Why does HandiTax not include withholding tax for non-residents in its tax estimate?

HandiTax does not include withholding tax in its Income Tax Return Tax Estimate as this is part of PAYG withholding and not income tax.
​
The main reason for this is that a number of assumptions would need to be made in regards to the country of residence at the time the interest or dividend was paid or accrued, whether the payer had deducted withholding tax and submitted it to the ATO, and if the tax payer was a resident for part of the year when was the income accrued.
​
The notice of assessment the Tax Office sends you is an itemised account of the amount of tax that you owe on your taxable income, taking into account any tax offsets you are entitled to, and contains other information such as the amount of credit for tax you have already paid through the income year.
​
In terms of Section 128D of Income Tax Assessment Act 1936, if income has been subject to withholding tax, the relevant amount is not included in assessable income and accordingly is effectively excluded from income tax by way of assessment. Australian residents who pay interest, dividend and royalties to foreign residents are generally required to withhold tax. The person liable to pay the money to a foreign resident is deemed to be the person having control of that money, and is required to withhold sufficient to pay taxes that are due. Payers generally withhold tax from interest, dividends and royalties paid to non-residents and submit directly to the ATO.
​
Please also refer to the ATO websites and their applicable publications.