Key takeaways
- •A notice of intent to disclose from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) gives your business 28 days to act before the ATO may report its overdue tax debt to credit reporting bureaus, such as Equifax and CreditorWatch.
- •The ATO can report a business tax debt only where, among its other criteria, at least $100,000 is overdue by more than 90 days and the business is not engaging with the ATO to manage it.
- •Paying the overdue tax debt in full within the 28 days on a notice of intent to disclose means your business no longer meets the ATO's criteria for reporting it to credit reporting bureaus.
- •An ATO payment plan stops the report only while your business keeps to the plan's terms, and the general interest charge the ATO adds keeps compounding daily on the balance.
- •If the ATO has already reported your business's tax debt to credit reporting bureaus, the report is removed once the debt is paid in full. A report still on file can count against a later bank refinance.
- •A private loan from Secured Lending, from $250,000 and backed by property, gives your business the funds to pay the ATO in full before the 28 days end, and we can settle within 24 hours once terms are agreed.
An ATO notice of intent to disclose means the ATO plans to report your business's overdue tax debt to credit reporting bureaus, and it gives you 28 days to act first. Paying the overdue debt in full within that time means your business no longer meets the ATO's criteria for reporting.
We would be glad to help you make that payment inside the 28 days. If your business owes the ATO $250,000 or more and your business or a director owns property, a short-term private loan backed by that property is a good fit for this problem, because the deadline is short and a private loan can be arranged quickly. We lend our own funds, in most cases we decide in hours, and we can settle within 24 hours once terms are agreed. We lend against the property, and a tax debt on its own is not a reason we decline. The loan funds are paid to your business, which pays the ATO in full. Your business then repays the loan over a set term of months, through a defined exit strategy such as a bank refinance or a property sale.
What the notice of intent to disclose says
Under the ATO's rules on disclosing business tax debts, the ATO sends a written notice when it plans to report a business's tax debt. It may report the debt only when all four of its criteria are met: the business has an Australian Business Number and is not an excluded entity, it is not engaging with the ATO to manage the debt, it has no active complaint with the Tax Ombudsman about the intended report, and its overdue debt meets this test: "You have one or more tax debts and at least $100,000 is overdue by more than 90 days."
The notice sets out what the ATO intends to report, the steps you can take to avoid the report, and the time you have. The details reported are the business's Australian Business Number, its legal and business name, the type of entity and the amount of the overdue tax debt. They go to the registered credit reporting bureaus, which include Equifax and CreditorWatch.
The ATO may report, so disclosure is a decision it makes rather than an automatic step. In practice, most notices end in a report. In the 2024–25 financial year the ATO sent over 28,000 businesses an intent to disclose notice and disclosed around 24,000 debts, according to a speech by Deputy Commissioner Anna Longley.
When the 28 days start
Two ATO sources describe the start of the 28 days differently. The disclosure page says the notice tells you "that you have 28 days from receiving the notice to take the necessary action." An ATO media release from October 2023 says businesses need to pay or engage "within 28 days of when the intent to disclose notice was issued to prevent disclosure."
The safer reading is the earlier one. Count the 28 days from the date printed on your letter, and confirm the last day with your tax agent. The ATO's disclosure of business tax debts enquiries line is 1300 303 570.
What stops the disclosure
There are two ways to stop a report: the business pays the debt in full, or it engages effectively with the ATO. Its page on firmer action puts the same choice another way: pay the debt in full and on time, or set up a payment plan.
Effective engagement includes a payment plan the business is complying with, an application for release from the debt, an active objection or review, and an active complaint with the Tax Ombudsman. A payment plan protects the business only while it keeps to the plan's terms, and the ATO's payment plan rules carry three conditions worth knowing before you rely on one:
- •Interest continues. A tax debt on a payment plan keeps accruing the general interest charge, which compounds daily.
- •Each account needs its own plan. Income tax and activity statement accounts need separate payment plans.
- •A default makes the whole balance due. If new lodgements or payments are missed, the plan may default, and the full overdue balance becomes payable at once.
Above $200,000, the ATO's set-up rules require the plan to be arranged by phone with its lodge and pay enquiry line rather than online. Our article on ATO payment arrangements covers the hurdles in setting up a plan or a tax debt loan.
The ATO can temporarily hold off a report in exceptional circumstances, but it does not generally treat cash flow issues or financial hardship as exceptional. If cash flow is stopping the business from managing the debt, the ATO asks you to contact it.
