This article discusses strata managers’ duty to keep income tax returns.
Question: Is a strata manager required to keep copies of income tax returns as part of a strata scheme’s financial records?
We are a small three-lot strata scheme and have always lodged nil tax returns. I asked our strata manager to lodge a final return so we could stop future filings and save on annual accountancy and strata preparation fees. The accounting firm, which is partly owned by our strata manager, initially refused to lodge the final return.
At an extraordinary general meeting, the owners voted to disengage the accountant and lodge the final return ourselves. The accountant then requested my personal details, including my tax file number, before agreeing to remove us as a client. When I requested a copy of our 2024 income tax return to help complete the 2025 return, I was told that income tax returns are not kept in strata records. Is there a legal requirement for strata managers to retain these documents as part of the scheme’s financial records?
Answer: Get in touch with the ATO directly and update the Public Officer details.
The current tax agent does not appear to be doing anything wrong, apart from $300+GST, which is a bit steep for a nil return.
Tax Ruling 2015/3 states that Strata Plans are to be treated like ‘for profit’ corporations for income tax purposes. This unfortunately means a Strata Plan cannot elect to lodge a final return like a ‘Not For Profit’ entity would. That said, the ATO has, on occasions, allowed this to happen in what appears to be a contradiction of TR 2015/3.
To change tax agents, the ATO needs to know who will be the new Public Officer. This is why the current tax agent wanted your TFN, etc. It is currently problematic that when tax agents and strata agents change, they must rely on the new agent to remove the old ones. This is not a good process that the ATO has created. However, you can contact the ATO directly to advise them of the new Public Officer without providing your details to the current tax agent.
In summary, get in touch with the ATO directly, update the Public Officer details, then ask your current tax agent to remove your plan from their client list. Then, the Public Officer can lodge the latest tax return as a final submission to see if the ATO will accept it. Once you become the Public Officer, you will have access to see the 2024 return.
Matthew Faulkner Matthew Faulkner Accountancy PTY LTD E: matt@mattfaulkner.accountants P: 0438 116 374
This post appears in the November 2025 edition of The NSW Strata Magazine.
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