Can I change or extend my ATO payment plan?

What you can change online

In ATO online services (individuals via myGov, businesses via online services for business, agents via online services for agents) you can:

• change the amount of an instalment (it cannot go below $1)
• move an instalment's due date
• cancel a single instalment
• change the payment method, for example from direct debit to paying manually by BPAY
• update the bank account or card the debit comes from

The limit is the 24 month rule. You cannot modify a plan online if it already runs longer than 24 months, or if your change would extend it past 24 months. Reducing instalments usually means adding time, so a reduction can quietly hit that limit.

Timing rules that catch people out

Changes to a direct debit are not instant. The ATO needs:

If you make the change too late, the original debit still runs. If it then fails, that is a missed instalment and the plan can move into arrears. What follows is covered in what happens if I miss a payment? The practical rule: decide by the middle of the week before, not the night before.

When you need to phone the ATO

Call the ATO's debt line on 13 11 42 rather than trying online if:

• the plan would go beyond 24 months after your change
• the debt is over $200,000
• you have defaulted on or cancelled two or more plans in the past 12 months
• you have had a warning of firmer action in the past 6 months
• you want to add a new debt (for example a new BAS) to the arrangement rather than pay it separately
• you want to reduce instalments substantially because your circumstances have changed

Be ready to say what changed and what you can now afford, with a figure. The ATO is generally willing to vary a plan for someone who calls before missing a payment. It is much less flexible afterwards. If the numbers now look unworkable at any term, can't pay your tax bill sets out the wider options.

Vary, do not cancel and restart

Some people cancel a plan they cannot afford and set up a new one with lower instalments. Avoid this. A cancelled plan counts the same as a defaulted plan toward the two in 12 months rule that closes the online channel. Varying the existing plan does not. The only time cancelling makes sense is when the debt is paid out, explained in how do I cancel a plan? If a plan has already defaulted, the rebuild is different; see defaulted payment plan.

What to do next

1. Work out the instalment you can actually keep, allowing for your next BAS or PAYG instalment.
2. If the revised plan fits inside 24 months, change it in ATO online services at least 3 business days before the next debit.
3. If it does not fit, phone the ATO with a specific figure and a short explanation of what has changed.
4. Do not cancel and restart. Vary the plan you have.

More questions: 26 ATO payment plans questions answered · Full guide: ATO payment plans