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Drought support

Help for individuals, businesses and primary producers affected by drought.

Last updated 18 August 2025

We're committed to doing what we can to help. You can phone the ATO Emergency support line on 1800 806 218 to discuss your situation.

Help for individuals and businesses

If a drought is causing financial difficulties for you or your business, help with paying could include:

  • more time to pay or payment plans
  • remitting penalties or interest charges
  • tax incentives for primary producers
  • small business tax concessions.

You can speak with us to discuss your situation.

We can arrange to:

You may also be able to access disaster support from other agencies. Find out about recovery following natural disasters and how to report disaster payments and grants in your tax return

Small business tax concessions

If you're running an eligible small business, the following concessions may help you during times of financial pressure:

Economic stimulus measures

  • Temporary full expensing – eligible businesses may immediately deduct the business portion of the cost of eligible new depreciating assets.
  • Loss carry back tax offset – if you’re an eligible corporate entity, you may claim this refundable tax offset when you choose to carry back tax losses to certain income years in which you had an income tax liability.

Help for primary producers

There are a range of tailored primary producer concessions that can help you prepare for, or manage when conditions or matters are unpredictable.

Media: Drought support for primary producers
https://tv.ato.gov.au/ato-tv/media?v=bi9or7orxmu3p7External Link (Duration: 2:37)

Managing finances in drought

We recognise the significant impact of drought on rural communities. If you're facing financial difficulties due to drought, we offer support to help primary producers manage their finances.

Immediate tax deductions for capital expenditure that are available include:

If you put money into your farm management deposit account within the last 12 months, you can withdraw those funds without affecting the deductions you have claimed. Your financial institution may require advance notice of your request for early withdrawal.

Special tax concessions may affect which amounts you include in your assessable income each year and how you pay your PAYG instalments.

If you operate as an individual or in partnership, you can also benefit from exceptions to the non-commercial losses rules.

 

 

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