Drought support

Help for individuals, businesses and primary producers affected by drought.

Last updated 4 September 2023

Watch our short video about our drought assistance program.

Media: Our drought assistance program
https://tv.ato.gov.au/ato-tv/media?v=bd1bdiub1go1hzExternal Link (Duration: 00:40)

We're committed to doing what we can to help. You can phone our Emergency support line on 1800 806 218 to discuss your situation.

Help for individuals and businesses

If a drought is causing financial difficulties for you or your business, help could include:

You can speak with us to discuss your situation.

We can arrange to:

quickly pay any income tax or activity statement refunds we owe you
in special circumstances, we can release you from your tax debt if paying would cause serious hardship.

You may be able to access disaster support from other government agencies. Find out about recovery following natural disasters and how to report disaster payments and grants in your tax return

If you're running an eligible small business, there are concessions that may help you at times of financial pressure. These include the:

Increased small business tax offset – The small business income tax offset can reduce the tax you pay by up to $1,000 each year.
PAYG instalment concession – You can pay your pay as you go (PAYG) instalments using an amount we calculate for you. It's quick and easy because you don’t have to work out your instalments.
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 rollover – 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 27.5%.

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 when you choose to carry back tax losses to certain income years in which you had an income tax liability.

We recognise the significant impact of drought on rural communities.

We offer measures to help primary producers manage their finances when facing drought:

Immediate tax deductions for capital expenditure
If you put money into your farm management deposit account within the last 12 months, you can withdraw those funds without affecting the deductions you have claimed. Your financial institution may require advance notice of your request for early withdrawal.
Special tax concessions may affect which amounts you include in your assessable income each year and how you pay your PAYG instalments. If you operate as an individual or in partnership, you can also benefit from exceptions to the non-commercial losses rules.

Immediate tax deductions may be available for capital expenditure, including:

QC67550