Got a letter from the ATO? What it means and what to do

Most letters from the ATO fall into one of five groups: an assessment, a review or audit letter, a request for information, a debt letter, or formal recovery action. The type of letter decides how long you have and what happens if you don't respond, so work out which one you have, find the date it sets and check it is genuine.

We act for businesses, directors and individuals across Australia on ATO reviews and audits and tax debt recovery, working alongside their accountants. This is general information: the right response depends on your facts and exactly what the letter says.

ATO letters at a glance: how long do you have?

Section references are to the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (TAA), with "Sch 1" for its Schedule 1, unless we say otherwise.

Letter	What it means	How long you have
Notice of assessment	Your tax for the year	Pay by the due date. Object within 2 or 4 years after the notice for most income tax (s 14ZW(1)(aa))
Amended assessment	The ATO has changed an assessment	Extra income tax due 21 days after the notice. Object within 60 days, or the original period if later
Review or audit letter, or request for information	The ATO is checking particular taxes and periods	The date in the letter
Formal notice (Sch 1 s 353-10)	A compulsory demand for information, documents or attendance	The date in the notice, generally 28 days
Position paper	The ATO's preliminary audit findings	The date in the covering letter
Statement of account or reminder	What you owe, including interest	Pay or arrange payment by the due date
Payment plan default	You missed an instalment	Act straight away
Notice of intent to disclose	A business tax debt may be reported to credit bureaus	At least 28 days (Sch 1 s 355-72)
Copy of a garnishee notice	Your bank, employer or customer must pay the ATO	Act at once
Director penalty notice	Personal liability for company tax debts	21 days from posting (Sch 1 s 269-25)
Departure prohibition order	You can't leave Australia without a certificate	Act now: it stays in force until revoked or set aside (s 14S(2))
Statutory demand or bankruptcy notice	A step towards winding up or bankruptcy	21 days from service
Penalty notice	An administrative penalty	The due date, at least 14 days after the notice (Sch 1 s 298-15)
Objection decision	The ATO has decided your objection	60 days after service to go to the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) or Federal Court (ss 14ZZC, 14ZZN)

Many of these deadlines run from when the ATO posts or serves the document, not from when you open it. A director penalty notice, for example, is treated as given when the ATO posts it or leaves it at your address (Sch 1 s 269-25(4)).

Is the ATO letter real or a scam?

Scammers regularly impersonate the ATO. Its Verify or report an ATO scam page (last updated 23 March 2026) says the ATO may contact you by phone, email, SMS or post, but if you aren't sure contact is genuine, don't respond: check with the ATO first.

• Find the contact details yourself. Use the number on the ATO website, typing the address in yourself, not one in the letter or message. The ATO says it will never send an unsolicited email containing links or QR codes, or an unsolicited SMS containing a link.
• Check your ATO account. Log in to ATO online services through myGov, or ask your registered tax agent. A genuine assessment or debt should appear there.
• Know the warning signs. The ATO says it will never threaten you with arrest, ask for payment by gift card, crypto or into a personal or offshore account, threaten to cancel your TFN, stop you speaking with your tax agent, or charge a fee to release a refund.

If you have already paid a scammer or given them personal details, the ATO asks you to contact it immediately and to tell your bank and the police.

Notices of assessment and amended assessments

The ATO must serve written notice of an assessment (Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA 1936) s 174). For individuals, income tax is generally due 21 days after your return was due or, if you lodged on time and the notice issued later, 21 days after the notice (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997) s 5-5(5)–(6)). Different payment dates can apply if a registered tax agent lodges for you, so check the due date on your notice of assessment. Companies and super funds usually get no separate notice: the return is treated as the notice of assessment, served the day it is lodged (ITAA 1936 s 166A(3)).

The time to object runs from when the notice is given: generally 2 years for individuals and small or medium businesses, and 4 years for others (s 14ZW(1)(aa); ITAA 1936 s 170(1)). After that, you can still object with a written request to extend time. The ATO may refuse, and the ART can review a refusal (ss 14ZW(2), 14ZX).

An amended assessment usually follows a review, an audit or your own request. Extra income tax is due 21 days after the notice (ITAA 1997 s 5-5(7)), generally with shortfall interest charge (SIC) from the original due date to the day before the notice (Sch 1 s 280-100). You can object to the matters that changed (s 14ZV) within the later of 60 days after the amended notice is served and the 2 or 4 years from the original notice (s 14ZW(1B), (1BA)). See how ATO objections work.

What does an ATO review or audit letter mean?

An ATO review letter usually means the ATO wants to check something in a return or activity statement, often a figure that doesn't match data it holds from banks, employers or other third parties. An audit letter goes further: the ATO is examining particular taxes and periods to work out your actual liability. A review can become an audit. See what happens in an ATO audit.

The first letter can matter for penalties. A voluntary disclosure in the approved form, made before the ATO tells you an examination is to be made, generally cuts the base penalty for a shortfall by 80%, or to nil for shortfalls under $1,000. After that, the cut is 20%, and only if the disclosure saves the ATO significant time or resources, unless the ATO decides to treat it as made before you were told (Sch 1 s 284-225(1)–(3), (5)).

