Tax Agent Obligations: Communicating Client Due Dates

Regulatory Context

Obligations are governed by:

• The Tax Agent Services Act 2009

• The Tax Practitioners Board Code of Professional Conduct

Key requirement:

👉 Take reasonable steps to ensure clients are aware of their tax obligations and due dates.

Core Obligation: Communicating Due Dates

You must:

• Notify clients of relevant lodgement and payment deadlines

• Provide sufficient time for clients to supply information

• Communicate consequences of late lodgement

💡 This does not require ongoing chasing, but does require clear and timely communication.

Best Practice

• Be proactive – communicate deadlines early

• Be clear – include obligation type, due date, and required actions

• Document communications – store in systems such as Xero Practice Manager

• Align with scope – only take responsibility for agreed services

SCENARIO: When Deadlines Are in the Past

Where obligations are already overdue when you onboard a client:

• Inform the client immediately

• Explain potential ATO penalties and implications

• Clarify responsibility (e.g. late engagement or delayed client information)

• Outline next steps (e.g. lodge ASAP, consider remission request)

• Keep clear records of all communications

SCENARIO: Out-of-Scope Work (e.g. BAS / Activity Statements)

Scenario detail: 

• You are engaged for income tax only

• You are not engaged as a BAS agent

• The client has outstanding or overdue BAS/IAS

Where the above scenario (or similar) is playing out with an active client:

• You are expected to take reasonable steps to ensure a client is aware of all their tax obligations and due dates, and this is not strictly limited to the specific services you are engaged for

• Even if a service is out of scope, you should focus on client awareness:

  • Alert the client to the existence of the obligation
  • Highlight if deadlines are approaching or overdue
  • Avoid remaining silent where this could mislead the client
• Where risk arises in practice / a problem may arise:
  

  • You know BAS is overdue and say nothing

  • The client reasonably assumes you are handling it

  • Your conduct creates confusion about responsibility - (ensure communication and contracting around responsibilities is crystal clear)

• Bottom line (this is what the TPB generally cares about in practice) : 
  
  

  👉 You don’t own BAS obligations if you’re not engaged
  👉 But you do have a duty not to leave the client unaware