Agent Assessed Deferral and When to Ask the ATO

An agent assessed deferral gives an eligible existing client a short extension within ATO limits. Submit it through Online services for agents. Requests outside those limits need ATO assessment, including longer extensions and repeat requests for the same obligation.

Agent Assessed or ATO Assessed: Which Applies

Use the agent assessed route only when the client, obligation and requested extension meet every condition. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) permits a first request for an existing client within the following limits.

Obligation	Extra time needed	Timing of request	Route
Eligible monthly obligation	Up to 14 days	Before the original due date, or within 3 business days afterwards	Agent assessed
Eligible quarterly obligation	Up to 21 days	Before the original due date, or within 3 business days afterwards	Agent assessed
Eligible annual obligation	Up to 28 days	Before the original due date, or within 3 business days afterwards	Agent assessed
Otherwise eligible obligation	Longer than its limit, or a second request	Before or after the due date	ATO assessed
Otherwise eligible obligation	Any extension	More than 3 business days after the original due date	ATO assessed
Eligible current-year return for a new or re-engaged client with overdue returns	Up to 6 weeks from the request	Subject to the ATO’s special due-date condition	New or re-engaged client route

Tax agents can request deferrals for tax returns and fringe benefits tax (FBT) returns. Tax and BAS agents can request them for monthly or quarterly activity statements and annual GST returns. PAYG payment summary annual reports and taxable payments annual reports need ATO assessment.

Instalment notices Forms R, S, T and N are excluded. An activity statement must already be available online. BAS agents cannot defer an income tax return.

Agent assessment also excludes significant global entities, large business entities and company or super fund clients with substituted accounting periods. Global and domestic minimum tax obligations have a separate application route. Certain large and medium enterprise tax returns are excluded because of their assigned due date. Use the ATO’s eligibility and boundary rules to identify that category.

Making an Agent Assessed Deferral

The online Lodgment deferral form records your agent assessed request. You cannot extend the due date by making a file note alone. The current application is a shared online form, rather than a separate downloadable agent assessed deferral form.

Before starting, confirm your authority for the obligation and your access permissions. The ATO user guide requires Standard Digital ID strength for online deferrals.

1. Open Reports and forms, then Forms, then Lodgment deferral in Online services for agents. Select Add.
2. Choose Lodgment only or Lodgment and payment. Select the reason, who the issue affected and the lodgment type. Enter the supporting explanation and attach relevant evidence if useful.
3. Search for the client and select Obligation to defer. Confirm that the expected obligation is the one you need to extend.
4. Enter or review the Requested due date and select Save. Choose a business day after the current due date, within the applicable extension limit.
5. Continue to the summary. Check the obligation and requested date, accept the declaration and submit.
6. Save the receipt ID and confirm approval and the revised client due date. Eligible low-risk requests are processed within 48 hours.

The limit is the first deferral request for that obligation. Each obligation is assessed separately. A second request moves to ATO assessment. Existing lodgment compliance action can lead to refusal, so review any demand or prosecution notice before applying.

Keep the reason and client circumstances in your file. Record the missing records, steps already taken to obtain them and the expected completion time. Save the submitted request and outcome with that note. The ATO’s online user guide explains the form and status messages.

Requesting an ATO Assessed Deferral

Request ATO assessment through the same online form when the short-extension rules do not fit. Submit before the lodgment due date as soon as you know an exceptional circumstance prevents timely lodgment. A late request must explain why you could not apply earlier.

A useful supporting explanation covers the following details.

• The event and the people it affected.
• When the event started and whether it still prevents work.
• The unavailable records or unfinished work and why they prevent this lodgment.
• Steps the client or practice has taken to resolve the problem.
• The basis for the requested completion date.
• The reason for applying late, if relevant.

Use specific evidence, such as correspondence confirming delayed access to records. The online supporting-information field allows 1,500 characters. Attach relevant documents when the explanation needs more detail. Type into the field if pasted characters prevent submission.

