This document is also available as an interactive PDF. Download Notice of assessment for income tax (PDF, 1.38 MB).
We made changes to the notice of assessment (NOA) for income tax when we introduced our new processing system in February 2010. The new-look NOA is easier to understand and provides more detailed information about your income tax assessment.
We made similar changes to the notice of amended assessment.
In some cases, when you receive your notice of assessment, you will also receive a statement of account (SOA). If you receive an SOA, it will:
- show your account balance
- have attached your refund cheque or, if you owe tax, your payment advice.
Why are the amounts on my NOA and SOA different?
If the outcome of your assessment differs from your account balance, we will send an SOA with your NOA. We do this because the NOA represents information relating to a particular assessment - for example, your income tax return for 2009-10. The SOA, on the other hand, represents information relating to your income tax account as a whole, and includes all transactions relating to income tax.
If you receive an SOA, it will provide details of other transactions that may have resulted from our processing of your income tax return. Examples of these transactions include:
- entitlement to credit interest because of delays in processing your assessment
- other amounts being payable to us or another government agency
- a penalty or debit interest being incurred - for example, general interest charge
- having an account opening balance that is not zero dollars ($0.00).
Format of the NOA
The following images show how the information on each page appears.
Page 1
1. NOA header
The NOA now includes a unique reference number rather than a sequence number. You'll find this next to 'Our reference' towards the top of the notice.
We include our web address and phone number should you need more information or help.
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If you lodge electronically using e-tax, you can use the reference number shown at 'Our reference' in the same way that you can use the sequence number on notices of assessment from previous years.
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2. Assessment type
Your assessment could be one of three types described below.
- Notice of assessment: Applies for original and default assessments.
- Notice of amended assessment: We amend an assessment when a previous assessment is incorrect. An amendment can be based on information you or your agent send us, or if we review a previous assessment.
- Nil advice: Applies for nil liabilities or a loss relating to 2003-04 and prior years.
3. Assessment details
We now group and format assessment details differently than we did in the old NOA.
We now separate debits and credits into two columns. A debit amount is money you owe us. A credit amount reduces the amount of money you owe and may result in a refund.
The assessment is split into more categories. In the case of individuals and trusts these may include:
- taxable income
- tax on taxable or net income
- less non-refundable tax offsets
- less carry forward tax offsets
- less refundable tax offsets
- assessed tax
- plus other liabilities - for example, Medicare levy, Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) repayment
- less pay as you go (PAYG) credits and other entitlements.
These categories appear only if there are relevant amounts to include. If there are no relevant amounts they do not appear.
In the past this information was in various sections of the NOA and other correspondence from us.
In most cases all of the assessment detail will fit on one page. Where it does not, or if it is a notice of amended assessment, we will summarise the assessment on page 1 and provide additional detail on page 3. Refer to item 7 to see how page 3 will look.
4. Assessment result
This section provides the end result of the assessment.
If you are due a refund, the amount will be a credit (CR).
If you owe money, the result will be a debit (DR).
The amount may also be $0.00.
If there is a debit, we will show the payment due date and information about the general interest charge.
However, if you also receive an SOA with your NOA, the total amount payable or refundable will be on the SOA.
5. Payment slip, refund cheque or details of electronic funds transfer
We may issue the NOA with a payment slip, refund cheque or details of electronic funds transfer (EFT).
However, if we provide an SOA, then these details will be on the SOA not the NOA.
Page 2
6. Important information about your statement
This section provides tailored information and an explanation of terms depending on what appears on the NOA.
This information may be continued on page 4 (the back of the detailed information page).
Page 3
7. Detailed information
This section is new and will only appear in the case of a notice of amended assessment or if the assessment details do not fit on page 1. It provides you with more details about the category headings on page 1 of the NOA - for example, by itemising refundable and non-refundable tax offsets.
8. Other information relevant to your assessment
This section may provide informative messages relating to your assessment. If space allows this section may be provided along with the assessment details on page 1 of the notice of assessment, except in the case of a notice of amended assessment. For notices of amended assessment this section will always be on page 3.
9. Adjustments to assessment
This section may provide details of any adjustments we make to your return. This includes the reason, original value, new value and variation. If space allows, we may provide this section, along with the assessment details on page 1 of the notice of assessment, except in the case of a notice of amended assessment. For notices of amended assessment this section will always be on page 3.
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For more information, refer to:
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Last Modified: Wednesday, 23 February 2011