Tax File Number Declaration

Declaration

This is not a TFN application form. To apply for a TFN, go to ato.gov.au/tfn

Terms we use

When we say:

payer, we mean the business or individual making payments under the pay as you go (PAYG) withholding system

payee, we mean the individual being paid.

Who should complete this form?

You should complete this form before you start to receive payments from a new payer – for example:

• payments for work and services as an employee, company director or office holder

• payments under return-to-work schemes, labour hire arrangements or other specified payments

• benefit and compensation payments

• superannuation benefits.

You need to provide all information requested on this form. Providing the wrong information may lead to incorrect amounts of tax being withheld from payments made to you.

You don't need to complete this form if you:

• are a beneficiary wanting to provide your tax file number (TFN) to the trustee of a closely held trust. For more information, visit ato.gov.au/trustsandtfnwithholding

• are receiving superannuation benefits from a super fund and have been taken to have quoted your TFN to the trustee of the super fund

• want to claim the seniors and pensioners tax offset by reducing the amount withheld from payments made to you. You should complete a withholding declaration form (NAT 3093)

• want to claim a zone, overseas forces or invalid and invalid carer tax offset by reducing the amount withheld from payments made to you. You should complete a withholding declaration form (NAT 3093).

For more information about your entitlement, visit ato.gov.au/taxoffsets

Section A: To be completed by the payee

Question 1 What is your tax file number (TFN)?

You should give your TFN to your employer only after you start work for them. Never give your TFN in a job application or over the internet.

We and your payer are authorised by the Taxation Administration Act 1953 to request your TFN. It’s not an offence not to quote your TFN. However, quoting your TFN reduces the risk of administrative errors and having extra tax withheld. Your payer is required to withhold the top rate of tax from all payments made to you if you do not provide your TFN or claim an exemption from quoting your TFN.

How do you find your TFN? 

You can find your TFN on any of the following:

• your income tax notice of assessment

• correspondence we send you

• a payment summary your payer issues to you. If you have a tax agent, they may also be able to tell you. If you still can’t find your TFN, you can:

• phone us on 13 28 61 between 8.00am and 6.00pm, Monday to Friday.

If you phone or visit us, we need to know we are talking to the correct person before discussing your tax affairs. We will ask you for details only you, or your authorised representative, would know.

You don’t have a TFN

If you don’t have a TFN and want to provide a TFN to your payer, you will need to apply for one.

For more information about applying for a TFN, visit ato.gov.au/tfn

You may be able to claim an exemption from quoting your TFN.

Print X in the appropriate box if you:

• have lodged a TFN application form or made an enquiry to obtain your TFN. You now have 28 days to provide your TFN to your payer, who must withhold at the standard rate during this time. After 28 days, if you haven’t given your TFN to your payer, they will withhold the top rate of tax from future payments

• are claiming an exemption from quoting a TFN because you are under 18 years of age and do not earn enough to pay tax, or you are an applicant or recipient of certain pensions, benefits or allowances from the:

– Department of Human Services – however, you will need to quote your TFN if you receive a Newstart, Youth or sickness allowance, or an Austudy or parenting payment

– Department of Veterans’ Affairs – a service pension under the Veterans’ Entitlement Act 1986

– Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission. 

Providing your TFN to your super fund

Your payer must give your TFN to the super fund they pay your contributions to. If your super fund doesn’t have your TFN, you can provide it to them separately. This ensures:

• your super fund can accept all types of contributions to your accounts

• additional tax will not be imposed on contributions as a result of failing to provide your TFN

• you can trace different super accounts in your name.

For more information about providing your TFN to your super fund, visit ato.gov.au/supereligibility

Question 2–6

Complete with your personal information.

Question 7

On what basis are you paid?

Check with your payer if you’re not sure.

Question 8

Are you an Australian resident for tax purposes or a working holiday maker?

Generally, we consider you to be an Australian resident for tax purposes if you:

• have always lived in Australia or you have come to Australia and now live here permanently

• are an overseas student doing a course that takes more than six months to complete

• migrate to Australia and intend to reside here permanently.

If you go overseas temporarily and don’t set up a permanent home in another country, you may continue to be treated as an Australian resident for tax purposes.

If you are in Australia on a working holiday visa (subclass 417) or a work and holiday visa (subclass 462) you must place an X in the working holiday maker box. Special rates of tax apply for working holiday makers.

For more information about working holiday makers, visit ato.gov.au/whm

If you’re not an Australian resident for tax purposes or a working holiday maker, place an X in the foreign resident box, unless you are in receipt of an Australian Government pension or allowance.

Temporary residents can claim super when leaving Australia, if all requirements are met. For more information, visit ato.gov.au/departaustralia

Foreign resident tax rates are different

A higher rate of tax applies to a foreign resident’s taxable income and foreign residents are not entitled to a tax-free threshold nor can they claim tax offsets to reduce withholding, unless you are in receipt of an Australian Government pension or allowance.

