Key takeaways
- •To apply for a property-backed loan to pay an Australian Taxation Office (ATO) debt, your business needs a short list of information for the first call, not a full document pack.
- •The information a lender needs first is the dated ATO balance, any ATO notice and its date, the property's address and value, what is owing on the property, and how your business will repay the loan.
- •Most of the information for a loan to pay an ATO debt is already held by you, your accountant or your existing lender, so all three can gather it at the same time.
- •A company can owe the ATO on more than one account, such as income tax and activity statements, and the general interest charge is added every day, so ask your accountant for a dated balance on each account.
- •In most cases, Secured Lending decides on a loan to pay an ATO debt within hours of receiving the deal, issues a letter of offer as soon as terms are agreed, and can settle within 24 hours.
- •The funds from a Secured Lending loan are paid to your business, which pays the ATO in full, and your business then repays the loan through a defined exit, such as a bank refinance or the sale of a property.
If your company has decided to borrow against property to pay its ATO debt, the list of what to send first is short. A lender backing the loan with property needs to know how much the business owes the Australian Taxation Office, the date of any notice it has received, the property and what is owing on it, and how the loan will be repaid. Most directors can gather those in a day with help from their accountant.
We would be glad to help your business through this. A private loan backed by property is a good fit for an ATO debt because it can be in place quickly: we lend our own funds, our in-house team values the property, in most cases we decide within hours of receiving the deal, and we can settle within 24 hours. We can still lend after a director penalty notice, a garnishee notice or a statutory demand has arrived. The loan funds are paid to your business, which pays the ATO in full, and your business then repays us through a defined exit, such as a refinance with its bank or the sale of a property.
The checklist for the first call
Each item below tells a lender one thing it needs to decide: the loan amount, the deadline, how much the property can support, or how the loan will be repaid.
| What to have ready | Who usually has it | What it tells the lender |
|---|---|---|
| The balance on every overdue ATO account, dated | Your accountant, or the director through the ATO's online services | The loan amount |
| Any ATO notice and the date it arrived | The director | The date the business needs to pay by |
| The address of the property that could back the loan, and its estimated value | The director | How much the property can support |
| The balance owing on any existing loan on that property, from a recent statement | The director, or the existing lender | How much of the 70% is already used |
| How the business plans to repay the loan, and roughly when | The director, with the accountant, broker or bank involved | The loan term and the exit |
| The name of the company that will borrow | The director | Who the borrower is |
The property can be one the company owns, property held in an existing company or trust, or a director's home or investment property. Whichever it is, the company is the borrower.
The ATO balance on every account
This item sets the loan amount. The ATO keeps a company's income tax and activity statement debts on separate accounts, which is why its page on payment plans requires a separate plan for each account. A letter about one account does not show what is owing on the other, so ask for the balance on each.
Any notice and its date
A notice tells us how long the business has. A director penalty notice gives 21 days, starting on the day the ATO posts it or leaves it at the director's address registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Our article on what a director penalty notice means for finance covers those 21 days in detail. A notice of intent to disclose a business tax debt to credit reporting bureaus gives 28 days from receiving it, according to the ATO's page on disclosure of business tax debts. Send the garnishee notice, statutory demand or payment plan letter too, if one has arrived. If the ATO has written to say a plan has defaulted, our guide to paying the full balance after a payment plan default explains how a loan can pay the full overdue balance.
The property and what is owing on it
Total borrowing on the property, including any existing loan, can be up to 70% of its value, so we need both figures. Your own estimate of the value is enough for the first call, because our in-house valuers confirm the value and there is no wait for an outside valuation. If one property does not support the whole ATO balance, a second property can be added as additional security, within the same 70% maximum.
How the loan will be repaid
Our loans run from 1 to 24 months, typically 3 to 6 months, and are repaid through a defined exit strategy agreed before settlement. Tell us what the exit is, for example a refinance with a bank once the ATO account is clear, or the sale of a property, and roughly when you expect it.
