Tax in Australia

Taxation

Most people who work in for a business in Australia are paid a wage or salary directly into a bank account on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis.

Australia Income tax is paid on all salaries and wages in Australia, as well as on any other forms of income.

Employers usually deduct income tax from employee wages and send the tax payment to the Australian Taxation Office.

Other income, such as income from investments and interest on bank accounts, must be declared on a tax return which is lodged by October 31 for the previous fiscal year (July 1 to June 30).

Tax return forms are delivered to all households at the end of June each year. They are also available for free from newsagents.  Before your move to Australia we can help take care everything for you.

Employers should provide staff with a payment summary at the end of the financial year which shows earnings during the year. This must be included when completing a tax return.

Applying for a Tax File Number

People going trhough Australia Immigration should apply for a Tax File Number (TFN) as soon as possible after arrival in Australia.

A TFN is a unique number issued by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to individuals and organisations for identification and record keeping purposes.

Every Australian resident with earnings from employment or investment needs a TFN.

Applications for a TFN can be made by phoning the Tax Office or a Centrelink office and getting a TFN application form sent to you. Alternatively you can apply for a TFN online.

Tax File Number Declaration: When starting work with a new employer, employees must complete a Tax File Number (TFN) declaration form which will be used to determine how much tax they pay.

The declaration will ask an employee for their TFN. If this number is not provided, tax may be deducted at the highest rate which may result in the employee paying more tax than they need to.

When starting a new job, employees have 28 days to provide their TFN before tax is deducted at the highest rate.

Generally, if a migrant to Australia with a visa intends to earn money in Australia, regardless of their age, it is to their advantage to apply for a TFN. If they do not have a TFN, they may have more tax withheld than is necessary. Find out further information on our Business in Australia page.