To check your Australian residency status for tax purposes or for more information, visit ato.gov.au/residency

Question 9

Do you want to claim the tax‑free threshold from this payer?

The tax-free threshold is the amount of income you can earn each financial year that is not taxed. By claiming the threshold, you reduce the amount of tax that is withheld from your pay during the year.

Answer yes if you want to claim the tax-free threshold, you are an Australian resident for tax purposes, and one of the following applies:

• you are not currently claiming the tax-free threshold from another payer

• you are currently claiming the tax-free threshold from another payer and your total income from all sources will be less than the tax-free threshold.

Answer yes if you are a foreign resident in receipt of an Australian Government pension or allowance.

Answer no if none of the above applies or you are a working holiday maker.

If you receive any taxable government payments or allowances, such as Newstart, Youth Allowance or Austudy payment, you are likely to be already claiming the tax‑free threshold from that payment.

For more information about the current tax-free threshold, which payer you should claim it from, or how to vary your withholding rate, visit ato.gov.au/taxfreethreshold

Question 10

Do you have a Higher Education Loan Program (HELP), VET Student Loan (VSL), Financial Supplement (FS), Student Start‑up Loan (SSL) or Trade Support Loan (TSL) debt?

Answer yes if you have a HELP, VSL, FS, SSL or TSL debt.

Answer no if you do not have a HELP, VSL, FS, SSL or TSL debt, or you have repaid your debt in full.

You have a HELP debt if either:

• the Australian Government lent you money under HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP, OS-HELP, VET FEE-HELP, VET Student loans prior to 1 July 2019 or SA-HELP.

• you have a debt from the previous Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS).

You have a SSL debt if you have an ABSTUDY SSL debt.

You have a separate VSL debt that is not part of your HELP debt if you incurred it from 1 July 2019.

For information about repaying your HELP, VSL, FS, SSL or TSL debt, visit ato.gov.au/getloaninfo

Have you repaid your HELP, VSL, FS, SSL or TSL debt?

When you have repaid your HELP, VSL, FS, SSL or TSL debt, you need to complete a Withholding declaration (NAT 3093) notifying your payer of the change in your circumstances.

Sign and date the declaration

Make sure you have answered all the questions in section A, then sign and date the declaration. Give your completed declaration to your payer to complete section B.

Section B: To be completed by the payer

Important information for payers – see the reverse side of the form.

Lodge online

Payers can lodge TFN declaration reports online if you have software that complies with our specifications.

For more information about lodging the TFN declaration report online, visit ato.gov.au/lodgetfndeclaration

More information

Internet

For general information about TFNs, tax and super in Australia, including how to deal with us online, visit our website at ato.gov.au

For information about applying for a TFN on the web, visit our website at ato.gov.au/tfn

For information about your super, visit our website at ato.gov.au/checkyoursuper

Useful products

In addition to this TFN declaration, you may also need to complete and give your payer the following forms which you can download from our website at ato.gov.au:

Medicare levy variation declaration (NAT 0929), if you qualify for a reduced rate of Medicare levy or are liable for the Medicare levy surcharge. You can vary the amount your payer withholds from your payments.

Standard choice form (NAT 13080) to choose a super fund for your employer to pay super contributions to. You can find information about your current super accounts and transfer any unnecessary super accounts through myGov after you have linked to the ATO. Temporary residents should visit ato.gov.au/departaustralia for more information about super. 

Other forms and publications are also available from our website at ato.gov.au/onlineordering or by phoning 1300 720 092.

Phone

• Payee – for more information, phone 13 28 61 between 8.00am and 6.00pm, Monday to Friday. If you want to vary your rate of withholding, phone 1300 360 221 between 8.00am and 6.00pm, Monday to Friday.

• Payer – for more information, phone 13 28 66 between 8.00am and 6.00pm, Monday to Friday.

If you phone, we need to know we’re talking to the right person before we can discuss your tax affairs. We’ll ask for details only you, or someone you’ve authorised, would know. An authorised contact is someone you’ve previously told us can act on your behalf.

If you do not speak English well and need help from the ATO, phone the Translating and Interpreting Service on 13 14 50.

 If you are deaf, or have a hearing or speech impairment, phone the ATO through the National Relay Service (NRS) on the numbers listed below:

• TTY users – phone 13 36 77 and ask for the ATO number you need (if you are calling from overseas, phone  +61 7 3815 7799)

• Speak and Listen (speech-to-speech relay) users – phone 1300 555 727 and ask for the ATO number you need (if you are calling from overseas, phone +61 7 3815 8000)

• Internet relay users – connect to the NRS on relayservice.gov.au and ask for the ATO number you need.

If you would like further information about the National Relay Service, phone 1800 555 660 or email helpdesk@relayservice.com.au

Privacy of information

Taxation law authorises the ATO to collect information and to disclose it to other government agencies. For information about your privacy, go to ato.gov.au/privacy

Our commitment to you

We are committed to providing you with accurate, consistent and clear information to help you understand your rights and entitlements and meet your obligations.

