Taxpayers should be aware that some natural disaster relief payments are not taxable.
Businesses that have received a government support payment because of a natural disaster (such as a major weather event) should check if they need to include this as assessable income in their tax return before they lodge (although they may not need to pay tax on the payment).
Provided that they meet the criteria, taxpayers can treat some support payments as ‘non-assessable, non-exempt income’, which means they do not need to include them in their tax return.
Taxpayers can refer to the ATO’s website (or check with us) for more information in this regard, including in relation to the criteria that needs to be satisfied.