Tax support for individuals, businesses, not-for-profits and tax professionals

Tax support options

We understand that everyone’s situation is different. If you’re experiencing a crisis, financial hardship or other circumstances, you may find it harder to meet your tax or super obligations.

We offer a range of support options to help you manage your tax responsibilities. We've given some examples of tax support we can provide to people experiencing vulnerability.

We will listen to your circumstances and work with you to find the right support. You may need to contact us to access support.

Support options available

Individuals	Businesses and not-for-profits
Lodgment support Payment plans ATO fuel response Study and training support loan repayments Remission of interest charges Remission of penalties Supports for individuals in financial hardship PAYG instalments Objecting to an ATO decision	Lodgment support Payment plans ATO fuel response Remission of interest charges Remission of penalties GST registration and reporting PAYG instalments Small business tax concessions Primary producers Objecting to an ATO decision

Support for tax professionals

We understand sometimes you need additional help in managing your clients' and your own tax obligations. We can provide support for your practice during difficult times.

Lodgment support

You must lodge your tax returns, activity statements, other documents and information by the lodgment due dates. We have a number of options to help you manage this.

If you still need to lodge a tax return for a previous year, it’s important to get up to date as soon as possible. This will:

• make sure all your information is current and complete, which means you'll have greater certainty about your tax and super position
• help you avoid penalties.

We may be able to help you by providing replacements for lost or damaged tax records.

Individuals

• You can contact a registered tax or BAS agent about your lodgment. When you use a registered agent, you may have a later due date.
• You may be eligible to use Tax Help, depending on the amount and type of income you receive. Tax Help is a community-based program helping eligible low-income earners complete their tax returns.
• You can contact a National Tax Clinic for free tax advice and support. The National Tax Clinic program is a government-funded initiative to help people who may not be able to afford to use a registered tax professional.

Businesses and not-for-profits

• You can contact a registered tax or BAS agent about your lodgment. When you use a registered agent, you may have a later due date.
• Businesses may be eligible for an extra 2 weeks to lodge and pay quarterly business activity statements if they receive and lodge them online. See our example of extra time to lodge or pay.
• Small businesses and not-for-profit organisations can contact a National Tax Clinic for free tax advice and support. The National Tax Clinic program is a government-funded initiative to help people who may not be able to afford to use a registered tax professional.

If you can't lodge on time

If you can’t lodge on time, phone us before the due date so we can work together to reduce the risk of a penalty.

If we don't receive your lodgment by the due date, we’ll contact you by SMS, phone, your myGov Inbox, or paper letter. If you use a registered tax agent, we may contact them. You may face a range of consequences if you don't lodge.

To access information about support options in an easier to read format, visit If you can't lodge or pay on time – Easier to read information.

Payment plans

If you’re finding it hard to pay your tax on time, you may be eligible to set up a payment plan.

A payment plan allows you to break down your total debt into smaller amounts (instalments). When you set up a payment plan, you pay an agreed sum of money each period (weekly, fortnightly or monthly) until the debt is fully paid.

The General interest charge (GIC) still applies to tax debts being paid using a payment plan, and it compounds daily. Paying your debt in the shortest period of time will help reduce the GIC that you’ll pay.

See our payment plan example.

ATO fuel response

We are administering temporary measures to support the Australian Government's National Fuel Security Plan. The measures, including reducing the fuel excise and changes to fuel tax credit rates, will help both individuals and businesses.

For businesses, we are also offering streamlined access to a new temporary ATO fuel response payment plan.

Study and training support loan repayments

You may apply to defer a repayment of your study and training support loan or overseas levy. Deferring means we will either:

• not raise a repayment
• reduce the amount of repayment required toward your loan.

Remission of interest charges

If you’re struggling to pay your tax debt and have been charged interest, you may be able to apply for remission of some or all of the interest. When deciding whether to remit the interest, we look at whether you were responsible for the delayed payment or if it was outside your control. See our general interest charge remission request examples.

Remission of penalties

If a penalty has been applied and you disagree with it, you can request a remission of penalties.

We have discretion to remit all or part of the penalty or cancel it, according to individual circumstances. In deciding whether to remit a penalty, we consider things like:

• your compliance history and your attitude toward complying with the tax laws
• your tax debt
• the reasons for the increased tax (or reduced credits) that led us to impose penalties
• whether we became aware of the shortfall as a result of your voluntary disclosure or because of our compliance efforts.

