Can one ATO payment plan cover income tax, BAS and super?
Short answer
No. Each ATO account needs its own payment plan. Income tax sits on one account, GST, PAYG withholding and PAYG instalments sit together on the activity statement account, and super guarantee charge sits on another. You can have an ATO payment plan on each, but they are separate agreements with separate instalments and separate default risk.
How the ATO splits your debt
When you log in to ATO online services you will see more than one account. The ATO's own rule is that if you owe money on more than one account, you need a separate payment plan for each. The main ones are:
| Account | What sits on it |
|---|---|
| Income tax | Income tax assessments, and for individuals things like Medicare levy and study loan amounts raised on assessment |
| Activity statement (integrated client account) | GST, PAYG withholding, PAYG instalments, fuel tax credits, and the interest and penalties on them |
| Super guarantee | Super guarantee charge and related penalties |
| Other accounts | FBT, and any director penalty account if a DPN has been issued |
The good news is that everything on the activity statement account is treated as one balance, so a single plan does cover your GST and BAS debt together with PAYG withholding.
Setting up more than one plan
Online, the ATO only lets you set up one plan at a time, so you go through the process once per account. Each plan has its own $200,000 threshold for the online channel and its own instalment schedule. By phone on 13 11 42, an officer can set up plans on several accounts in the same call and can line the debit dates up so they do not all land in the same week.
Two things to watch:
- Total affordability. Three plans of $1,500 a month is $4,500 a month. The ATO assesses each plan, but your bank account sees the total. Work out one combined figure first, then split it.
- Default is per plan, but the count is not. Two defaulted or cancelled plans within 12 months close the online channel, and that count is across your accounts, not per account.
For more on holding plans in parallel, see can I have two ATO payment plans at once.
Owe the ATO across several accounts?
A specialist can help you prioritise and structure the plans so they hold.
Why super guarantee charge needs its own thinking
Super guarantee charge can go on a payment plan, but it behaves differently from the other accounts. It is not deductible, the online estimator cannot be used for it, and for a company director it carries personal exposure through a director penalty notice. If an SGC statement was lodged after its due date, that exposure is a lockdown DPN, which a payment plan does not remit.
If you owe on all three accounts and money is tight, most specialists would want to look at the super guarantee charge and any PAYG withholding first, because those are the amounts that follow a director personally. That is a prioritisation question worth asking before you commit instalments across the board.
What to do next
- Open ATO online services and note the balance on each account separately.
- Work out one total monthly figure you can afford, then decide how to split it across the accounts.
- Set up a plan per account online, or call 13 11 42 to set them all up in one conversation with staggered debit dates.
Related questions
Does one plan cover GST and PAYG withholding together?
Yes. GST, PAYG withholding and PAYG instalments are all reported on the activity statement and sit on the same ATO account, so a single payment plan on that account covers all of them. Income tax and super guarantee charge are on different accounts and need their own plans.
Can I combine my company's debt and my personal debt in one plan?
No. A company and its director are different taxpayers with different ABNs and TFNs, so their debts are on entirely separate accounts and cannot be merged. A director penalty, if one has been raised, is a personal debt of the director and would need its own arrangement.
Owe the ATO across several accounts?
A specialist can help you prioritise and structure the plans so they hold.
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