The Australian Tax Office will be closely monitoring the 2018-2019 tax returns lodged through the ATO MyGov online service after some tax agents were found to be abusing the system by faking the self-prepared returned for clients.

Among the many taxpayers racing to claim a larger refund this tax time, the ATO has warned that it had detected instances where tax agents were inappropriately using the MyGov portal to manage the tax affairs or individual customers.

Tax agents are only permitted to use the dedicated services as the ATO’s tax agent online services for agents to manage the affairs of their clients.

The difference is important as there is a strong professional onus on tax agents not to submit dodgy claims for deductions. Lodging through the agent’s online portal also allows the ATO to see tax agents claiming behaviour and help guide industry behaviour.

“We have identified some registered tax agents using taxpayer’s personal login details to access their ATO Online account through the ATO myGov portal to lodge tax returns on behalf of clients,” the ATO said.

“MyTax is not an approved lodgement channel for registered agents and is a breach of the ATO Online terms and conditions.”

One of the reason for this is claims rorting, where the agent uses the MyGov portal to hide the fact that they have lodged the return.

The ATO said it will be closely monitoring the situation and using the full weight of its data matching and collection tool to identify and suspicious behaviour with lodgements.

The ATO has warned that agents who do not use the correct tax agent platform to manage their clients tax affairs are at risk of referrals to the Tax Practitioners Board.

Contact us today to discuss issues related to the MyGov portal or any other security concerns that you may have.