We are authorised by the Taxation Administration Act 1953 to request your tax file number (TFN). We will use your TFN to identify you in our records. It is not an offence not to provide your TFN. However, if you do not provide your TFN, you will be unable to use the ATO online lodgment option.
We are also authorised to ask for the information on your income tax return by the:
- Income Tax Assessment Act 1936
- Income Tax Assessment Act 1997
- A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999
- Superannuation (Government Co-contributions for Low Income Earners) Act 2003
- Superannuation (Unclaimed Money and Lost Members) Act 1999
We need this information to help us administer taxation and super laws. If the information is not collected, it could increase the chance of a delay or error in the processing of your assessment.
Certain information about your device/computer, your browser and the authentication process will also be logged when you authenticate online and use myTax.
Where authorised by law, we may collect certain information about you from third parties, such as financial institutions, health insurers and employers. We will use this information, and other information already held by us, to pre-fill certain items in myTax. You will remain responsible for the accuracy of the information that you submit through myTax, including any information which has been pre-populated for you. Therefore, you should check the accuracy of any information carefully before you submit your income tax return.
Where authorised by law, we may give information collected as a result of your lodgment, to other government departments and agencies, including:
- Department of Education
- Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
- Services Australia
- Department of Social Services
- Department of Veterans' Affairs
- Australian Bureau of Statistics
- Reserve Bank of Australia
We provide some taxpayer information to treaty partners overseas under international tax agreements.
If you have an Australian Business Number, some information on this form may be collected under the A New Tax System (Australian Business Number Act) 1999 and will be used to update your details on the Australian Business Register (ABR)External Link. Where authorised by law, selected information may be made publicly available and some may be disclosed to a wide range of government agencies, which include Commonwealth, state and local government agencies.
Our privacy policy contains important information about your privacy. This includes:
- information about how you can access and seek correction to information we hold about you; and
- how to make a complaint if you think we have breached the Australian Privacy Principles including how we will deal with any privacy complaints.
Should you have a privacy concern or need more information, phone our privacy hotline or write to us.
To report an instance where you suspect your privacy has been compromised, see Data breach guidance for individuals.