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ATO departmental payment

Provides information on how to make a payment for an ATO departmental invoice.

Last updated 14 January 2015

What is an ATO departmental payment?

We accept ATO departmental payments where an ATO departmental invoice has been issued to you, for example:

  • inter-agency transactions
  • employee transactions.

The following ATO payments are not ATO departmental payments:

  • business activity statement (BAS) and instalment activity statement (IAS)
  • integrated client account
  • income tax account
  • Higher Education Loan Program (HELP)
  • remittance or payment advice quoting an electronic funds transfer (EFT) code
  • remittance or payment advice quoting a payment reference number (PRN).

Find out more:  

To make payments that are not ATO departmental payments (where an EFT code or PRN must be used to make the payment), refer to How to pay.

How do you make an ATO departmental payment?

You can make an ATO departmental payment using Government EasyPay 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We accept Visa and MasterCard (credit or debit cards1) and American Express card for payment of Australian dollar debts with an invoice value between $10 and less than $10,000.00.

Card payment fee

A card payment fee applies to transactions made using this service. This fee will be charged to you at the time of your transaction and is not subject to goods and services tax (GST).

The fee is a percentage of the amount being paid, based on the type of card used:

Card type

Fee

Visa/MasterCard

0.42%

American Express

1.45%

You will be informed of the fee amount and transaction totals before you are asked to confirm your payment.

Making a credit card payment

To make a payment using Government EasyPay you need your customer reference number (CRN), which is on your ATO departmental tax invoice.

Online

Find out more:  

To make your payment online, go to Government EasyPayExternal Link.

Following this link will take you to the online service for credit card payments. This is a secure site provided to the ATO by the Reserve Bank of Australia using the Optus Smartpay service.

Phone

Find out more:

To make your payment using the Government EasyPay phone service, phone 1300 453 579.

What is the processing time for Government EasyPay?

Payments take approximately 24-48 hours to be credited to your ATO customer account. Payments made after 6.00pm (AEST), or on weekends or public holidays will be processed the next business day.

Will you receive a transaction receipt?

Government EasyPay will provide a receipt that identifies the payment amount that will be credited to the invoice you have nominated.

'ATO departmental' will be displayed on your Visa or MasterCard credit or debit card, or American Express card statement.

You should record the receipt number for proof of payment or print the receipt.

Can you get a refund?

If you believe you have made an incorrect payment, or have overpaid your account and are entitled to a refund, email the Departmental Debt Management Unit.

More information

For more information about ATO departmental payments, or any queries about your invoice or payment, email the Departmental Debt Management Unit.

The Departmental Debt Management Unit is part of ATO Finance. They are responsible for the efficient and effective management of our departmental accounts receivable, which enables us to meet our compliance obligations under the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act).

If you do not speak English well and need help from the ATO, phone the Translating and Interpreting Service on 13 14 50.

If you are deaf, or have a hearing or speech impairment, phone the ATO through the National Relay Service (NRS) on the numbers listed below:

  • TTY users, phone 13 36 77 and ask for the ATO number you need
  • Speak and Listen (speech-to-speech relay) users, phone 1300 555 727 and ask for the ATO number you need
  • internet relay users, connect to the NRS on www.relayservice.com.auExternal Link and ask for the ATO number you need.

Footnotes

1 Debit cards - unlike your EFTPOS card, a Visa or MasterCard debit card functions like any credit card but provides direct access to funds in your deposit or savings account, rather than a line of credit.

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