NEW ENDORSEMENT REQUIREMENTS FOR CHARITIES
2 August 2004
From 1 July 2005 new endorsement arrangements for charities begin. Charities will need to be endorsed by the Tax Office in order to access income tax, fringe benefits tax (FBT) and goods and service tax (GST) charity concessions. Currently, charities only need to be endorsed to access income tax concessions.
If you are already endorsed as a charity, there is nothing further to be done by you.
Changes will be introduced to the Australian Business Register (ABR) so that a charity’s endorsements for tax concessions can be viewed by the public.
If your charity is currently endorsed as an ITEC, your charity’s ITEC endorsement, and any other existing endorsements your charity has for deductible gift recipient status, will continue. However, the ATO has requested charities with existing endorsements review these existing endorsement/s and advise us the ATO if the organization has ceased to be entitled.
Charities can continue to self-assess their entitlement to fringe benefits tax (FBT) and goods and services tax (GST) charity concessions up to 1 July 2005. However, from 1 July 2005, charities will require additional endorsements in order to access these concessions. The Tax Office will automatically do this for you, unless you advise them otherwise.
From 1 July 2005, your charity’s income tax, FBT and GST endorsements will be publicly displayed on the Australian Business Register.
If your charity is not currently endorsed and wants to access charity tax concessions, it will need to apply to the Tax Office for endorsement.
Charities that are not currently endorsed may include:
organisations that are charities because of the statutory extension to the common law meaning of charity (for example, non-profit child care providers that satisfy the criteria of charity)
newly formed charities, and
existing charities that are not currently endorsed and have been self-assessing their entitlement to FBT and GST charity concessions.