Paying the ATO in full within the 28 days with a private loan
A private loan settles the overdue balance in one payment. The business is the borrower, and at settlement the loan funds are paid to the business, which then pays the ATO in full. One loan can cover every overdue ATO account at once, so there is no plan to keep current, no separate instalments on the income tax and activity statement accounts, and no overdue amount left that meets the $100,000 criterion.
| Loan feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Borrower | The business |
| Loan size | From $250,000, with larger loans assessed case by case |
| Interest rate | From 9.7% p.a. on our tax debt loans, from 11.95% p.a. on a second mortgage behind an existing loan |
| Term | 1 to 24 months, typically 3 to 6 months |
| Security | A first or second mortgage over residential, commercial or industrial property owned by the business or a director, including property already held in a company or a trust |
| Maximum loan-to-value ratio | 70%. For a second mortgage, the first and second mortgages combined. A second property can be added as additional security within the same 70% |
| Repayment | The business repays the loan to us through a defined exit strategy, for example a bank refinance once the ATO account is clear, or the sale of a property |
If the ATO has also issued a director penalty notice or a garnishee notice on the same debt, our page on paying an urgent ATO debt before the deadline covers those timetables.
Case study: $500,000 to repay an ATO debt and avoid a credit listing
A business in Melbourne had traded well through the pandemic but fell behind on its ATO obligations, and was at risk of being wound up. One of our long-time referrers in Melbourne contacted us on behalf of the business.
The two directors jointly owned the commercial suite the business operated from, and also held an investment property in Melbourne. We lent $500,000 on a second registered mortgage across both properties. The loan was used to fully repay the outstanding ATO liability and to provide additional working capital to keep the business trading.
Paying the ATO in full avoided default listings with credit agencies and protected the directors from personal penalty notices.
Why the 28 days matter for a bank refinance
If the private loan is to be repaid by refinancing to your bank, a tax debt report still on the business's credit report when the bank assesses that application can count against it. The ATO's 2023 media release makes the same point: a disclosed debt can affect a business's ability to get finance, and it may lose suppliers. When it signed its data agreement with the ATO, Equifax said in April 2022 that it would give its customers data to use during the credit application process that had not been available before.
Paying the ATO in full within the 28 days means no tax debt report is made, and the bank assesses the refinance against a cleared ATO account.
If the debt has already been reported
The ATO removes the tax debt information from the bureau's credit report once the business no longer meets the criteria, which happens when it pays the debt in full or engages effectively with the ATO. The ATO page gives no timeframe for the removal. The Australian Institute of Credit Management says the ATO sends updated records to the bureaus weekly, and that records no longer meeting the criteria are removed with those updates.
A tax debt already on the business's credit report is not, on its own, a reason we decline a loan. A private loan can still give the business the funds to pay the ATO in full and have the report removed.
The interest rates side by side
The ATO's general interest charge is calculated daily on a compounding basis. For October to December 2026 the general interest charge rate is 11.51% a year. On an overdue balance of $400,000, that adds about $3,550 over 28 days if the rate does not change. General interest charge incurred on or after 1 July 2025 cannot be claimed as a tax deduction, and the ATO reviews the rate every quarter. Our tax debt loans start from 9.7% p.a. Ask for the full offer in writing, with every cost, before you compare.
We are a lender, and we do not give tax advice. Whether to dispute the balance, lodge an objection or seek a review, and whether loan interest is deductible, are questions for your accountant or registered tax agent.
Frequently asked questions
Can I ask the ATO for more time because cash flow is tight?
You can contact the ATO, and it asks you to if cash flow is stopping you from managing the debt. It does not generally treat cash flow issues or financial hardship as exceptional circumstances, which are the grounds on which it may temporarily hold off a report.
Will a reported tax debt affect a bank loan later?
It can. The ATO says a disclosed debt can affect a business's ability to get finance. Paying the debt in full within the 28 days means the bank assesses the business with its ATO account cleared.
Does the disclosure go on my personal credit file?
The ATO reports business details: the Australian Business Number, the legal and business name, the entity type and the overdue amount. Equifax said in April 2022 that it intended to display the ATO data in its commercial credit reports. Ask your accountant how a report would appear for your business. The ATO's disclosure page also points to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner for checking your own credit reporting record.
Can I borrow against property to pay the ATO before the notice period ends?
Yes. We lend from $250,000 to the business for business purposes, on the terms in the table above. The property can be owned by the business or a director.
How Secured Lending Can Help
We would be glad to help your business pay the ATO before the 28 days end. Our loan gives your business the funds to pay every overdue ATO account in one payment, so no report is made and the bank can later assess a refinance against a cleared ATO account. Your business then repays us through a defined exit, such as that bank refinance or the sale of a property.
A private loan suits this problem because the loan has to settle before the 28 days end, and we can move quickly. We lend our own funds, and our in-house team values the property, so the loan does not wait on an outside valuer. In most cases we decide in hours, issue a letter of offer as soon as terms are agreed, and can settle within 24 hours. A tax debt already on your business's credit report is not, on its own, a reason we decline.
We provide secured loans backed by real property. If you would like us to look at your situation, it helps to have these to hand:
- •The notice of intent to disclose and the date printed on it.
- •The current balance on each overdue ATO account.
- •The property that could back the loan, its estimated value and any existing loan on it.
- •How your business plans to repay the loan, and roughly when.
Our page on tax debt loans sets out how the product works across all ATO debts. You are welcome to call us on 1300 795 175 to talk it through, or send the details through and we will come back to you. In most cases, we can tell you within hours whether we can help.
