specification / software developers / October 2014 / UNCLASSIFIED
format / Audience / Date / Classification
Electronic reporting specification
Tax file number (TFN) declaration reporting version 2.3.0
UNCLASSIFIED / For further information or questions, call 13 28 66
UNCLASSIFIED
UNCLASSIFIED / ELECTRONIC REPORTING SPECIFICATION - TAX FILE NUMBER (TFN) DECLARATION REPORTING
CHANGES IN THIS VERSION OF THE SPECIFICATION
Difference between version 2.2 and version 2.3.0
General key changes
§ The ATO is closing the lodgment service for electronic storage media and encouraging on line lodgment. Therefore, information on electronic storage media, including the electronic storage media information form, has been removed from this version of the specification
§ General wording changes to allow for consistency update and clarify information and processes.
§ Changes have not been tracked where sentences have been restructured and the intent/information has not changed.
§ Acronyms table has been updated.
§ Definitions table has been introduced.
§ Privacy information has been updated.
§ The term Tax office has been replaced with ATO throughout the document.
§ Information on portals and SBR has been added.
§ Section 11 Useful tips has been replaced with a Checklist and associated information.
Changes to data records, values and definitions
§ ATO report specification version number has changed from FTFNDV02.0 to FTFNDV02.3
§ Field name - 7.68 HELP indicator has been changed to 7.68 Higher Education Loan Programme (HELP) or Trade support loan (TSL).
§ Definition - 7.68 Higher Education Loan Programme (HELP) or Trade support loan (TSL) has been updated to include TSL.
§ Field name - 7.69 - Student loan indicator in the data record file has been corrected to match definition name 7.69 - Student Financial Supplement Scheme indicator.
ACRONYMS
Acronym / DescriptionABN / Australian business number
ATO / Australian Taxation Office
ECI / electronic commerce interface
HELP / Higher education loan programme
SILU / Software Industry Liaison Unit
SFSS / Student Financial Supplement Scheme
SBR / standard business reporting
TFN / tax file number
TSL / Trade support loan
WPN / withholding payer number
DEFINITIONS
Common term / DefinitionHELP / A suite of loans offered by the Australian Government that assists eligible students to pay their student contributions
Payee / For the purposes of this document, a payee is defined as a person who receives or is to receive a payment.
Payer / A payer is an entity that makes or will make a payment to a payee.
SFSS / A voluntary loan scheme that was available to help tertiary students cover their expenses while studying.
TSL / TSL will be a new income contingent loan and will have compulsory repayments raised on a client’s income tax Notice of Assessment (NOA) once the client’s repayment income exceeds a minimum repayment threshold.
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UNCLASSIFIED / ELECTRONIC REPORTING SPECIFICATION - TAX FILE NUMBER (TFN) DECLARATION REPORTING
Table of contents
1 Introduction 1
Who should use this specification 1
Lodging via the internet 1
2 Legal requirements 2
Reporting obligations 2
Retention of information 2
Privacy 3
3 Reporting procedures 4
Reporting for the first time 4
Test Facility 4
Accessing the test facility 5
Reporting electronically 5
Getting started 6
Backup of data 6
4 Physical specifications 7
5 Data file format 8
File content 8
Sort order of the report data file 8
File structure diagram 9
6 Record specifications 10
Header records 10
CR, LF and EOF markers 10
EOF (if supplied) 10
CR/LF (if supplied) 10
Description of terms used in data record specifications 12
Supplier data record 1 14
Supplier data record 2 14
Supplier data record 3 15
Payer identity data record 16
Software data record 16
Payee declaration data record 17
File total data record 18
7 Data field definitions and validation rules 19
Reporting of name fields 19
Reporting of address details 19
Field definitions and edit rules 21
8 Example of data file structure 29
Supplier data record 1 29
Supplier data record 2 30
Supplier data record 3 30
Payer identity data record 31
Software data record 31
Payee declaration data record 1 32
Payee declaration data record 2 33
File total data record 34
9 Algorithms 35
Tax File Number algorithm 35
ABN algorithm 35
WPN algorithm 35
10 More information 36
ECI 36
Payer Enquiries 36
Software developers homepage 37
11 Checklist 38
UNCLASSIFIED / ivUNCLASSIFIED / ELECTRONIC REPORTING SPECIFICATION - TAX FILE NUMBER (TFN) DECLARATION REPORTING
1 Introduction
Who should use this specification
This specification is to be used in the development of software for the lodgment of electronic versions of the Tax file number (TFN) declaration reporting data to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), effective from 1 July 2015.
