Global Daily Tax News, Australia Releases GST Analytical Tool Guide, (Aug 14, 2025)

The Australian Taxation Office has released a new guide on undertaking the annual checks required of Top 100 and Top 1,000 taxpayers regarding GST compliance.

According to the ATO, all large corporate taxpayers in the Top 100 and Top 1,000 Programs, subject to assurance reviews (except those whose business is predominantly input taxed), are expected to implement and have documented procedures for an annual reconciliation process between their financial statements and business activity statements (BAS), as per the GST Governance, Data Testing and Transaction Testing Guide.

As part of this annual reconciliation process, taxpayers are expected to use the GST analytical tool (GAT), developed by the ATO, to help the agency better understand the reasons for the differences arising between accounting and GST figures, and to verify them with objective evidence.

The ATO explained: "The GAT reconciliation process is one of the four pillars of the justified trust methodology that we use to obtain greater assurance that you are paying the right amount of GST."

Alongside the new guide, the ATO has also released FAQs on the GAT requirements, rules, and processes.

As noted in the FAQs, a GAT analysis is required for the Top 100 GST assurance program (other than predominantly input-taxed industries).

In the Top 1,000 combined assurance program reviews (CAR), the ATO requires the GAT to be completed for all taxpayers that predominantly make taxable supplies. A case-by-case assessment is made by the ATO in respect of taxpayers in the financial services industry and those engaged in the property sector, and for taxpayers with very complex structures.