Tax Agent Portal: ATO Online Services

The tax agent portal is the ATO’s Online services for agents. Staff sign in with their own myID and practice authorisation, then use the client summary to check obligations, account balances, prefill and correspondence before starting a new client’s work.

Signing in: The Online Services for Agents Login

Your myID proves who you are. Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM) gives you authority to act for the practice. Having a myID alone does not give you access to its clients.

For normal staff access, use a myID with Standard or Strong identity strength. The ATO has a separate Basic access route with restrictions for people unable to reach Standard.

Complete the normal sign-in sequence in this order.

1. Ask the practice’s principal authority or authorisation administrator to authorise you for the practice’s Australian Business Number (ABN) in RAM.
2. Accept your authorisation in RAM using your own myID.
3. Open the ATO’s Online services for agents sign-in and approve the request in your myID app.
4. Select the practice and relevant registered agent number if you have a choice. Confirm that you can open the client list.

The practice can grant Full access or choose Custom access. Full gives the user all Access Manager permissions. Custom lets the administrator assign particular functions through Access Manager.

For a junior admin, start with the permissions needed to view client records, retrieve reports and read correspondence. Add authority to change details or lodge only when those tasks form part of the role. That is a practice access decision, not an ATO default.

If the practice is absent, ask the administrator to check your accepted RAM authorisation, ABN and access period. If your identity strength is Basic, use the normal Standard setup or the ATO’s separate Basic process.

For distorted screens or failed downloads, use the ATO’s minimum-system-requirements check and a supported browser. Try another supported browser and check whether browser settings block a new window. The ATO’s known issues guidance separates browser problems from recorded service faults.

Use the RAM staff-access guide for authorisation setup beyond these sign-in checks.

Your First Week With a New Client in the Portal

Once the client appears on your list, confirm which accounts your practice is authorised to manage. A visible client does not mean every account is within your engagement.

1. Open the client and select Profile, then Maintain authorisations. Compare the linked accounts with the engagement and any existing agent links.
2. Read Client summary. The For action area shows due or overdue lodgments and outstanding payments for authorised accounts.
3. Compare the client’s details with the information collected at onboarding.
4. Retrieve relevant prefill and account records. Turn each outstanding obligation into an assigned job with a recorded due date.

For a client who still needs to join your list, follow the separate agent nomination and linking steps.

Compare the ATO Record With the Client’s Details

Use Profile to review Client details, Client addresses, Tax registrations and Financial institution details. Compare the legal name and entity type, ABN, postal and business addresses, registrations and refund account with the client’s records.

Update an authorised postal address through Client addresses. For a refund account, open Financial institution details, select the relevant account and use Add or Update. Reopen the record to confirm the saved details against the client’s instructions.

Refund bank details are account-specific. The financial institution record is used for refunds and ATO-held super, and does not set a direct debit or payment plan.

Some changes need a different channel. An individual name change needs verified identity-document details through the ATO’s name-change procedure. Your client can make it through their linked ATO online services, or an authorised agent can use the ATO’s phone procedure.

For an ASIC-registered company name, the company must use the applicable ASIC change procedure. Do not try to force a protected name field into a contact-detail update.

Read the Integrated Client Account

The integrated client account is the running account for activity statement liabilities and payments. It includes GST, PAYG instalments and PAYG withholding, with other applicable activity statement amounts, credits and adjustments.

Open Accounts and payments, then Accounts summary. Select the relevant Activity statement account name to see transactions. Compare the overdue amount with the overall balance, which can include amounts not yet due.

Filter transactions by date range and distinguish the processed date from the effective date. Download the account record for reconciliation. An income tax account is a separate record, so reconcile each account against the matching liability and payment.

Record outstanding returns by entity, return type and year. Assign who will obtain the missing records and who will prepare each return. Use the lodgment program guide to turn the portal’s dates into a work plan.

Prefill Reports for a New Client

An ATO prefill report contains information reported by employers, banks, investment providers, government agencies and health funds. It can include income statements, interest, dividends, government payments and private health insurance details.

The report fills out as providers report and the ATO processes their information. An early report can be incomplete. A salary income statement that is not tax ready still needs the employer’s finalisation.

1. Select the client, then Lodgments and Client reports.
2. Under Pre-filled report, select the relevant year.
3. View the report and download an available format for your client file.
4. Compare the report with the client’s records before preparing the return.

You can also find prefill through Reports and forms, then Reports. Tax software using the practitioner lodgment service can retrieve prefill through that channel. A downloaded report only imports where your tax software supports its format.

Prefill is a starting point. Ask about cash or overseas income, rental transactions, capital gains and deductions that require the client’s records. Investment tax statements and corrections can arrive later than other information.

Resolve differences with source documents. A bank transaction, employer record or investment statement can explain why the client’s figure differs from prefill. Refresh the report before lodgment if you retrieved it early.

The Client Communication List

The client communication list is now accessed through Communication history. It shows available ATO correspondence to clients across channels, including myGov and paper correspondence with an available digital copy.

