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Tax agents may soon receive an ATO certificate of tax information on behalf of travel agent clients who have applied for a one-off COVID-19 grant targeted at the sector.
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Tax agents advised on incoming ATO certificates
16 December 2020
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The COVID-19 Consumer Travel Support Program provides a one-off grant of $1,500 to $100,000 to travel agents or tour arrangement service providers who had an annual GST turnover of between $50,000 and $20 million in the 2019 calendar year.
Travel agents looking to claim the grant are required to apply through Services Australia, with a certificate of tax information from the ATO to be issued as part of the process.
The certificate will be sent to the mailing address of the applicant’s ABN, which may be a tax agent’s address.
It may also be sent to a tax agent’s client mail inbox in online services for agents if communication preferences have been set for the practice to receive client mail.
Sole traders may also receive the certificate through their myGov inbox if their account is linked to the ATO.
Once the certificate has been issued, applicants will need to upload it on Services Australia’s Business Hub to complete the claim process.
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The ATO has urged practitioners who may receive these certificates on behalf of their clients to forward them as soon as possible to help their clients meet the application deadline.
The $128 million grant program is currently running from 14 December 2020 to 13 March 2021, or until program funds are exhausted.
The ATO has also reminded agents and applicants that they cannot contact the ATO directly for the certificate. Certificates can only be issued through a Services Australia application.
Eligible businesses
Businesses must prove they were operating as a travel agent or tour arrangement service provider before 19 March 2020 by holding an active incorporation or registration with the Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) or another tourism peak industry body, or providing evidence of an Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) code recorded on the business’s 2018–19 tax return.
Businesses must also have lodged a 2018–19 income tax return, received a JobKeeper payment for any fortnight in October 2020, hold an active ABN, and have an account with an Australian financial institution.
Businesses that had an annual GST turnover of $75,000 or more in the 2019 calendar year must also be registered for GST and lodge all required business activity statements in that year.
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