Lodgment Obligations

  • The head company of a consolidated group lodges a single income tax return on behalf of the group.
  • Where a group consolidates part way through an income year, the head company lodges a single return covering both its own activities up to the date of consolidation and the group’s activities from the date of consolidation.
  • An entity that is a subsidiary member of a consolidated group for the entire income year is not required to lodge an income tax return.
  • But an entity that is a subsidiary member of a consolidated group for only part of an income year must lodge an income tax return accounting for the period (or periods) in which it was not part of a group. In these circumstances, the entity lodges a single return for the entire income year at the normal lodgment time but includes only income and deductions attributable to the non-membership period (or periods).

Eligibility

The head company must:

  • be an Australian resident (but not a prescribed dual resident) company
  • not be a subsidiary member of a consolidated group or a group that is eligible to consolidate
  • have at least some of its taxable incomes (if any) taxed at the general company tax rate.
  • A corporate unit trust or public trading trust that elects to be taxed like a company may be a head company.

 

A subsidiary member must:

  • be a company, trust or partnership
  • be wholly owned (either directly or indirectly) by the head company (disregarding finance shares that are a debt interest and up to 1% of ordinary shares that meet certain employee share scheme requirements)
  • be an Australian resident (but not a prescribed dual resident)
  • have at least some of its taxable incomes (if any) taxed at the general company tax rate (if a company).

 

Consolidation of Income Tax Returns