ATO online outage strikes as accountants prepare for looming lodgment deadlines

Technical difficulties have plagued the Australian Taxation Office’s online services for nearly a week, disrupting tax agents trying to complete returns before a major reporting deadline and raising concerns of further setbacks as a new cut-off date approaches.

Accountants and tax agents say the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) online portal has malfunctioned since at least Wednesday, April 26, barring them from submitting client returns and accessing other services.

Screenshots posted to social media appear last week showed error messages across the ATO website.

portal broken after the Anzac Day holiday @ato_gov_au ??? pic.twitter.com/bQFz6PNURt

— Steve G (@Steve23_G) April 26, 2023

The portal outages were “intermittent & you should be able to regain access,” the official ATO Twitter account advised one user, adding that “some users have accessed our online services successfully.”

But a warning banner remained on the ATO community website Monday morning, saying that system issues were still under investigation.

“We’re aware some people are having trouble accessing some of our online services,” the warning read.

Source: Australian Taxation Office

“We’re sorry for this inconvenience & appreciate the feedback we’ve received.

“Our team are working on a resolution & we’ll provide an update as soon as we can.”

A spokesperson for the ATO was not immediately available for comment Monday morning.

Outage strikes as due dates near

The outage coincides with a key reporting date, adding to the concerns of tax agents attempting to use the system.

Business Activity Statements (BAS) for the third quarter of 2022-2023 were due Friday, April 28, unless BAS agents secured a concession, leading some users to ask the ATO if they will be penalised if their filing attempts were delayed by technical difficulties.

The ATO says it does not generally apply penalties in isolated cases of late lodgment, lowering the risk of fines linked to its recent online difficulties.

Entities which engage a registered tax agent can avoid fines by proving they provided all relevant details to their agent before the due date, and that their agent’s submission was not delayed “because they were reckless or intentionally disregarded the law.”

Nevertheless, the tax office still reserves the right to fine small entities one penalty unit — the equivalent of $275 — for each 28-day period a report goes overdue.

As accountants seek answers over the due date just passed, others are concerned disruptions will linger into May, potentially blocking future lodgments.

Final 2022 tax returns will come due on May 15 for all entities not required to report earlier, and those not eligible for the June 5 concession, the ATO states.

With tax agents gearing up for those mid-May submissions, some accountants fear a surge of activity on the ATO digital portal could cause further technical headaches.

Old troubles meet new systems

The outage is the latest in a string of technical difficulties affecting the tax agent portal.

In May last year, a major system outage “pulled the plug” on the portal ahead of several reporting deadlines, said Lisa Greig, founder of tax and business advice service Perigee Advisers.

Speaking to SmartCompany on Monday, Greig said the ATO’s online systems had improved since then but remained “inconsistent” and subject to periodic outages.

“It’s hard to work out what the actual problem is,” she said.

“It’s very hit and miss.”

The outage also comes as the ATO integrates new features into its digital platform.

A revamped lodgment deferral system went live last week, promising a streamlined way for accountants and tax agents to request more time to file client reports.