What is a ‘tax agent service’?
The following is intended as information only and is not a formal Board guideline. While it seeks to provide practical assistance and explanation, it does not exhaust, prescribe or limit the scope of the Board’s powers provided in the Tax Agent Services Act 2009. This information does not constitute legal advice and may be changed from time to time.
A tax agent service
A ‘tax agent service’ is any service that relates to:
- ascertaining liabilities, obligations or entitlements of an entity that arise, or could arise, under a taxation law, or
- advising an entity about liabilities, obligations or entitlements of the entity or another entity that arise, or could arise, under a taxation law, or
- representing an entity in their dealings with the Commissioner of Taxation (Commissioner), and
that is provided in circumstances where the entity can reasonably be expected to rely on the service for either or both of the following purposes:
- to satisfy liabilities or obligations that arise, or could arise, under a taxation law
- to claim entitlement that arise, or could arise under a taxation law.
A ‘Taxation law’ includes any Act of which the Commissioner has general administration, or any regulations made under such an Act. It also includes the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA) and any regulations made under the TASA.
Note: ‘Tax agent services’ includes ‘BAS services’.
Examples of a tax agent service
A tax agent service includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- a BAS service
- preparing or lodging an approved form about a taxpayer’s liabilities, obligations or entitlements under a taxation law
- giving a taxpayer advice about a taxation law that the taxpayer can reasonably be expected to rely upon to satisfy their taxation obligations, or
- dealing with the Commissioner on behalf of a taxpayer in relation to a taxation law.
A list of indicative tax agent services can be found in Appendix A – Examples of tax agent services.
Appendix A – Examples of tax agent services
The following table includes a non-exhaustive list of the types of services that may constitute a tax agent service if provided for a fee or reward.
|
Service
|
Tax agent
service
|
Not a tax
agent service
|
|
Preparing a return, notice, statement, application or other document about your client’s liabilities, obligations or entitlements under a taxation law
|
X
|
|
|
Lodging a return, notice, statement, application or other document about your client’s liabilities, obligations or entitlements under a taxation law
|
X
|
|
|
Advising your client on tax concessions for expenditure incurred on research and development activities where the service involves the application of taxation laws
|
X
|
|
|
Assisting your client with tax concessions for expenditure incurred on research and development activities where the service involves the application of taxation laws
|
X
|
|
|
Preparing an objection under Part IVC of the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (TAA 1953) against an assessment, determination, notice or decision under a taxation law
|
X
|
|
|
Lodging an objection on behalf of your client under Part IVC of the TAA 1953 against an assessment, determination, notice or decision under a taxation law
|
X
|
|
|
Contracting the services of a specialist to provide advice about an area of taxation law in which you have no expertise and cannot review for accuracy
|
|
X
|
|
Applying to the Commissioner or the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) for a review of, or instituting an appeal against, a decision on an objection under Part IVC of the TAA 1953
|
X
|
|
|
Giving your client advice about a taxation law that they can reasonably be expected to rely upon to satisfy their taxation obligations
|
X
|
|
|
Dealing with the Commissioner on behalf of your client
|
X
|
|
|
Services provided by an auditor of a self managed superannuation fund under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993
|
|
X
|
|
Providing general taxation advice to your client that does not involve the application or interpretation of a taxation law to the client’s personal circumstances
|
|
X
|
|
Installing computer accounting software without determining default goods and services tax (GST) codes tailored to the client
|
|
X
|
|
Installing computer accounting software and determining default GST codes tailored to the client
|
X
|
|
|
Reconciling data entry to ascertain the figures to be included on a client’s activity statement
|
X
|
|
|
Filling in the activity statement on behalf of an entity or instructing the entity which figures to include
|
X
|
|
|
General training in relation to the use of computerised accounting software
|
|
X
|
|
Preparing bank reconciliations
|
|
X
|
|
Entering data
|
|
X
|
|
Ascertaining the withholding obligations for the employees’ of your clients, including the preparation of payment summaries
|
X
|
|
|
Providing a tax agent service as a legal service, unless it consists of preparing, or lodging, a return or a statement in the nature of a return (which will be a tax agent service).
|
|
X
|
|
Providing a tax agent service as a legal service in the course of acting for a trust or deceased estate as trustee or legal personal representative.
|
|
X
|