A request for information or a formal notice?

Most reviews and audits start with a letter asking for information or documents by a date. A request doesn't legally compel you, but answer it accurately and on time: the ATO can follow up with a formal notice.

A notice under Sch 1 s 353-10 is compulsory. It can require you to give information, attend and give evidence, or produce documents, and failing to comply can be an offence (s 8C). The ATO says it generally gives 28 days to comply and that you can ask in writing for an extension, the earlier the better (ATO, Our formal notice powers, last updated 14 October 2024). Get advice before handing over documents that may be privileged.

A position paper

Near the end of an audit, the ATO usually sends a position paper with its preliminary findings, including any extra tax and penalties. You can't object to it, but a full response by the date in the covering letter is often the most practical chance to change the outcome.

Debt letters, payment plan defaults and credit reporting

A statement of account or reminder sets no new deadline, but general interest charge (GIC) generally runs on overdue amounts from the original due date (for income tax, ITAA 1997 s 5-15), even under a payment plan (Sch 1 s 255-15(2)). If you can't pay in full, ask the ATO about an ATO payment plan before the date on the letter.

If you miss an instalment, the ATO's debt collection practice statement says it may act to recover the whole outstanding debt without further warning (PS LA 2011/14, para 65). If you can't make a payment, tell the ATO beforehand.

A notice of intent to disclose means the ATO plans to report a business tax debt to credit reporting bureaus. The notice must explain why the business qualifies and any steps it can take to avoid the report, and the ATO must then wait 28 days (Sch 1 s 355-72(1)(e), (3)).

Recovery letters that need action now

• Garnishee notice. Your bank, employer or a customer must pay the ATO money they hold for you or owe you, and the ATO must send you a copy (Sch 1 s 260-5).
• Director penalty notice. It notifies a director of a personal penalty equal to the company's unpaid PAYG withholding, GST or super guarantee charge. Some company steps taken within 21 days after the notice is given can remit the penalty, although for debts the company did not report to the ATO on time, generally only payment will (Sch 1 ss 269-25, 269-30). See what to do if you receive a director penalty notice.
• Departure prohibition order. While it is in force, knowingly leaving Australia for another country without a departure authorisation certificate is an offence (ss 14R, 14S). You can appeal against the making of the order to the Federal Court or a state or territory Supreme Court (s 14V).
• Statutory demand. A company has 21 days after service to pay, secure or compound the debt, or to file and serve an application, with a supporting affidavit, to set the demand aside. That time limit is strict (Corporations Act 2001 ss 459E, 459G). Otherwise, on a winding-up application made within 3 months after the failure, the court must presume the company is insolvent unless the contrary is proved (s 459C(2)(a), (3)).
• Bankruptcy notice. After getting judgment against an individual, the ATO can apply to the Official Receiver for a bankruptcy notice. Not complying within 21 days after service is an act of bankruptcy, on which the ATO can petition within 6 months (Bankruptcy Act 1966 ss 40(1)(g), 41(1), (2A), 44(1)(c)). See ATO statutory demands, winding up and bankruptcy.

Penalty and interest notices

A penalty notice, such as for late lodgement or an audit shortfall, must give reasons (Sch 1 s 298-10), and the penalty is due on the date it sets, at least 14 days after the notice (s 298-15). You can ask for remission (s 298-20), and if the ATO refuses to any extent and more than 2 penalty units remains payable, you can object to that decision (s 298-20(3)). You can also object to the assessment of a shortfall penalty (s 298-30(2)).

The ATO can also remit GIC and SIC (TAA s 8AAG; Sch 1 s 280-160). You can object to a SIC decision if the amount not remitted is more than 20% of the extra tax (s 280-170), but there is generally no objection right against a GIC remission decision. See asking the ATO to remit interest.

Objection decisions

An objection decision allows your objection in full or in part, or disallows it (s 14ZY). You generally have 60 days after being served with it to apply to the ART or appeal to the Federal Court (ss 14ZZC, 14ZZN). The ART can extend time (Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2024 s 19), but don't count on it.

What should you do when you get an ATO letter?

1. Check it is genuine, as above.
2. Find the deadline. Note the date on the letter, when it arrived and the date it sets. Where time runs from posting or service, work from the earliest likely date.
3. Read every page, including attachments listing the periods and the law relied on, and send a copy to your accountant, who holds the records most replies need.
4. Reply accurately, not hastily. If you need more time, ask in writing before the deadline and wait for the ATO to confirm. Deadlines fixed by law, such as the 21 days under a DPN or statutory demand, can't be extended by asking the ATO.
5. Get advice early for a formal notice, position paper or recovery notice, or where the amounts are significant.

Next step

Send us the letter (every page, and the envelope or email it came in), your latest ATO statement of account, and a short note of when it arrived and what you think it relates to. In a short first call we'll tell you what kind of letter it is, how long you have and what to do first.