See our penalty remission example.

Supports for individuals in financial hardship

Some support options are only available for individuals who are in financial hardship.

We will ask you to provide recent evidence to support your claim of financial hardship. If you can't provide this evidence, your requests may be delayed or denied. It is an offence to provide false or misleading information and penalties can apply.

Our support options are:

• Priority processing of tax return
• Request to not offset debts
• Release from tax debt
• Early access to super.

Priority processing of tax return

Check the progress of your return as you may not need to lodge a request for priority processing if your return is in its final stages of processing. Your return may be already finalised before we have had an opportunity to consider your request.

We have information to help you understand the status of your tax return.

Applying by phone

Once you have lodged your return, phone us on 13 28 61 during operating hours to discuss whether priority processing is suitable. Before you phone, check you have the information you need to prove your identity.

Applying through a tax professional

A registered tax professional can submit a request for priority processing on your behalf.

When your agent is requesting priority processing, they will be required to provide evidence that you're in financial hardship.

What happens next

We will notify you once we receive your initial request and contact you if we require more information.

We may need more time to process your return if:

• we need to check information in your return
• you are a customer of another Australian Government agency, including Services Australia (Centrelink or Child Support)
• you have lodged tax returns or amendments for several years at once
• you currently have a tax debt or previously unresolved tax debt with us
• you are under an insolvency administration, for example bankruptcy or debt arrangement. Check to make sure your insolvency practitioner advises us of your situation before you lodge your return.

Applying for priority processing doesn't guarantee a refund. It could result in the credit being used to pay an outstanding debt with us or other Australian Government agencies. This is known as offsetting. If you have an outstanding debt with another Australian Government agency, such as Services Australia (Centrelink or Child Support), you should also contact them to discuss your circumstances.

Request to not offset debts

If you have a debt with us, we're required by law to pay off (offset) the debt using any credits or refunds you become entitled to. However, if you are in financial hardship there are limited circumstances in which we may be able to pay the refund to you instead.

These circumstances are:

• the amount owing is due but not yet payable
• you have a payment plan for the debt and you are complying with the payment plan
• we have agreed to defer recovery action
• the debt is a director penalty debt.

Phone us on 13 11 42 during operating hours to discuss whether this option is available to you. Before you phone, check you have the information you need to prove your identity.

Release from tax debt

In certain circumstances, we can permanently remove (release) some or all of an individual's tax debt. We can only release you from payment of particular tax debts where paying those debts would leave you in financial hardship. See our release of tax debt example.

Who can apply?

You can apply for release if you are:

• an individual
• the trustee of the estate of a deceased person.

Companies, trusts and partnerships can't apply to have tax debts released. If your company, trust or partnership has a tax debt and you are having difficulty paying, you can phone us on 13 11 42 during operating hours (refer to Lodge and Pay enquiries) to discuss your options. You may also wish to seek advice on managing your finances.

Which tax debts may be released?

These tax debts can be considered for release:

• income tax
• PAYG instalments
• fringe benefits tax (FBT)
• FBT instalment
• Medicare levy
• Medicare levy surcharge
• withholding taxes on dividends, interest or royalties
• mining withholding tax
• managed investment trust withholding tax
• some penalties and interest charges associated with these debts.

These tax debts can't be released:

• GST
• PAYG withholding
• excess contribution tax (ECT)
• Division 293 liabilities
• super guarantee charge (SGC)
• director penalty notices.

If there is no part of your tax debt that can be released and you are experiencing financial hardship, phone us on 13 11 42 during operating hours to discuss your options. Before you phone, check you have the information you need to prove your identity.

How is release assessed?

We take into account your household's income and expenditure and assets and liabilities to determine financial hardship. We then consider other factors and information provided by you to determine whether it would be appropriate to grant release.

Your application for release and any evidence of financial hardship you supply should provide enough information for us to understand your circumstances. This will help us in determining the type of assistance we can provide.

Income and expenditure

We look at your household's fortnightly income and expenditure to determine if you have the ability to pay all or part of your debt. We may then assist you with arranging a suitable payment plan.

Assets and liabilities

We look at your household's assets and liabilities to identify if the sale of particular assets could repay all or part of your tax debt.

