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Expecting a refund

Last updated 2 January 2014

Generally, we pay refunds directly into the entity’s nominated financial institution account so it is essential we have the correct account and BSB numbers. The entity's nominated account needs to be at a branch of the institution in Australia.

If the entity does not receive a refund, or the refund received is less than expected, this may be because we have:

  • kept all or part of the refund to apply it against a tax debt the entity owes us – this process is called offsetting
  • used a credit balance from one of the entity’s other tax accounts to pay a tax debt the entity owes and subsequently receive a payment for that tax debt – as a result, the account may be placed in credit and the payment becomes what is called a voluntary payment, and is not automatically refunded
  • held the refund because  
    • you haven’t nominated a bank account for us to pay the refund into, or the bank account details you provided are incorrect or incomplete
    • you have not lodged one or more of the entity's instalment liability notices
    • we need to check some details shown on the instalment liability notice with you. 

Find out more

  • refer to Where is my refund?
  • phone us on 13 28 66 between 8:00 am and 6:00 pm, Monday to Friday (to ask about your refund you will need to provide proof of identity).

QC94287