The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) on 29 May 2025 issued long-awaited transfer pricing guidance to help taxpayers determine whether their related-party debt is consistent with the arm’s length standard.
Draft Practical Compliance Guideline 2025/D2, “Factors to consider when determining the amount of your inbound, cross-border related party financing arrangement – ATO compliance approach” -- PCG 2025/D2 -- was developed in the wake of legislation the Australian Parliament ratified in 2024 that modified how Australia’s thin capitalisation and transfer pricing provisions interact.
PCG 2025/D2 provides a framework for taxpayers to assess the tax risk associated with their inbound, cross-border related-party financing arrangements under the transfer pricing provisions. However, it does so only for taxpayers that are general class investors and financial entities that elect the third-party debt test under Australia’s thin capitalisation legislation.
As the ATO has done in other recent Practical Compliance Guidelines, PCG 2025/D2 adopts a “risk zone” approach, with a range of colour-coded risk outcomes, including:
In the guidance, the ATO presents its view of how independent entities evaluate available sources of financing through an evaluation of options realistically available to them. It also summarises its view of the merits of various sources of financing, including internally generated funds, debt, and equity.
The ATO suggests a number of factors that taxpayers should consider when determining the arm’s length nature of an intragroup financing arrangement. These include:
The ATO classifies taxpayers that have both outstanding debt and significant cash reserves, entities with explicit guarantees that borrow more than they might have without the credit guarantee, and taxpayers that on-lend funds to a related party at a rate below the rate at which they borrowed the funds as “high risk.”
The ATO affirms in the PCG that taxpayers should prepare transfer pricing documentation for their related-party loan arrangements for each income year that the financing arrangement is outstanding, citing the ATO’s existing guidance on transfer pricing documentation, TR 2014/8.
Once PCG 2025/D2 is finalised, the ATO plans to apply it to income years commencing on or after 1 July 2023 and to existing and newly created financing arrangements.
As with other transfer pricing-related Practical Compliance Guidelines, the ATO notes that this guidance “is general in nature, does not constitute a ‘safe harbour’ and does not replace, alter, or affect [the ATO’s] interpretation of the law in any way.” While the ATO may use this framework for risk profiling, it does not represent the ATO’s interpretation of actual tax law.
Clearly, the PCG represents the ATO’s considered views, though ones that reflect a specific perspective that potentially creates challenges for taxpayers. BDO will release a follow-up analysis of some of these challenges and how they might be addressed soon.
If you need any assistance, contact our team of transfer pricing advisers.
Bill Yohana
BDO in Australia
Draft Practical Compliance Guideline 2025/D2, “Factors to consider when determining the amount of your inbound, cross-border related party financing arrangement – ATO compliance approach” -- PCG 2025/D2 -- was developed in the wake of legislation the Australian Parliament ratified in 2024 that modified how Australia’s thin capitalisation and transfer pricing provisions interact.
PCG 2025/D2 provides a framework for taxpayers to assess the tax risk associated with their inbound, cross-border related-party financing arrangements under the transfer pricing provisions. However, it does so only for taxpayers that are general class investors and financial entities that elect the third-party debt test under Australia’s thin capitalisation legislation.
As the ATO has done in other recent Practical Compliance Guidelines, PCG 2025/D2 adopts a “risk zone” approach, with a range of colour-coded risk outcomes, including:
- White zone - arrangements that have already been evaluated
- Green zone - arrangements characterised as low risk
- Blue zone - arrangements whose compliance risk has not been assessed
- Red zone - arrangements characterised as high risk
In the guidance, the ATO presents its view of how independent entities evaluate available sources of financing through an evaluation of options realistically available to them. It also summarises its view of the merits of various sources of financing, including internally generated funds, debt, and equity.
The ATO suggests a number of factors that taxpayers should consider when determining the arm’s length nature of an intragroup financing arrangement. These include:
- The entity’s funding requirements
- Group policies and practices
- Required returns to shareholders
- The borrower’s cost of funds
- The potential impact of covenants
- The role of explicit guarantees
- The impact of pledging security (collateral)
- The serviceability of the debt assumed
- Total leverage
The ATO classifies taxpayers that have both outstanding debt and significant cash reserves, entities with explicit guarantees that borrow more than they might have without the credit guarantee, and taxpayers that on-lend funds to a related party at a rate below the rate at which they borrowed the funds as “high risk.”
The ATO affirms in the PCG that taxpayers should prepare transfer pricing documentation for their related-party loan arrangements for each income year that the financing arrangement is outstanding, citing the ATO’s existing guidance on transfer pricing documentation, TR 2014/8.
Once PCG 2025/D2 is finalised, the ATO plans to apply it to income years commencing on or after 1 July 2023 and to existing and newly created financing arrangements.
As with other transfer pricing-related Practical Compliance Guidelines, the ATO notes that this guidance “is general in nature, does not constitute a ‘safe harbour’ and does not replace, alter, or affect [the ATO’s] interpretation of the law in any way.” While the ATO may use this framework for risk profiling, it does not represent the ATO’s interpretation of actual tax law.
Clearly, the PCG represents the ATO’s considered views, though ones that reflect a specific perspective that potentially creates challenges for taxpayers. BDO will release a follow-up analysis of some of these challenges and how they might be addressed soon.
How BDO can help
If you need any assistance, contact our team of transfer pricing advisers.Bill Yohana
BDO in Australia