Tax lawyers in Sydney

Tax Law Partners is a team of tax lawyers in Sydney, based at International Towers in Barangaroo. We act for Sydney businesses, company directors, families and individuals in difficulty with the ATO or Revenue NSW, from director penalty notices and tax debt to audits, objections and state tax disputes.

Our team includes lawyers and a Chartered Accountant, with more than 25 years in Australian tax, including Big 4 experience, so we test the ATO's figures as well as its legal position. We also act for clients across Australia by phone and video, including Melbourne and Victorian clients and Brisbane and Queensland clients.

What do our Sydney tax lawyers help with?

ATO debt and enforcement

• Director penalty notices. Directors can be personally liable for a penalty equal to the company's unpaid PAYG withholding, GST or super guarantee charge (Taxation Administration Act 1953 (TAA), Sch 1 s 269-20). The ATO can't start court proceedings to recover the penalty until 21 days after it gives the director penalty notice (DPN), and the notice is treated as given when the ATO posts it or leaves it, not when you read it (Sch 1 s 269-25). If, within those 21 days, the company pays or goes into administration, small business restructuring or liquidation, the penalty is generally remitted, but for amounts the company didn't report on time only payment will do that (Sch 1 s 269-30). See director penalty notice lawyers.
• Tax debt. We negotiate payment arrangements and the timing of recovery action, including where a statutory demand or bankruptcy is threatened. See tax debt lawyers.
• Garnishee notices. The ATO can require your bank, your customers or anyone else who owes or holds money for you to pay it to the ATO instead, up to the amount of the tax debt (TAA Sch 1 s 260-5). See ATO garnishee notices.
• Departure prohibition orders. The ATO can stop a person with a tax liability leaving Australia if it believes on reasonable grounds that this is desirable to make sure they don't leave without paying or making satisfactory arrangements (TAA s 14S). We advise on revocation and departure authorisation certificates (ss 14T, 14U). See departure prohibition orders.

Interest and penalties

General interest charge (GIC) accrues on overdue tax for each day it stays unpaid. GIC and shortfall interest charge incurred in an income year starting on or after 1 July 2025 can't be deducted, whichever year the underlying debt relates to (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, s 26-5(1A)). The Commissioner can remit GIC (TAA s 8AAG) and administrative penalties (Sch 1 s 298-20). We prepare GIC remission requests and requests to remit ATO penalties.

Audits, objections and appeals

In an ATO review or audit, we deal with information requests, test the ATO's figures and its reading of the law, and respond to position papers. See ATO audits, reviews and objections.

If an assessment is wrong, an ATO objection is usually the first formal step. For income tax, the time limit is generally 2 years after the notice of assessment is given to you for most individuals and small and medium businesses, and 4 years for others. Many other decisions must be objected to within 60 days after notice of the decision is served (TAA s 14ZW(1)). If the time has passed, you can still lodge the objection with a written request, explaining the delay in detail, that the ATO deal with it as if it were on time (s 14ZW(2), (3)).

After an objection decision, you can generally apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal, which replaced the AAT on 14 October 2024, or appeal to the Federal Court (TAA s 14ZZ). Either way, the usual deadline is 60 days after you are served with the objection decision (ss 14ZZC, 14ZZN).

Revenue NSW disputes: land tax, payroll tax and duty

Revenue NSW disputes have their own rules and deadlines. We act on:

• Land tax: assessments, exemptions and objections.
• Payroll tax: grouping of related businesses (Payroll Tax Act 2007 (NSW), Part 5) and payments to contractors under the relevant contract rules (s 32).
• Duty: transfer duty, and landholder duty on acquiring a significant interest in a company or unit trust whose NSW land holdings have an unencumbered value of $2 million or more (Duties Act 1997 (NSW), ss 146, 149).

An objection generally has to be lodged within 60 days after the notice of assessment or decision is served (Taxation Administration Act 1996 (NSW), s 89). A late objection needs the Chief Commissioner's permission and a detailed written explanation, and can't be made more than 5 years after the notice of the initial assessment (or the decision) was served (s 90). Lodging an objection doesn't stop Revenue NSW recovering the tax in the meantime (s 94).

If you're dissatisfied with the objection decision, or it isn't decided within 90 days, you can generally seek review in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal or the Supreme Court of NSW (ss 96, 97). After a decision, the application is generally due within 60 days after the date the notice of the decision was issued, not the date you received it (s 99). If the objection hasn't been decided, you must give the Chief Commissioner at least 14 days' written notice before applying (s 100). See NSW land tax, payroll tax and duty disputes.

When do you need a tax lawyer rather than an accountant?

Your accountant is often the right first call about an ATO letter. A tax lawyer is usually needed as well when the ATO has started enforcement, a director has received a DPN, an audit has become contentious or needs the protection of legal professional privilege, or an objection, tribunal review or court case is close.

Many of our matters come from accountants. We work alongside your accountant, not against them, and agree who does what so you don't pay twice for the same work.

How does a first meeting work?

1. Get in touch. Use the enquiry form or call, and tell us what has happened and any deadline on the letter. We aim to call back on urgent matters, such as a DPN or garnishee notice, the same business day.
2. A short first call. We work out the problem, how much time you have and whether we can help. If a fight isn't worth it, we tell you plainly.
3. Meet at Barangaroo or remotely. If needed, we then meet at our office or by phone or video. Your accountant is welcome to join.
4. A written estimate before we start. We confirm the scope of the work and give you a written costs estimate (see our fees).

Where is our Sydney office?

Our office is at Level 24, International Towers Three, 300 Barangaroo Avenue, Barangaroo NSW 2000, a short walk from Wynyard and Barangaroo stations. Meetings are by appointment.

We see clients from across Greater Sydney, including the CBD, the North Shore, the Eastern Suburbs, the Inner West and Western Sydney.

Next step

Send us the letter or notice from the ATO or Revenue NSW (every page), the date it arrived and a short note on what has happened. If it is a director penalty notice, garnishee notice or statutory demand, say so first, as these need quick action. In a first call we'll tell you how much time you have, what your options are and whether to meet at Barangaroo or by video.