A TFN declaration is the Australian form you give a new payer, usually a new employer, before your first pay. It gives them your tax file number and tells them whether you're a resident, whether to apply the tax-free threshold and whether you have a study loan, so they withhold the right amount of tax. If you don't give your TFN or claim an exemption, they must withhold at the top rate.
It's one of the first things you fill in at a new job, and getting question 9 wrong is the classic way to end up with a tax bill at the end of the year. Everything here comes from the ATO's Tax file number declaration pages, including the payee instructions for the paper form (NAT 3092) and the payer obligations page.
Who fills it in, and who doesn't
You complete a TFN declaration before you start receiving payments from a new payer. That covers pay as an employee, company director or office holder, return-to-work and labour hire payments, benefit and compensation payments, and superannuation benefits.
You don't need one if you're a beneficiary giving your TFN to the trustee of a closely held trust, or you're receiving super from a fund that already has your TFN. If you only want to claim a tax offset such as the seniors and pensioners tax offset through lower withholding, you use a Withholding declaration instead.
Which version to use
- Ask your payer first: if they have their own electronic form, use it.
- If they don't, use the ATO online form: sign in to myGov, go to the ATO, then Employment and New employment. You need a myGov account linked to the ATO.
- Use the paper form (NAT 3092) if you don't have a TFN yet, you're exempt from quoting one, or you can't access the online form.
The questions that change your tax
| Question | What it asks | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Your TFN | Give it only after you start work, never in a job application or online |
| 7 | How you're paid | Check with the payer if unsure |
| 8 | Resident, foreign resident or working holiday maker | Working holiday makers (visa 417 or 462) and foreign residents are taxed differently |
| 9 | Claim the tax-free threshold from this payer? | Usually yes for one job only; no for a second job or as a working holiday maker |
| 10 | A HELP, VSL, FS, SSL or AASL study or training loan? | Yes means extra is withheld towards the loan |
Question 9: the tax-free threshold
The tax-free threshold is the income you can earn each year before tax applies. Claiming it from a payer lowers what they withhold. The ATO says to answer yes if you're an Australian resident for tax and either aren't claiming it from another payer, or are but your total income from all sources will be under the threshold. Answer no if you're a working holiday maker, or none of that applies. Foreign residents must answer no unless they receive an Australian Government pension or allowance.
If you get a taxable government payment such as JobSeeker, Youth Allowance or Austudy, the ATO notes you're probably already claiming the threshold there.
No TFN yet, or exempt?
- Applying for one: tick the box on the paper form. You then have 28 days to give your TFN to the payer, who withholds at the standard rate meanwhile. After that, it's the top rate. See our guide on how to get a TFN.
- Can't find it: it's in ATO online services, the ATO app, a notice of assessment, ATO letters, an income statement or a super statement.
- Exempt: you may not need to quote one if you're under 18 and don't earn enough to pay tax, or receive certain Services Australia, DVA or MRCC payments (but JobSeeker, Youth Allowance, Austudy and Parenting Payment recipients must quote it).
Residency in plain terms
For question 8 the ATO generally treats you as a resident if you've always lived in Australia or moved here permanently, have been here continuously for 6 months or more mostly in one job and one place, or are an overseas student on a course longer than 6 months.
What the employer has to do
If the payer uses Single Touch Payroll reporting, they don't send the declaration to the ATO, because STP already carries the information. They still have to keep it securely. If an employee hands over a paper form and the payer isn't using STP, the payer completes Section B and posts the original to the ATO within 14 days of it being signed.
- No declaration from the payee: notify the ATO within 14 days of the withholding obligation starting, print 'PAYER' in the payee declaration, send it in and withhold at the top rate.
- Super: pass the employee's TFN to their super fund on the day of the first contribution, or within 14 days of getting the form if contributions already started.
- Working holiday makers: payers must register with the ATO before employing them.
- Storage: keep forms securely under the Privacy Act TFN Rule. Keep a replaced form until the end of the following financial year. If you last paid someone on 12 April 2026, keep their declaration until 30 June 2027.
A payer can face penalties for not lodging declarations when required, not keeping copies, or not passing the TFN to the super fund. A newer declaration from the same payee always overrides the old one.
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Hiring in New South Wales brings a separate state tax, which is covered in our payroll tax guide for New South Wales.
The verdict
Fill in the declaration on day one, and only claim the tax-free threshold from your main job. If you take a second job, tick no for that one, and update your payer with a Withholding declaration when something changes, such as paying off a study loan.
Employers have to handle the number with care, and it is worth reading how the Privacy Act treats tax file numbers.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if I don't fill in a TFN declaration?
Your payer must withhold tax at the top rate from your payments.
Should I claim the tax-free threshold on a second job?
Usually not. Claim it from one payer only, unless your total income from all sources will be under the threshold.
Can I use the ATO online TFN declaration?
Yes, through myGov linked to the ATO, unless you have no TFN yet or are exempt from quoting one, in which case you use the paper form.
How long does an employer have to lodge a paper TFN declaration?
Within 14 days of it being signed, if they aren't using Single Touch Payroll reporting.