Owning assets, such as your residential home, motor vehicle, household goods, tools of trade, and savings for basic living needs is generally regarded as normal and reasonable when these are consistent with ordinary community standards and expectations.

However, generally we would consider you purchasing an asset while you are aware of your tax debt to be unreasonable.

Other factors

If we've established that payment of your tax debt would cause you financial hardship, we’ll look at other factors within your control that have contributed to your financial hardship. These factors include:

• how your tax debt arose
• if you disposed of funds or assets without providing for tax debts
• if you have other debts you are not able to pay (such as Services Australia debts) and how they arose
• whether releasing you from your tax debt will not improve your financial hardship
• if your financial hardship is temporary and your circumstances are likely to improve
• your compliance history
• if you can demonstrate that you have provided for future tax debts.

We will also consider other factors outside of your control that are contributing to your financial hardship.

For more information, see PS LA 2011/17 Debt relief, waiver and non-pursuit.

Before you apply

Before we can consider your application, you must:

• lodge all of your outstanding tax returns and activity statements so we know the total amount you owe
• provide up-to-date contact information as we may need to contact you during the process

You will also need to wait for the finalisation of any unresolved:

• disputes with us (for example, if you objected to an income tax assessment)
• compensation, damages or insurance claims.

If you need more information before applying, phone us on 13 11 42 during operating hours. Before you phone, check you have the information you need to prove your identity.

How to apply for release

Use our Debt release tool to:

• work out if you are eligible to apply
• access the application form.

Early access to super

In limited circumstances, you may be able to access your super early due to financial hardship. You need to:

• check your eligibility to apply
• apply to your super fund directly. We do not process severe financial hardship requests.

Services AustraliaExternal Link may be able to provide evidence to your super fund to support your claim of financial hardship.

See our early access to super example.

GST registration and reporting

Changing if or when your business pays GST may help you with temporary financial difficulties. If your business's GST turnover is less than $75,000 (or $150,000 for non-profit organisations), you may be able to:

• cancel your GST registration. Your fuel tax credit, luxury car tax and wine equalisation tax registrations will also be cancelled
• remain registered but choose to report and pay your GST annually or monthly.

You can phone us on 13 28 66 during operating hours if you need to change your GST reporting and payment cycle.

PAYG instalments

If your income is reduced, you can vary your pay as you go (PAYG) instalments so the amount you prepay is closer to your expected tax for the year.

Your varied amount or rate will apply for all your remaining instalments for the income year, or until you make another variation. We encourage you to review your PAYG instalments regularly, so the amount you prepay is closer to your expected tax for the year.

You can either:

• lodge a variation on your next business activity statement (BAS) or instalment notice
• phone us on 13 28 61 during operating hours to discuss your PAYG instalments.

Small business tax concessions

If you're running an eligible small business, the following concessions may help you during times of financial pressure:

• Small business income tax offset – this offset can reduce the tax you pay by up to $1,000 each year
• Simplified trading stock rules – this concession allows you to report an estimate of the value of your trading stock at the end of the financial year
• Small business restructure roll-over – small businesses can change their legal structure, without incurring any income tax liability, by transferring active assets between entities
• Lower company tax rate – if you are a base-rate entity you could be eligible for the lower company tax rate of 25%.

Economic stimulus measures

• Temporary full expensing – eligible businesses may immediately deduct the business portion of the cost of eligible new depreciating assets
• Loss carry back tax offset – if you’re an eligible corporate entity, you may claim this refundable tax offset for losses in the 2019–20 to 2022–23 income years

Primary producers

If you're facing financial difficulties due to drought, there are a range of tailored primary producer concessions to help primary producers manage their finances. Immediate tax deductions for capital expenditure that are available include:

• Farm management deposit scheme
• Fencing and fodder storage assets
• Landcare operations
• Primary producers concessions
• Shelterbelts – new fencing or reticulation
• Water facilities

If you operate as an individual or in partnership, you can also benefit from exceptions to the non-commercial losses rules.

Objecting to an ATO decision

If you disagree with a decision we’ve made, or one you think we might make, you may be able to dispute or object to it.

If you’re experiencing vulnerability and need support with the objection process, our Dispute Assist service provides free support to eligible individuals and small businesses to navigate the dispute process.

See our objection support example.