Changes, Changes, Changes

As of 7 November 2024 the ATO have advised that they have changed how they handle General Interest Charges (GIC) remission requests making it harder & more time consuming for tax agents to submit these. It is no longer just a request for remission of GIC but an application form may have to be submitted as supplementary evidence. When contacting Initiative to request a remission of GIC, we may have to ask a few more questions to complete the application form on your behalf.

Another thing to remember is that when you enter into a payment arrangement with the ATO, by agreeing to the payment plan arrangement, you are advised of any general interest charges that will accrue on the plan & by accepting the arrangement, you accept the associated fees. So in fact the ATO don’t have to remit any GIC after a payment plan has been finalised. We, as tax agents, can request a remittance of GIC but the ATO don’t have to accept the request & remit any charges. The ATO have advised that you are generally only entitled to a GIC remittance of any charges before the payment plan took place, not while you were on the plan.