SMSF auditor number misuse linked to late SMSF lodgments: ATO

The ATO has found that more than a third of instances involving the misuse of SMSF auditor numbers (SANs) relate to late lodgments of SMSF annual returns (SARs).

The ATO said it issued each auditor with a list of SMSFs that lodged a SAR for any income year that reported them as an auditor with an audit completed date between 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021. In response to this September 2021 mailout, auditors reported 1,896 instances of SAN misuse with 1,230 instances (65%) relating to SARs for the 2020 income year. The data also showed that SAN misuse was connected to 683 tax agents and 24 trustees (self-lodgers).