Accounts and payments

Instructions for specific functions under the Accounts and payments menu.

On this page

• Accounts summary
• Tax accounts
• Excise accounts
• Resource rent tax accounts
• Loan accounts
• Super guarantee accounts
• Super fund administration accounts
• Overpaid super accounts
• Transfer request
• Refund request
• Payment plans
• Card payment

Accounts summary

With this function you can:

• display a full account list for a client
• download transactions
• pay the outstanding accounts
• filter accounts by account type (including an option to show closed accounts).

To view accounts summary:

• select a client
• select Accounts and payments then Accounts summary
• a full list of all account details will show, including    
  • Account name – select to view the transactions for the account
  • Payment reference number – for accounts that can receive payments
  • Overdue – if blank the account has no overdue amount, is closed or insolvent
  • Balance – may include amounts that are not due yet
  • Payment options or voluntary repayment link – select to go to payment options
  • Payment plan – will display if there is a payment plan for income tax, activity statement, SG director penalty, super guarantee employer and fringe benefit tax accounts 
• select Filter to filter by Account type – for Account type groups that have more than 5 accounts use the drop-down menu to view all accounts
• select Print friendly version to print or save the account summary
• to view closed accounts select Show closed accounts at the top left-hand corner. This option will only display if there are closed accounts.

Note: Activity statement accounts you can:

• select the Tax type summary hyperlink to review the net annual revenue product liability based on an income tax year
• Filter by Income tax year – select a date range to provide a list of transactions processed on the account. The download function is currently unavailable when the income tax year filter option is selected. Print using the print-friendly or browser print functionality.

To view account transactions:

• at accounts summary select Account name then Filter to filter and sort transactions by    
  • Date range – From and To
  • Processed date – the date we have finalised processing and update the account
  • Effective date – the date a refund is sent or for a debt, when the payment is due
  • Newest date or Oldest date – the order of the transactions
• select Download. A new window will open with the results in a CSV or HTML format – you can print or save a copy
• select Payment options to make a payment or Payment plan view to view or make a payment plan.

You can also view our View and print an account balance video.

Tax accounts

You can view all tax accounts for your client.

To view your client's transactional history, amounts owing and the account balance:

• select a client
• select Accounts and payments then Tax accounts
• select Tax type summary link to view a summary
• select Print friendly version to print or save the tax accounts
• select an account to view transactions, then select    
  • Download to print or save in HTML or CSV
  • Filter to sort specific transactions by Choose date, Income tax year, Processed or Effective dates and date range
  • Payment plan to view or make a payment plan
  • General interest charge (GIC) calculator
• select how many results to show using the drop-down menu.

Your client may have more than one account related to activity statements. Each account will have a 3-digit account sequence number, for example, 001, 003, 010. These sequence numbers are viewable in Tax accounts. They may be referred to as client activity centre (CAC), Integrated Client Account (ICA), a Branch or Activity statement account.

Excise accounts

Accounts are displayed in the following account type order:

• Excise duty
• Excise grants – with GIC
• Excise equivalent goods.

Note: If the same account type exists, they will be grouped under their account type description. If there are more than 5 accounts within a group use the drop-down menu to view the full list.

To view a client's account details:

• select a client
• select Accounts and payments then Excise accounts to display    
  • Account description
  • Overdue amount
  • Not yet due
  • Balance
• select an account to view a list of transactions. Select Filter to sort by 'Processed date' or 'Effective date' and the date range
• select Print friendly version to print or save in HTML or CSV.

Resource rent tax accounts

Accounts are displayed in the following account type order:

• Petroleum resource rent tax (PRRT)
• Mineral resource rent tax (MRRT).

To view a client's account details:

• select a client
• select Accounts and payments then Resource rent tax accounts to display    
  • Account description
  • Overdue amount
  • Not yet due
  • Balance
• select an account to view a list of transactions. Select Filter to sort by 'Processed date' or 'Effective date' and the date range
• select Print friendly version to print or save in HTML or CSV.