For a fictional company waiting for bank statements, explain which periods are missing and why those statements are needed to reconcile the return. Give the bank’s expected delivery time, the work already completed and the time needed afterwards. “Waiting for information” alone leaves the ATO unable to assess the obstacle.

Save the receipt after submitting. ATO assessed requests can take up to 28 days in peak lodgment periods. The ATO sends the decision to the Practice inbox in Practice mail. Activate that inbox if needed and check it regularly.

An Escalated status can remain after the decision. Read the Practice mail outcome and confirm any approved due date in the client record. A Processed status alone does not establish approval.

When the ATO Denies a Lodgment Deferral Request

Read the refusal reason before deciding whether to seek review. The ATO lists poor lodgment history, existing compliance action and insufficient supporting information as grounds for declining a request.

A request made after the deadline is not automatically refused. It needs a detailed explanation for the delay. Ordinary workload is also a weak reason on its own. The ATO’s lodgment deferral policy recognises exceptional practice circumstances, including serious illness and unexpected prolonged staff absences.

A refusal leaves the original due date in place unless another valid concession applies. Continue preparing the lodgment and lodge as soon as you can. Failure to lodge on time penalties can apply while you seek review.

For informal review, act within 21 days of the communication declining or varying the request. Use the Review of lodgment deferral decision form. Include the original receipt ID, the decision communication date and additional supporting information.

Send the completed form through Practice mail. Select General questions, problems and help, then Review of decision for deferrals from tax agents. The ATO’s review instructions explain how to download and submit the form. Informal review is distinct from an objection to a penalty.

If a penalty is imposed, a separate remission request can explain the delay and the steps taken to lodge. Keep the evidence even when the deferral is refused. A review request does not itself grant extra time.

Taking on a Client Who is Already Overdue

Check overdue obligations during the first week after gaining authorised portal access. Separate prior-year returns from the current-year return and outstanding activity statements. Read compliance correspondence as well as the lodgment list.

Request prior notices of assessment, earlier returns and bank statements. Obtain the previous accountant’s relevant working papers through ethical clearance and the handover request. A notice of assessment helps establish what has been assessed. It does not replace the records needed to prepare an unlodged return.

Create a catch-up schedule for each obligation. Record what is ready to lodge, what depends on missing records and who must supply them. Lodge completed work promptly. Request a supported deferral where an eligible obligation needs more time.

The special new or re-engaged client route can provide up to 42 days from the request. It covers an eligible current-year return and suspension of compliance action on overdue prior-year income tax returns. The current-year return must have the specific due date listed in the ATO’s new-client conditions. Other due dates, longer periods and overdue activity statements need a different reason and assessment route.

For the fictional company with two years outstanding, a short extension will not solve an unresolved records problem across both years. Propose a realistic staged catch-up schedule to the ATO when several obligations require coordinated work. Seek written agreement on deadlines and any suspension of compliance action. Avoid relying on repeated short requests that cannot cover the work still required.

What a Deferral Does Not Change

A lodgment deferral does not always extend payment or remove existing penalties. Approved agent assessed deferrals generally extend payment to the deferred lodgment due date. Individual and trust return payments remain due 21 days after the notice of assessment is issued.

FBT payment follows its separate payment deadline, which remains unchanged by an agent assessed lodgment deferral. A new or re-engaged client deferral is lodgment only. For an ATO assessed request, read the decision to establish whether payment is also deferred.

General interest charge can accrue on tax left unpaid after its applicable payment due date. A lodgment extension does not erase interest already incurred. The ATO’s general interest charge rules explain that it is calculated daily on a compounding basis.

The ATO monitors deferral use and lodgment performance. Missing a deferred date can affect later requests. For clients with overdue returns, only the current-year return enters the on-time performance calculation. It affects performance if lodged after the applicable original or deferred due date.

Use the tax agent lodgment program and activity statement deadlines to identify the underlying obligation. Before closing the file, record the approved lodgment date, the payment date and the person responsible for the remaining work.