditions below are met:
You Provided Relevant Information:
You must demonstrate that you supplied all necessary tax information to
your agent on time, enabling them to lodge your return or statement by the
due date.
Agent’s Failure Was Not Reckless or Intentional:
The agent’s failure to lodge your return or statement must not stem from
recklessness or intentional disregard of the law.
To qualify for the safe harbour, you’ll need evidence that you furnished all
relevant information to your agent within the stipulated time frame for
timely lodgement. If, after assessment, it’s determined that the safe
harbour provision doesn’t apply, you still have the option to request
remission of the FTL penalty.
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6. The Bottomline
Overdue tax return may result in FLT penalties, so
it’s crucial to lodge a tax return even if past the due
date. Seek guidance from a tax professional if
necessary. If eligible, ask for remission of penalties
due to genuine reasons like illness or unexpected
events. Timely action can minimize penalties and
avoid further complications with the tax office.
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