Loan accounts

You can view the loan accounts and balances for:

• Higher Education Loan Program (HELP)
• VET Student Loan (VSL)
• Student Financial Supplement Scheme (SFSS)
• Trade Support Loan (TSL)
• Student Start-up Loan (SSL)
• ABSTUDY Student Start-up Loan (ABSTUDY SSL).

Note: Loan information is transferred to us from other government agencies. There may be a delay between when your clients acquire the loan and what is shown in the system.

To view a client's loan details:

• select a client
• select Accounts and payments then Loan accounts to display    
  • Account description
  • Balance
  • Voluntary repayment
  • Print friendly version 
• select an account to view a list of transactions. Select Filter to sort by Processed date or Effective date and the date range
• select Print friendly version to print or save in HTML or CSV.

Note: HELP account transactions will only be available from 1 July 2014 onwards. VSL accounts will be available from 1 July 2019 onwards.

Super guarantee accounts

To view a client's super guarantee account details:

• select a client
• select Accounts and payments then Super guarantee accounts to display    
  • Account name – select to view an account
  • Overdue amount
  • Not yet due
  • Balance
  • Payment plan – to view an existing payment plan
• select an Account name to view a list of transactions. You can    
  • select the Payment plan link if there is an existing payment plan
  • Filter to sort by Processed date or Effective date and the date range
• select Print friendly version to print or save in HTML or CSV.

Note: When an account is in debt, a link to the general interest charge (GIC) calculator will be available.

Super fund administration accounts

The following accounts are available for your super fund clients:

• Superannuation
• Unique superannuation identifier (USI)
• Unclaimed superannuation money.

To view a client's super fund details:

• select a client
• select Accounts and payments then Super administration accounts to display    
  • Role name
  • Balance
  • Download
  • Account type – use the drop-down menu
  • Payment plan – link to an existing payment plan
• select role name to view a list of transactions, then    
  • select the Payment plan link if there is an existing payment plan
  • Filter to sort by Processed date or Effective date and the date range 
• select Print friendly version to print or save in HTML or CSV.

Note: The date range filters are limited to returning a maximum of 10,000 transactions.

Overpaid super accounts

Overpaid superannuation accounts are only applicable to individual or sole trader clients.

You can view overpaid super accounts in the following order:

• low income superannuation contribution (LISC) individual recovery
• super co-contribution individual recovery.

To view a client's overpaid super account details:

• select a client
• select Accounts and payments then Overpaid super accounts to display    
  • Account name
  • Overdue amount
  • Not yet due
  • Balance
  • Payment plan link 
• select an Account name to view a list of transactions. You can    
  • select the Payment plan link if there is an existing payment plan
  • Filter to sort by Processed date or Effective date and the date range
• select Print friendly version to print or save in HTML or CSV.

Transfer request

To request that payments be transferred from one account to another account held by a client:

• select a client
• select Accounts and payments, then Transfer request
• complete the mandatory fields
• select Next to review the details entered
• select the Declaration then Submit
• select Print friendly version to print or save a copy
• you can view the request in the sent items in Practice mail.

Refund request

You can use this function to request a refund for an account with a credit balance, if:

• the account balance is greater than 50 cents
• the request is greater than 50 cents
• the client doesn't have overdue activity statements
• financial institution details are present and correct.

To request a refund:

• select a client
• select Accounts and payments then Refund request
• complete the mandatory fields
• select Next to review the details entered
• select the declaration then Submit
• select Print friendly version to print or save a copy
• you can view the request in the sent items in Practice mail.

Payment plans

You can view, make and adjust payment plans for most of your client's accounts:

• Income tax
• Activity statement
• Director penalty
• Super guarantee employer
• Fringe benefits tax
• First Home Super Saver
• Trust beneficiary
• GST joint venture
• Administrative penalty – AEOI
• Administrative penalty – PAF
• Administrative penalty – SMSF
• ACNC penalty
• Civil penalty – scheme promotion
• Trust beneficiary non-disclosure
• Ultimate beneficiary non-disclosure
• Petroleum resource rent tax
• Mineral resource rent tax.

