Deadline extended for NFP self-review returns

As of July, the ATO began sending letters to non-charitable not-for-profits (NFPs) to notify those organisations that the new NFP self-review return is ready to access and lodge.

If you belong to one of the estimated 150,000 plus NFP organisations and are concerned that there is not enough time for your organisation to meet the new reporting obligations, or you are having difficulties accessing the ATO’s Online services or the Self-help phone service, the ATO has offered a bit of breathing room.

While Tax Time 2024 began on 1 July and closes on 31 October 2024, and NFPs are encouraged to lodge their 2024 NFP self-review returns within that time frame, the ATO has recently announced that it is extending the deadline for lodgment to 31 March 2025 if it’s required. This extra time forms part of the ATO’s transitional support arrangements, so an NFP doesn’t need to contact the ATO in order to receive the extension if that extra time is needed. However, if you lodge after 31 March 2025, failure to lodge penalties may be applied to your account.

Preparation

To prepare to lodge your return, you should:

• Ensure that your organisation’s ABN, addresses, associates and authorised contacts are up to date with the ATO.
• Set up myGovID and RAM (Relationship Authorisation Manager) to enable access to Online services for business. There are different processes to follow if you are a principal authority (a person responsible for the organisation) or an authorised user/administrator (someone who acts on the organisation’s behalf). Once these are set up you will be able to review the return from 1 July 2024.
• Review your organisation’s purpose and governing documents. The governing documents (or constitution, rule book or rules/articles of association) are the formal documents setting out an organisation’s purpose, NFP character and how it makes decisions and operates. Make sure your documents have an appropriate not-for-profit and dissolution clause and that your organisation is operating for its stated purpose.
• Use the questions in How to prepare a NFP self-review return on the ATO website to determine your organisation’s eligibility for income tax exemption. Keep a copy of your answers in an accessible format – if you find you can’t use Online services or a tax agent to lodge your NFP self-review return, these answers will help you lodge the return over the phone using the Self-help service.

Lodgment

For the 2023-24 year, you can lodge the NFP self-review return in Online Services for business; registered tax agents can lodge the NFP self-review return using Online services for agents; or you can use the Self-help phone service on 13 72 26 if you can’t access Online services for business.

If you have your details ready, the ATO estimates that the lodgment process generally takes around 10 minutes to complete.

Self-review resulting in taxable NFP or charitable NFP status

If your NFP self-review indicates your organisation doesn’t meet the eligibility criteria to remain a tax-exempt NFP, you can follow the prompts to notify the ATO that none of the categories apply and the ATO will help you meet your lodgment obligations. For organisations with an income year ending 30 June, you have up to 15 May 2025 to lodge an income tax return or notify the ATO of a return not necessary. More information can be found on the ATO website under Transitional support if you are taxable.

If your self-review leaves you unsure if you have charitable purposes, or indicates your organisation does have charitable purposes, you can continue to complete and submit the NFP self-review return. The ATO will help you determine your organisation’s status.