If you follow our information in this publication and it turns out to be incorrect, or it is misleading and you make a mistake as a result, we must still apply the law correctly. If that means you owe us money, we must ask you to pay it but we will not charge you a penalty. Also, if you acted reasonably and in good faith we will not charge you interest.

If you make an honest mistake in trying to follow our information in this publication and you owe us money as a result, we will not charge you a penalty. However, we will ask you to pay the money, and we may also charge you interest. If correcting the mistake means we owe you money, we will pay it to you. We will also pay you any interest you are entitled to.

If you feel that this publication does not fully cover your circumstances, or you are unsure how it applies to you, you can seek further assistance from us.

We regularly revise our publications to take account of any changes to the law, so make sure that you have the latest information. If you are unsure, you can check for more recent information on our website at ato.gov.au or contact us. 

This publication was current at June 2019.

© Australian Taxation Office for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2019

You are free to copy, adapt, modify, transmit and distribute this material as you wish (but not in any way that suggests the ATO or the Commonwealth endorses you or any of your services or products).

Published by

Australian Taxation Office

Canberra

June 2019

DE-6078

There are penalties for deliberately making a false or misleading statement.

Once section A  is completed and signed, give it to your payer to complete section  B.

IMPORTANT

See next page for:

• payer obligations

• lodging online.

The following information will help you comply with your pay as you go (PAYG) withholding obligations.

Is your employee entitled to work in Australia?

It is a criminal offence to knowingly or recklessly allow someone to work, or to refer someone for work, where that person is from overseas and is either in Australia illegally or is working in breach of their visa conditions.

People or companies convicted of these offences may face fines and/or imprisonment. To avoid penalties, ensure your prospective employee has a valid visa to work in Australia before you employ them. For more information and to check a visa holder’s status online, visit the Department of Home Affairs website at homeaffairs.gov.au

Is your payee working under a working holiday visa (subclass 417) or a work and holiday visa (subclass 462)?

Employers of workers under these two types of visa need to register with the ATO, see ato.gov.au/whmreg 

For the tax table “working holiday maker” visit our website at ato.gov.au/taxtables

Payer obligations

If you withhold amounts from payments, or are likely to withhold amounts, the payee may give you this form with section A completed. A TFN declaration applies to payments made after the declaration is provided to you. The information provided on this form is used to determine the amount of tax to be withheld from payments based on the PAYG withholding tax tables we publish. If the payee gives you another declaration, it overrides any previous declarations.

Has your payee advised you that they have applied for a TFN, or enquired about their existing TFN?

Where the payee indicates at question 1 on this form that they have applied for an individual TFN, or enquired about their existing TFN, they have 28 days to give you their TFN. You must withhold tax for 28 days at the standard rate according to the PAYG withholding tax tables. After 28 days, if the payee has not given you their TFN, you must then withhold the top rate of tax from future payments, unless we tell you not to.

If your payee has not given you a completed form you must:

•  notify us within 14 days of the start of the withholding obligation by completing as much of the payee section of the form as you can. Print ‘PAYER’ in the payee declaration and lodge the form – see ‘Lodging the form’.

• withhold the top rate of tax from any payment to that payee.For a full list of tax tables, visit our website at ato.gov.au/taxtables

For a full list of tax tables, visit our website at ato.gov.au/taxtables

Lodging the form

You need to lodge TFN declarations with us within 14 days after the form is either signed by the payee or completed by you (if not provided by the payee). You need to retain a copy of the form for your records. For information about storage and disposal, see below.

You may lodge the information:

• online – lodge your TFN declaration reports using software that complies with our specifications. There is no need to complete section B of each form as the payer information is supplied by your software.

• by paper – complete section B and send the original to us within 14 days.

For more information about lodging your TFN declaration report online, visit our website at ato.gov.au/lodgetfndeclaration

Provision of payee’s TFN to the payee’s super fund

If you make a super contribution for your payee, you need to give your payee’s TFN to their super fund on the day of contribution, or if the payee has not yet quoted their TFN, within 14 days of receiving this form from your payee.

Storing and disposing of TFN declarations

The TFN Rule issued under the Privacy Act 1988 requires a TFN recipient to use secure methods when storing and disposing of TFN information. You may store a paper copy of the signed form or electronic files of scanned forms. Scanned forms must be clear and not altered in any way.

If a payee:

• submits a new TFN declaration (NAT 3092), you must retain a copy of the earlier form for the current and following financial year.

• has not received payments from you for 12 months, you must retain a copy of the last completed form for the current and following financial year.

Penalties

You may incur a penalty if you do not:

• lodge TFN declarations with us

• keep a copy of completed TFN declarations for your records

• provide the payee’s TFN to their super fund where the payee quoted their TFN to you.