This specification is also to be used in conjunction with the specification for Self-Printing tax file number (TFN) declarations to develop software for the printing of TFN declarations.
Payers who lodge their TFN declaration report electronically to the ATO are eligible to use electronic payee signatures on virtual forms for TFN declarations. An electronic payee signature on a virtual TFN declaration form must be in an acceptable format and captured in a manner consistent with these guidelines.
A virtual TFN declaration form must be developed in conjunction with the Electronic reporting specification for TFN declarations and apply standard ATO formatting.
For information on standard ATO formatting and reporting specifications go to http://softwaredevelopers.ato.gov.au.
Lodging via the internet
Payers and other organisations can lodge reports on line through the ATO portals.
Lodging online will:
§ reduce paperwork
§ provide a secure way for reports to be lodged
§ ensure that all of the necessary fields to lodge your report have been completed via inbuilt checks provide an online receipt when the report is lodged
§ be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Payers that report online may also provide payees with self-print TFN declarations, For information on providing self-print TFN declarations see the Electronic reporting specification – Self-print tax file number (TFN) declaration at http://softwaredevelopers.ato.gov.au.
2 Legal requirements
Reporting obligations
Under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936, payers are required to report to the ATO details of TFN declarations lodged by payees during the reporting period (Section 202CD) and all known details of payees who have not lodged TFN declarations (Section 202 CF) within 14 days of the commencement of a payer/payee relationship.
Payers who lodge TFN declaration reports with the ATO via ATO portals or electronic commerce interface (ECI) must ensure that the information is provided each fortnight. Each report must include the records relevant to the reporting period only, for example, the reports must not be year to date or payroll dumps.
Payers may elect the day on which the initial report will be sent to the ATO. Subsequent reports will then be required fortnightly from this date. NIL reports are not required.Retention of information
Under taxation law, Tax File Number declarations must be retained by payers for a statutory period of twelve months after the close of the financial year in which the declaration ceases to have effect.
A copy of the data file provided must be able to be regenerated on request where a problem has been encountered in processing the information.
Privacy
The Privacy Act 1988 limits the collection, storage, use and disclosure of personal information about individuals by the ATO, other Commonwealth Government departments and agencies.
New private sector provisions in the Privacy Act also regulate the way many private sector organisations collect, use, secure and disclose personal information. The private sector provisions aim to give people greater control over the way information about them is handled in the private sector by requiring organisations to comply with ten national privacy principles. These principles give individuals the right to know what information an organisation holds about them and a right to correct that information if it is wrong.
The Privacy Commissioner’s Guidelines to the Australian Privacy Principles and other relevant information sheets are available at www.oaic.gov.au
It is the responsibility of private sector organisations to obtain their own advice on the effect of privacy law, including the Australian Privacy Principles on their operations.
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3 Reporting procedures
Reporting for the first time
Software developers developing reporting software for the electronic generation of Tax file number (TFN) declaration reporting should refer to this specification for developing their application. Information is also available on the Software developers homepage website at http://softwaredevelopers.ato.gov.au.
The Software developers homepage website is maintained by the ATO on behalf of, and in consultation with, the software development industry and business advisers. It facilitates the development and listing of software which may assist business to meet their tax obligations.
