Lost, damaged or destroyed tax records

The ATO knows that many taxpayers are facing lasting impacts left in the wake of natural disasters, so if they find their records have been lost or destroyed, whether in cyclones, floods or bushfires, the ATO can help. According to ATO Assistant Commissioner Tim Loh:

“If you have a myGov account linked to the ATO, you’ll be able to view some of your records, including income tax returns, income statements and previous notices of assessments. If you lodge through a registered tax agent, they can also access these documents on your behalf.”

Government agencies, private health funds, financial institutions and businesses provide information to the ATO which is available to tax agents and automatically included in returns by the end of July.

If taxpayers have lost receipts due to a natural disaster, the ATO can accept reasonable claims without evidence, so long as it’s not reasonably possible to access the original documents (although the taxpayer may be required to tell the ATO how they calculated the claim).

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Please Note: Many of the comments in this article are general in nature and anyone intending to apply the information to practical circumstances should seek professional advice to independently verify their interpretation and the information’s applicability to their particular circumstances.