Getting the ATO figures without waiting on the phone
A business can see what it owes the ATO by logging in to Online services for business, according to the ATO's page on how much you owe. If that is not available, a business can phone the ATO on 13 28 66 during operating hours. A registered agent, such as your tax agent, can find a client's balance through Online services for agents, or by phoning the agent line on 13 72 86. Because your accountant usually already has that access, asking them is often the quickest route.
The same ATO page notes that fully self-assessed companies do not usually receive a notice of assessment, so for most companies the account balance is the figure to use, not an assessment. The balance on any statement is the balance on the day it was produced. The general interest charge for October to December 2026 is 11.51% a year, a daily rate of 0.03153425%, according to the ATO's general interest charge rates table. On a $250,000 debt, that adds about $79 a day. Ask your accountant to project each account's balance to the day you expect the business to pay, and the loan is sized to that total.
If a balance looks wrong, raise it with the ATO before the loan is sized. The ATO's own page asks businesses to contact it immediately if they believe an account balance is incorrect. Questions about the balance, an objection or a remission request are for your accountant: we are a lender, and we do not give tax advice.
Once terms are agreed
In most cases we tell you within hours of receiving the deal whether we can proceed. Once terms are agreed, we issue a letter of offer immediately, and we can settle within 24 hours. The documents needed to settle depend on the loan, the property and who owns it, and we confirm them with you once terms are agreed.
At settlement the loan funds are paid to your business. Your business then pays the ATO the full balance on each account. If a notice has set a deadline, plan settlement early enough for the payment to reach the ATO account before that date.
Whether the company can pay its debts as they fall due, and whether to pay the ATO ahead of other creditors, are questions for your accountant or an insolvency practitioner. If a company is later wound up, the Corporations Act can make a payment to one creditor voidable as an unfair preference, so a director unsure of the company's solvency should get that advice before the company borrows to pay the ATO.
The loan in brief
| Loan feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Borrower | The company, including a company acting as trustee |
| Loan size | From $250,000, with larger loans assessed case by case |
| Interest rate | From 9.7% p.a. for tax debt loans, and from 11.95% p.a. for a second mortgage |
| Term | 1 to 24 months, typically 3 to 6 months |
| Security | A first or second mortgage over residential, commercial or industrial property |
| Maximum loan-to-value ratio | 70%. On a second mortgage, 70% is the combined loan-to-value ratio of the existing loan and ours |
| Repayment | The business repays the loan to us through a defined exit, such as a bank refinance or the sale of a property |
The full detail of how these loans work is on our tax debt loans page.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to send the ATO notices?
Yes. Each notice has a date, and that date tells us when your business needs to pay. Send the notice with the date it arrived on the first call.
Do I need the paperwork perfect before I call?
No. The first call needs the information in the checklist, and an estimate of the property's value is enough to start. Our in-house valuers confirm the value.
What if the ATO balance changes before settlement?
The balance grows every day the debt is unpaid, because the general interest charge is added daily. Ask your accountant for each account's balance projected to the expected payment day, and the loan is sized to that figure.
Can my accountant or broker send the details for us?
Yes. Your accountant or broker is welcome to contact us with the details on your company's behalf.
Will a tax debt on the company's credit file stop the loan?
A live ATO tax debt listing on its own is not a reason we decline. We look at the property, the borrowing within 70% of its value, and how the business will repay the loan.
How Secured Lending Can Help
We would be glad to help your business pay its ATO debt in full. Our loan gives your business the funds to pay every overdue ATO account at once, secured by a first or second mortgage over a property your business, a director or an owner already owns. Your business then repays us through a defined exit, such as a refinance with its bank or the sale of a property.
A private loan suits this problem because the list is short and the loan can be in place quickly. We lend our own funds and our in-house team values the property, so in most cases we decide within hours, issue a letter of offer as soon as terms are agreed, and can settle within 24 hours. If a deadline is already running, our page on a short term loan to pay an ATO debt before a garnishee, director penalty notice or wind-up deadline covers that timetable.
We provide secured loans backed by real property. Do you or your business own a property that could back the loan? If you would like us to look at your situation, it helps to have the checklist above to hand. 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.
