Paying the ATO
It's important that your clients pay their tax in full and on time to avoid interest charges and firmer actions. Encourage them to plan ahead, so they're ready to make payment by the due date.
We offer your clients a range of payment options, including BPAY and credit card. For payment options, refer your clients to how to pay.
If your client has a tax debt and they are unable to pay on time – you can make an arrangement on their behalf, for payment by instalments. If your client is experiencing, or considers payment will cause them serious hardship, you can apply on their behalf for a release from payment, of an eligible tax debt.
Payment plans
If your client is experiencing financial difficulties, they may be eligible for a payment plan.
You can use our Online services for agents to view, set up, modify or cancel a payment plan for your client if they:
- owe $200,000 or less
- don't already have a payment plan for that debt amount.
If your client wants to set up or modify a payment plan or instalment schedule using a credit or debit card, they will need to do it themselves. Only the card holder can do this.
You will need to phone our registered agent phone line if your client doesn't meet the requirements to set up a payment plan online. See setting up a payment plan for more information.
If your client doesn't pay
If your client doesn't pay their tax in full and on time, we will apply general interest charge (GIC) and we may take firmer actions or legal actions to collect the debt.
General interest charge (GIC)
We will apply GIC if an amount of tax or other liability remains unpaid after it's due date.
GIC incurred in income years from 1 July 2025 can't be claimed as a tax deduction, regardless of whether the debt relates to an earlier income year. For entities with a substituted accounting period, this applies from their next accounting period starting after 1 July 2025.
If your client has extenuating circumstances, you can request a remission of GIC.
You need to submit the completed remission application form on their behalf using Practice mail. The form simplifies remission applications by guiding you to provide the required information.
Firmer actions
We take a deliberate and targeted approach that considers your client's compliance history and their engagement with us when deciding what firmer action to take.
Legal actions
In most cases, we will try to collect your tax or super debt through firmer actions. If appropriate we take legal action to recover the debt, for example if we consider there is a risk to revenue.
Penalties
If your client fails to meet a tax obligation, penalties may be applied.
A failure to lodge on time penalty may apply if lodgment obligations, like activity statements, tax returns, fringe benefits tax returns, or PAYG withholding annual reports, aren’t met by the due date.
Safe harbour provisions mean there is no penalty for your client in certain circumstances.