A taxpayer is responsible for ensuring that the taxable income reported in their income tax return is correct. A unit holder of an AMIT will rely on information provided in their AMMA statement to determine the amount to include in their assessable income. However, taxpayers must make appropriate judgments based on all of the information available to them to ensure they report the correct amount of assessable income in their tax return.
In some unusual circumstances, a member may conclude that they cannot reasonably rely on the accuracy of the determined member component amount as stated in their AMMA statement. In that case, the member can make a choice to nominate a different determined member component of a particular character for the income year.
Requirements for making a member's choice
The choice can be made by a member only if they can show that either:
- the AMIT has not worked out the member component of a particular character for an income year on a fair and reasonable basis in accordance with the constituent documents of the AMIT
- the AMIT has inappropriately streamed particular character amounts to a particular member in a way that is inconsistent with the constituent documents.
The choice must be made in writing and given to us within four months of the end of the member’s income year. In addition, the choice must state:
- the income year to which the choice relates
- what the member considers their member component of the particular character for the income year to be
- why the member considers the determined member component of the particular character was not worked out by the AMIT on a fair and reasonable basis in accordance with its constituent documents or was inappropriately streamed to members.
If an AMIT gives the member a revised AMMA statement for an income year, the member must instead notify us of making a member's choice within four months of the date the revised AMMA statement is given. The member may need to amend their return for the respective income year.
How to make a member's choice
If you're a member of an AMIT and you believe the determined member component of a particular character has been incorrectly attributed to you, you should contact the AMIT.
After discussing it with the AMIT, if you believe you need to make a member's choice, you must notify the AMIT in writing.
You must also notify us in writing. The steps to follow are:
- Include the member's choice amount in your tax return. Your tax return will be processed under self-assessment – that is, we will initially accept the information you give us at face-value, but we may review it at a later time.
- Write to us at the address below (or using our online services), state that you are making a 'Member's choice' in relation to your AMIT attribution, and include all of the following information:
If you have already lodged your return for an income year and now need to make a member choice for that year (for example, because you've received a revised AMMA statement from the AMIT), you will need to lodge an amended return or write to us requesting an amendment for that income year. You must also satisfy the requirements for making a member choice.
Write to us
Send the required member notification information to:
Australian Taxation Office
GPO Box 9990
[insert the name and postcode of your capital city]
For example:
Australian Taxation Office
GPO Box 9990
SYDNEY NSW 2001
If you are sending your letter from overseas, replace 'IN YOUR CAPITAL CITY' with:
SYDNEY NSW 2001, AUSTRALIA
For businesses and tax agents
If you have access to either Online services for business or Online services for agents, you can include the required member notification information in a new message and lodge it through those services.
To ensure your member notification is processed correctly, make the following selections when creating your new message to us:
- select the Income tax mail topic list
- select the subject Notification – AMIT member choice under section 276-205 of the ITAA 1997.
A character limit may apply to messages submitted through online services. If your information exceeds that limit, you may attach a file to the message containing the required information.
Note: Under Taxation Administration Act 1953, we are authorised to request your TFN. It is not an offence not to provide your TFN. However, if you do not provide your TFN, the processing of your member's choice may be delayed. Tax law authorises us to collect information and to disclose it to other government agencies.
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