Help with paying has detailed information on how to make and manage payment plans, including when a payment plan may default. If you are new to payment plans, we recommend you read this information.

You can only make a payment plan if your client:

• has an existing debit amount under $100,000 (total balance or overdue amounts)
• has no payment plan for that debt
• hasn't defaulted on a payment plan for the relevant account more than twice in the past 2 years.

You can only adjust a payment plan if your client has an active payment plan with a total balance under $100,000 (total balance or overdue amounts).

You cannot adjust a current payment plan if the payment method is direct debit via credit or debit card.

Make a payment plan

Watch

To make a payment plan:

• select a client
• select Accounts and payments, select Payment plans, then select Add to make a new plan

Note: You cannot add a payment plan if one already exists for that debt.

• at the Make a payment plan screen    
  • Select account – only the accounts for which you can make an online payment plan will be displayed
  • Select amount – a payment plan can be made for either the full account balance or the overdue amount. If the overdue amount of the account is selected, the remaining balance needs to be paid by the due date
  • Select payment method – direct debit via bank account is available
  • Select payment frequency – Lump sum, Weekly, Fortnightly or Monthly
  • Payment date – the date must be within 7 days of the payment plan being established (excluding weekends and public holidays) and must be on a business day
  • The system will populate the upfront payment (amount and percentage) and the instalment amount. You can adjust these fields to suit your client’s current situation. Changes that do not meet the parameters for online payment plans will receive an error message
  • select Calculate payment plan 
• payment plan details are displayed for review. Adjustments can be made before proceeding
• select Reminder preferences (Tax agents only) if you or your client wants to be notified when a payment is due. Select SMS or email and enter the details of where the notification will go, then select Save
• select the Declaration then Submit
• you will receive confirmation that your client’s payment plan has been successfully created
• select Print friendly version to print or save a copy of the schedule, payment method and payment reference numbers.

For most tax and super accounts, the payment plan will automatically finalise when the balance of an account is paid. For activity statement accounts, the payment plan may continue to display as active even if the balance is paid in full, unless one of the following occurs:

• we cancel the payment plan
• the final instalment date of the payment plan is reached
• a new debt arises due to an overdue liability or missed instalment. This will update the status of the payment plan to 'arrears' or 'default'.

Note: Your client's Tax account screen will also have a link to make a payment plan where applicable.

View a payment plan

To view the instalment schedule for existing payment plans:

• select a client
• select either    
  • Accounts and payments then Payment plans
  • at the Client summary For action tab, select Payment plan next to the account
• the following information will display    
  • Account
  • Amount
  • Payment method
  • Payment frequency
  • Plan total
  • Status.

You can also view the payment due dates and status of payment for previous instalments.

Note: It can take up to 14 days for the payment status to update.

Adjust or cancel a payment plan

• select a client
• select Accounts and payments
• select Payment plans
• select either    
  • Cancel payment plan
  • Modify instalment schedule (you cannot modify the instalment schedule if the payment method is direct debit via credit or debit card, only the card holder can do this).

Card payment

Make a one-off credit or debit card payment

To make online credit and debit card payment for a client:

• select a client
• select Accounts and payments then Card payment
• at Account details select the accounts to pay in a single card transaction. You can either    
  • select more than one account and make payments from $10 to $20,000,000
  • accept the pre-populated amount (balance of account)
  • enter the amount you want to pay
• at Card details complete the mandatory fields or use the existing stored card details
• select Next
• review the details then select Submit
• select Print friendly version to print or save a copy.

A card payment fee applies to all card payments and the amount will be displayed on the Payment confirmation page.

Note: Additional payments or payment in full can be made at any time. The option to pay by credit or debit card is only available for accounts displayed. For all other payment options, see How to pay.

For information on how to add, update and delete your clients card details, see Manage credit/debit card details.

You can return to the top of this Online services for agents user guide for help on other areas.