The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) remind not-for-profit organisations (NFPs) that if they have charitable purposes, they cannot simply assume they are exempt from income tax.
To qualify for income tax exemption, NFPs may be required to register as a charity with the ACNC and receive endorsement from the ATO.
If an organisation is charitable but fails to register with the ACNC, it will be subject to taxation as it won’t meet the criteria for self-assessment of income tax exemption. In such cases, if the organization is taxable, it may need to file an annual income tax return or inform the ATO if a return is unnecessary.