Commercial software developers are required to register on the Software developers homepage website if they wish to list their products. Software developers who do not wish to list products do not need to register in order to access information. Subscribing for email updates is recommended for developers to be notified of significant issues and new updated specifications.
Test Facility
A test facility is provided to software developers to self-test the contents of test files. It is accessed using an ID and password.
The test facility supports testing of files that comply with the latest versions of electronic reporting specifications. It cannot be used to make lodgments to the ATO.
The same validation process will be applied to the files checked in the test facility and files that will be lodged via the ATO portals.
To test a file:
1 Prepare the files using software developed in accordance with the published reporting specifications.
2 Log in to the test facility using the user ID and password.
3 Select Send data located in the left hand menu.
4 Select Browse to locate the file and then select OK.
5 Select Send to submit the file to the ATO, where it will be checked for format compatibility and data quality.
6 Select Transaction history to confirm the file has been uploaded. This can be done while the file is being validated for errors and warnings.
7 When the validation is complete select Download from the Transaction history screen to download the validation report confirming the data is in a valid format or detailing any errors found.
Accessing the test facility
To obtain a user ID and password for the test facility, complete the File transfer test facility registration form at http://softwaredevelopers.ato.gov.au/bulktest. The test facility can be accessed from the same location.
For support in the use of the test facility, including password reset:§ email , or
§ phone (02) 6216 4004 between 8.30am and 4.30pm, Monday to Friday AEDST.
Reporting electronically
To upload files, use the Portal file transfer function available on the Business portal, Tax Agent Portal, BAS Agent Portal or standard business reporting (SBR) if you have SBR-enabled software. The alternative channels for uploading files, such as sending files on physical media or using ECI, will gradually close as clients transition to the portals and SBR. For tax time 2015 the ATO will not accept files sent through on physical media. There has not been an established closure date for any ECI services but the ATO aims to transition TFN Declaration lodgers to the portals or SBR by tax time 2015.
ECI will not support any new services or new specification versions of existing services. As some of the services within ECI are not yet supported by the portals or SBR, the ATO will not decommission the ECI services until there are suitable electronic alternatives available
Suppliers are able to lodge the Tax file number (TFN) declaration reporting file electronically via the Business Portal, Tax Agent Portal or BAS Agent Portal where the data file has been prepared and stored locally.
On screen confirmation will be provided once the file has been sent. The ATO will perform data quality and format compatibility checks after the data file is sent. If the user selects the email acknowledgement option in the Lodge file process, an email will be provided confirming that the files have been successfully lodged with the ATO. A validation report will be available in the portal to advise if the report was successfully validated or if there are any problems.
The security features of the portals address the most commonly held concerns over internet-based electronic dealings, namely:
§ authentication (the sender is who they say they are)
§ confidentiality (the communication can only be read by the intended recipient)
§ integrity (the transmission cannot be altered without detection while in transit), and
§ non-repudiation (there is a record of the transmission and content).
Getting started
Access to the portals requires:
§ an ABN – apply online at www.abr.gov.au, and
§ an AUSkey – register online at www.auskey.abr.gov.au.
AUSkey is an online security credential used to protect the client’s security and privacy when using ATO online services.
Every person associated with the business who wants to deal with the ATO online on behalf of that ABN will need an AUSkey. Users can have full or limited access to information, which can be changed anytime by using Access Manager in the portal.
The portals can be accessed from the Online services box in the right hand menu of the ATO website at www.ato.gov.au.
Backup of data
It is the responsibility of the payer to keep records as part of their tax reporting obligations. A backup copy of the data sent to the ATO should be kept by either the payer or the supplier, so that the report can be re-submitted if necessary.
4 Physical specifications
The ATO is closing the lodgment service for electronic storage media and encouraging portal lodgment and SBR as the preferred methods for lodgment. Suppliers lodging the Tax file number (TFN) declaration reporting will be encouraged to lodge using the ATO portals or SBR. Therefore, information on electronic storage media, including the electronic storage media information form, has been removed.