The Modernisation of Tax Administration Systems (MTAS) is a multi-phased ATO wide strategy aimed at improving the integrity of the tax system by working with Trustees, Tax Practitioners, and Digital Service Providers (DSPs) to improve the quality, accuracy and transparency of trust and beneficiary data.
Phase 2 will deliver enhancements to trust and beneficiary reporting over the next 2 years.
This MTAS Phase 2 working group meeting was held on 2 June 2026 at 3.00 pm AEST.
Key outcomes
Below is a summary of the key meeting outcomes. Note: the full outcomes are available in the DSP Hub.
Project update
Tax Time 2026
Tax Time 2026 deployment is scheduled for June and includes all planned changes. Before enabling the trust distribution pre-fill service, pre-fill data will be verified and tested to ensure it operates as intended.
Supporting guidance is being developed for Managed investment trusts (MITs) and trusts with more than 200 beneficiaries.
Tax time 2027
Tax Time 2027 is progressing as planned, with new pre-lodgment validations being introduced for managed investment trust eligibility and trust income reporting. Further trustee and trust type validations are planned for Tax Time 2028 as warnings.
The project team is finalising interactive validation rules, progressing the MST and schema, and are working towards sharing 2027 draft documentation by August 2026. Work is also underway to support proposed TFN reporting requirements for closely held trusts.
Rateable reduction labels (validations and calculations) for Tax Time 2027
For Tax Time 2027, reporting of capital gains and franked distributions will be simplified through the introduction of two new labels to directly report rateable reductions, reducing complexity and eliminating the need for multiple calculations and adjustments. New validations will help prevent common reporting errors.
The ATO is developing supporting guidance, examples and schema updates, including material to address edge cases and trustee reporting requirements. DSPs highlighted the importance of early access to draft artefacts, and the project team is working towards providing a proposed timeline by the end of July to support implementation planning.
Next step
The group intend to reconvene by early August 2026. MTAS Phase 2 will be an agenda item at the 2027 DSP Tax Time event, to be held in Canberra on 15 and 16 September 2026.
For any questions about the MTAS Phase 2 working group, raise a ticket via the DSP service desk in Online services for DSPs.
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