When does the ATO report a debt to credit bureaus?
Short answer
Only when every condition is met: an ABN holder owes $100,000 or more that is more than 90 days overdue, is not effectively engaging with the ATO, has no Tax Ombudsman complaint on foot, and 28 days have passed since a written notice of intent to disclose. Miss any one and the ATO cannot report. Individuals not in business are never reported. See tax debt and credit reporting.
The conditions, one by one
| Condition | What it means |
|---|---|
| ABN holder | Companies, trusts, partnerships and sole traders with an ABN. Charities, complying super funds, government entities and deductible gift recipients are excluded. |
| $100,000 or more overdue | The total across all tax accounts that is more than 90 days past due. Debt that is not yet overdue does not count. |
| More than 90 days | Measured from the due date, not from when you first heard about the debt. |
| Not effectively engaging | No payment plan being kept, no debt release application pending, no active objection, review or appeal. |
| No Tax Ombudsman complaint | An active complaint about the debt with the Tax Ombudsman (formerly the IGTO) pauses disclosure. |
| 28 day notice served | The ATO must write to you first and wait 28 days. |
The threshold is measured on the overdue amount, so a business that owes $120,000 but has $30,000 of it not yet due sits under the line.
What the timeline looks like
- A debt falls due and is not paid. Reminders and, often, a referral to the ATO's external debt collector come first.
- Once the overdue amount is $100,000 or more and past 90 days, and the ATO sees no engagement, it issues a notice of intent to disclose.
- You have 28 days from that notice to act.
- If nothing changes, the ATO includes the debt in its next weekly file to registered credit reporting bureaus, which include CreditorWatch, Equifax and Experian.
The ATO tends to use disclosure alongside other firmer action rather than instead of it, so a notice of intent often arrives around the same time as a warning about garnishees or a director penalty notice.
Close to the $100,000 reporting line?
A specialist can help you get engaged with the ATO inside the 28 days.
What stops it, before and after
Before the 28 days run out, any one of these takes you off the list: a payment plan you then keep, paying enough that the overdue amount drops under $100,000, lodging a genuine objection or review, applying for release on hardship grounds, or complaining to the Tax Ombudsman about the proposed disclosure.
After disclosure, the same things work. The ATO refreshes its data weekly and the bureaus remove entries for businesses that no longer meet the criteria. So a business that has been reported and then enters a plan comes off, rather than carrying the entry for years. Details in how to stop the ATO reporting your debt.
What to do next
- Add up the overdue amount across all your ATO accounts and check whether it is $100,000 or more and past 90 days.
- If you have received a notice of intent to disclose, diarise the 28 day date and act before it.
- Set up a payment plan or lodge an objection so the ATO records you as engaging.
Related questions
Does the $100,000 include interest and penalties?
Yes. The test is the total tax debt overdue by more than 90 days, and that balance includes general interest charge and penalties that have been added to the account. Asking for interest remission can therefore matter near the line.
Can the ATO report me without sending a notice?
No. The written notice of intent to disclose and the 28 day wait are conditions of the scheme, not courtesies. If you have not received one, you have not been reported. Check that the ATO has your current postal and myGov details so a notice cannot go astray.
Close to the $100,000 reporting line?
A specialist can help you get engaged with the ATO inside the 28 days.
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