To help make it easier for you to comply with your tax and super obligations, we provide a free and tailored assistance service for small businesses in Australia.
An assistance visit is conducted by our officers at your place of business or preferred location. At this meeting, we will discuss specific tax information of interest to you and offer tools to help you in your business situation. Some topics include:
- registering for an Australian business number (ABN)
- understanding and registering for the goods and services tax (GST)
- understanding employer obligations (pay as you go withholding, super guarantee, and fringe benefits tax)
- understanding super obligations
- understanding activity statement and record keeping requirements
- understanding the range of other taxes and obligations that might apply to your business
- lodging activity statements online via the Business Portal (includes set up and registration).
To view a short video (two minutes and five seconds), and find out more about what an assistance visit involves, select the image below.
If you are setting up a new small business, making changes to an existing small business (for example, taking on employees), or just need some small business tax help, our officers can help you to understand your specific tax obligations and what you need to do.
We are also able to provide you with the tools, ATO weblinks and ATO contact details to help you set up and install useful programs, such as our Business Portal, which is a fast, convenient and secure way for you to lodge and view activity statements, request refunds and communicate with us on specific topics.
All assistance visits are covered by the Commissioner's guarantee. This means that they are educational in nature and the information you share with our officers is confidential and will not be used for any other purpose. However, we will not provide an interpretation of law for your particular situation.
Assistance visits can range from half an hour to half a day in length, depending on the information you would like to discuss. Visits are offered between 8.00am and 6.00pm weekdays, delivered at your place of business or preferred location and are available in all capital cities and most regional areas in Australia.
We are committed to providing helpful and timely assistance for non-English speaking small business operators. If required, a translator will accompany us to provide you with information in your language.
If you have been impacted by severe circumstances outside your control, mental health issues or a serious medical illness you may qualify for intensive assistance.
We work with a range of organisations, such as Financial Counselling Australia, Lifeline and Beyondblue to support people in these circumstances.
We recommend you contact an organisation like those above, who can assist with a range of issues. They can also contact us on your behalf to discuss if an intensive assistance visit is an option.
We can also help people who qualify for intensive assistance by reconstructing lost or destroyed records, lodging activity statements and/or income tax returns and completing other ATO paperwork as required.
If you do not qualify for intensive assistance, you can request a business assistance visit.
We encourage small businesses to take advantage of this voluntary service. You can register for an assistance visit online at any time, or phone us on 13 28 66 between 8.00am and 6.00pm weekdays and we will arrange for one of our officers to contact you to make an appointment.
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Assistance visits are only available within Australia (we may assist small businesses from regional areas over the phone or via written correspondence).
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Last Modified: Monday, 13 May 2013