From the agent home page, select Communication, then Communication history. Deselect All clients for a new-client search and enter that client’s identifier. Choose the communication type, time period and channel, then Search.

For one client, you can also select Profile, then Communication history from Client summary. The client view has a Last 5 years option. Shorter periods and Choose dates help narrow the results.

Read recent payment reminders, statements of account and other notices. Record any requested response and allocate it to the staff member responsible. Compare the result with letters the client supplies, including a review or audit letter.

Communication history contains most available correspondence, but some letters are absent. A blank result does not prove that the ATO has never contacted the client.

Assign one staff member to review incoming correspondence each working day, with a backup for absence. During onboarding, check the new client’s history immediately and again when an unresolved matter needs follow-up.

Reports, Lodgment Status and Practice Mail

Use the client list to confirm who is linked, lodgment reports to find work due and account records to identify payments. Keep the report request time with the work file because results describe the position at that point.

Reports and forms, then Reports, contains pre-filled, pre-generated and on-demand reports. Common reports include Income tax lodgment status, Outstanding activity statements and Client account running balance. Use account Tax type summary for activity statement liabilities by income year.

A weekly routine for a small practice can follow this order.

1. Download the client list and reconcile additions or removals with active engagements.
2. Retrieve lodgment-status and outstanding-activity-statement reports. Assign unallocated obligations and reconcile completed jobs with lodged records.
3. Review account balances and activity statement summaries for payments needing client action.
4. Check practice mail for replies and update the jobs waiting on the ATO.

On-demand reports can take until the following day to become available. Download them when their status permits it. The guide gives a seven-day availability period before a fresh request is needed.

For BAS work, use the agent BAS due-date guide. If the practice needs more time, use the lodgment deferral procedure instead of changing a job’s date without an approved extension.

Resolve a Missing Return Obligation

If the portal says no tax returns are due at this time, first confirm the client, income tax authorisation and return year. Remove restrictive obligation filters and compare lodgment history with your client records.

A return might already be lodged, a non-lodgment advice might be recorded or the obligation might be outside the selected period. Confirm the actual position before preparing a duplicate return.

If the client’s circumstances establish a return obligation but the expected year remains absent, contact the ATO with the entity and year. Include the screen message and relevant history. Repeated lodgment attempts do not correct a missing obligation.

Send and Track Practice Mail

Practice mail is the portal’s secure correspondence channel. Use it for supported written requests needing an explanation or documents. Use an available self-service function first when it completes the task directly.

Select Communication, then Practice mail and New. Choose the topic and subject, complete the required fields and attach the requested documents. Complete the declaration and Send, then retain the ATO receipt ID and a copy.

Replies arrive in practice mail. Notifications can alert the assigned mailbox owner, but someone must read and allocate the reply. Your own mailbox can send and reply. The practice mailbox can receive and allocate mail but cannot create or reply to a message.

Request FBT Registration

An authorised tax agent can request fringe benefits tax (FBT) registration through practice mail. Confirm the employer entity and its existing registrations before making a new request.

1. Open a new practice mail message for the employer.
2. Choose the topic Fringe benefits tax (FBT) and the subject Register for FBT.
3. Supply the employer’s identifiers and the registration commencement details requested by the ATO. Complete any required form or attachment prompted for that request.
4. Send the request and retain its receipt ID with the registration instructions.
5. Check that the new FBT registration appears, or follow up with the receipt ID if it remains unresolved.

A sent message confirms receipt of the request. It does not confirm registration has been completed.

Adding an employer already registered for FBT at the FBT account level is a separate agent-authorisation step. Confirm that link for relevant agent concessions. Do not send a second registration request merely because the practice’s FBT account link is missing.

What BAS Agents See and Do

A registered BAS agent uses the same Online services for agents, with functions limited to their authority. Activity statement accounts, related balances and transactions, outstanding activity statements and relevant correspondence support BAS work.

BAS access does not extend to preparing and lodging income tax returns. Tax-agent functions such as income statements and shares and units records are identified separately in the user guide.

When a client has a tax agent for income tax and a BAS agent for activity statements, preserve each engagement’s account authorisation. Check existing links before changing Maintain authorisations.

A tax agent linked at income tax level can already access the client’s other accounts. Selecting an activity statement account with another agent linked can remove that agent. Coordinate the change with the client before selecting it.

Getting Help From the ATO

Call the registered agent line on 13 72 86 for matters that need phone assistance. Have the practice’s registered agent number, the client’s ABN or TFN and the account or year ready.

The ATO verifies authority and asks for account proof of identity. Prepare details from the client’s notices, lodged returns or other ATO interactions. The questions depend on whether the practice is already linked and the account being discussed.

Before diagnosing a local fault, check the Online services for agents status dashboard and the ATO’s published system-maintenance information. A functioning portal dashboard does not rule out a separate digital identity service problem.

The ATO’s Online services for agents user guide explains the published menus and account functions. Online services for agents replaced the old tax agent and BAS agent portals.

When you escalate a problem, record the function, error message and time, with the client and account details held securely. Keep the ATO receipt or case reference so the next staff member can continue the enquiry.