ARTICLE · 19 MARCH 2025

ATO debt payment plans when collection activity intensifies

Worrells

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Learnings from recent dealings with the ATO including lodgements must be up to date, payment plant terms, upfront payments etc

AustraliaTax

Lee Crosthwaite

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How we pave a way through.

Since the COVID era, ATO (Australian Taxation Office) debt has been rising at an alarming rate. Currently, there is over $80bn in outstanding tax debt, and the ATO is ramping up its collection efforts. They are utilising tools such as:

Issuing Director Penalty Notices (DPNs)
Default reporting on taxpayer credit files
Taking enforcement action resulting in liquidation.

It's crucial that any taxpayers with outstanding debt engage with the ATO to avoid these aggressive actions.

One area where the ATO is still willing to cooperate is in setting up payment plans. Certainly, the ATO's parameters have changed over time, particularly in the past 6 - 9 months, with respect of what they're willing to accept. However, they are still available to clients and are useful in the right circumstances.

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