Debt recovery
Overview
If you are unable to pay your tax liability in full by the due date, or are already in arrears, please contact our office as soon as possible to discuss your options.
The debt recovery team can be contacted by emailing debtmanagement@act.gov.au or by calling 02 6207 0028 and selecting option 6, then option 1.
Preventative actions and early intervention
Our office takes a proactive approach to help taxpayers meet their obligations and avoid incurring tax debts. Preventative actions may include:
- issuing assessment notices;
- arrears notices (for some tax lines);
- issuing pre due-date and overdue reminder SMS messages (for some tax lines); and
- providing flexible payment options and payment plans to make payment as simple as possible.
It is important to note that the onus is on the taxpayer to be aware of their ongoing tax obligations and to ensure they fulfil those obligations as and when they fall due. Aside from the issuing of an assessment notice all other preventative and early intervention actions are a courtesy only and should not be relied upon in lieu of being aware of your tax obligations.
Payment plans
Payment plans and extensions are not available for conveyance duty debt as this is a known cost when purchasing a property.
For all other property-based taxes (rates, land tax and land rent) you may be eligible to enter into an agreed time payment arrangement. All payment arrangements include an estimate of future instalments and interest charges that fall due throughout the duration of the plan.
All payment plans are required to be paid by direct debit. The maximum time-period that will be considered for a time payment arrangement will vary dependent on the level of debt and tax line. Generally, payment plans will be capped at 12 months for individual/s and 6 months for companies.
If you miss an instalment or fail to comply with the conditions of a payment arrangement, the current payment arrangement will be cancelled and no further payment plans will be offered. Further debt recovery action may then commence without further notice.
Time payment arrangements may not be considered for taxpayers with a history of non-compliance or where debt recovery actions have been required to clear previous arrears.
To enter into a payment plan, please click the button below.
Interest
If you do not pay your tax obligation by the due date, interest will accrue on all outstanding amounts.
Interest will also continue to accrue during any agreed time payment arrangement.
The interest rate is 8 per cent plus the 90 day bank bill rate.
Statutory charge
If taxes associated with a property are unpaid, the Commissioner for ACT Revenue has a charge on the land. The charge takes priority over a sale or mortgage.
The ACT Revenue Office may register the existence of this charge on the title of a property. Once a charge has been registered on title, and a significant debt remains, the mortgagee (bank) will be advised. Charges will only be removed once the full outstanding amount has been paid and the account is up to date.
Recovery actions
If you have defaulted on your tax obligations, we undertake a number of actions to recover the debt owed by you. Depending on your willingness to engage with us, these actions become progressively firmer. Some of our actions are listed below:
- Letter of demand
- Statutory charge on the title of your property
- Penalty tax
- Recovery of amounts from third parties (garnishee)
- Notifying mortgagee of debts
- Sale of land (includes issuing a public notice of the properties to be sold)
- Court proceedings
For corporate entities the following additional actions may be taken to recover the debt:
- Statutory demand
- Court proceedings (such as wind-up action and examination of company records)
- Recovery from Directors
Please be aware that preventative and early intervention actions are not a pre-condition to firm or strong action. The actions we take are determined on a case-by-case basis and take into account a number of factors, such as historical compliance and willingness to engage.
Contact details
To ensure you are receiving your assessment notices and other correspondence, please ensure your contact details are up to date. It is your responsibility to ensure we have the most up to date information. Please update your details with us so we can get in touch.
Objections and appeals
The existence of an objection or an appeal does not impact or defer your obligation to pay a disputed assessment or liability.
Interest will continue to accrue during the period in which an objection or appeal is being determined. If, however, the objection or appeal decision is in your favour, any disputed tax paid will be refunded to you. Interest is generally payable to you on the disputed amount/s that you have paid.
Importantly, all debts related to disputed assessments and liabilities may continue to be recovered by our office as if no objection or appeal was pending.
More information on your objection rights can be found here.