Short answer: Yes, if all four tests are met: the business has an ABN and is not an excluded entity, owes at least $100,000 of tax overdue by more than 90 days, is not engaging with the ATO to manage it, and has no active Tax Ombudsman complaint about the reporting. You get a written notice and 28 days to act first.
The four tests, and all of them must apply
The ATO can disclose a business’s tax debt to credit reporting agencies, but only when all four of these apply (ATO):
- The business has an ABN and is not an excluded entity. Deductible gift recipients, complying super funds, registered charities and government entities are excluded.
- At least $100,000 of tax debt is overdue by more than 90 days. Not the total debt, the part that is more than 90 days overdue.
- The business is not engaging with the ATO to manage the debt.
- There is no active complaint with the Tax Ombudsman about the proposed reporting.
Miss any one test and the debt is outside the rules. That is the good news in this guide, because two of the four, the size of the overdue amount and whether you are engaging, are within your control in a matter of days.
The 28-day notice of intent
Disclosure is never a surprise. Before it reports a debt, the ATO sends a written notice of intent, and you have 28 days to act on it.
A lot of businesses don’t act. In 2024–25 the ATO sent more than 28,000 notices of intent, and in the same year about 24,000 debts were disclosed. Whatever the reasons behind each one, the numbers suggest most notices are left to run their course.
Those 28 days are the cheapest point to deal with it. Before disclosure you are stopping a listing. After it you are trying to get one removed while lenders and suppliers can already see it. Treat the notice the way you would treat a court date: put it in the calendar and work back from it.
Check the date on the letter as soon as you have it, and confirm with your accountant or the ATO exactly when the 28 days end. Then decide in the first few days which of the routes below you are taking.
How to stop the disclosure
Within the 28 days, any one of these stops it:
- Enter into a payment plan and comply with it. Both halves count. A plan you then default on puts you back where you started, with the full overdue balance payable immediately and firmer action possible.
- Apply for a release from the debt, where that is open to you.
- Have an active objection, review or appeal on the debt. This is for debts you genuinely dispute, not a way to buy time.
A note on plans. Businesses owing $200,000 or less can set one up themselves in Online services for business. If you owe more than $200,000, or have had two or more plans defaulted or cancelled in the past 12 months, you have to phone the ATO, which takes longer (ATO). Start in the first week of the 28 days, not the fourth.
And because all four tests must apply, bringing the amount overdue by more than 90 days below $100,000 also takes the debt outside the rules. If you go that way, confirm with the ATO that the payment has been applied.
Getting a listing removed
If the debt has already been disclosed, the listing is removed once the reporting criteria no longer apply. In plain terms: get the overdue amount below $100,000, or start engaging with the ATO properly, and the reason for the listing falls away.
That makes removal a practical goal rather than a long fight. The fastest route out is usually the same as the route that would have prevented it: pay enough to get under the threshold, or enter a payment plan you can actually keep.
What removal does not do is rewind decisions made while the listing was visible. A bank that declined you last month, or a supplier that cut your terms, will not automatically reverse. Expect to explain what happened and show that it is fixed.
Keep records as you go: the ATO statement showing the reduced balance, the payment plan confirmation and the dates of each. If a lender or supplier asks about the listing later, a one-page timeline backed by those documents answers the question faster than any explanation.
What a listing does to your bank and supplier credit
A tax debt on your business credit file is visible to anyone who checks it, and in business finance a lot of people check.
- Banks. Expect a bank to want the debt cleared before it lends. That is the loop described in our guide to business loans with ATO debt: you need finance to clear the debt, and the bank wants the debt cleared first.
- Suppliers. Trade credit is often reviewed when a credit file changes. Terms can shrink or turn into cash on delivery. If that is already happening, read what to do when a supplier moves you to cash on delivery.
- Landlords, tenders and partners. Anyone running a credit check on the business sees the same file.
There is a reason credit checkers watch this. CreditorWatch reported in July 2026 that 35,361 businesses had ATO debts over $100,000, and that the 12-month insolvency rate for that group was 21.9%. Whether or not that is fair to your business, it is how a listing tends to be read.
How property-secured lenders treat a listed debt
Lenders split cleanly on this, and knowing which door you are standing at saves weeks.
| Lender type | How a reported ATO debt is treated | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Bank | Generally wants it cleared before proceeding | Often a decline until the debt and the listing are gone |
| Cash-flow lender | Assessed on trading; policy varies | Possible for smaller amounts with steady turnover and 6+ months trading |
| Property-secured lender | Assessed on equity and exit; ATO debt and bad credit considered | The debt is usually the reason for the loan, not a reason to refuse it |
A second mortgage, or a caveat loan in Victoria, can fund in as little as 24 hours, for $20,000 to $5M, with no financials, and overdue lodgements don’t stop it. If the listing has also damaged your personal or business credit, our page on bad credit business loans explains how that is assessed. Once the debt is cleared and the listing removed, a bank refinance often becomes a realistic exit for the loan.
Clearing it below the threshold quickly
You don’t always need to clear the whole debt to fix the reporting problem. The options, roughly fastest first:
- Pay the whole debt with a property-secured loan. One step, funds in as little as 24 hours, and it also stops the general interest charge (GIC), which is 11.51% a year for October to December 2026, compounds daily and is not tax deductible for income years starting on or after 1 July 2025.
- Pay enough to get under $100,000 from cash or a smaller loan, and put the rest on a payment plan you can keep.
- Put the whole amount on a payment plan, if the repayments are genuinely affordable.
- Object, if you genuinely dispute the debt. Only where there is a real dispute.
Take a transport business owing $140,000, all of it more than 90 days overdue. This is an illustrative example. Paying $45,000 brings the overdue amount to $95,000, below the threshold, and the balance goes on a plan the business can meet from its normal trading.
The point of the example is the order. Get under the threshold first, because that is what the reporting rules test, then deal with the rest at a pace the business can carry.
When a loan is the wrong answer
If the tax debt is the symptom of a business losing money every month, clearing the listing only buys time. Talk to an insolvency adviser before putting property on the line. If a director penalty notice has arrived as well, that 21-day deadline comes first.
See what it takes to get under $100,000
The 28 days pass quickly, and every option on this page needs a few of them to put in place. If clearing some or all of the debt is the plan, our emergency business loans and urgent business loans pages explain how fast each kind of funding moves.
Then run the 60-second eligibility check with the ATO balance and your notice date. It makes no credit enquiry, which matters when your credit file is already under pressure, and it costs nothing.
Frequently asked questions
Does a payment plan stop the ATO reporting my debt?
Entering into a payment plan and complying with it is one of the ways to stop disclosure after a notice of intent. If the plan defaults, the full overdue balance becomes payable immediately.
How long do I have after the notice of intent?
28 days from the written notice. Starting in the first week leaves time for a payment plan, a part payment or a loan to be put in place.
Are charities and super funds reported?
No. Registered charities, deductible gift recipients, complying super funds and government entities are excluded.
Does a listing stay on my file forever?
No. It is removed once the reporting criteria no longer apply, for example when the overdue amount falls below $100,000.
Can I get a loan with a reported tax debt?
Yes, with a property-secured lender. The assessment is on equity and exit, and ATO debt and bad credit are considered. Banks generally want the debt cleared first.
Does it cost anything to apply?
No. There's no cost to apply or check your eligibility. All costs are set out in writing in your loan offer before you sign anything.
Will checking my eligibility affect my credit score?
No. Our 60-second eligibility check doesn't make a credit enquiry. A credit check is only done later, with your consent, if you decide to proceed.
