- Withholding declaration or TFN declaration?
- When to lodge one
- How to fill it in, question by question
- The tax-free threshold rule most people get wrong
- The one-payer rule for offsets
- If you don't have a TFN yet
- Online, phone or paper
- Asking for more or less tax to be withheld
- The verdict
- Frequently asked questions
A withholding declaration (NAT 3093) is the ATO form you give a payer to change how much tax they withhold from your pay, after you've already given them a Tax file number declaration. You use it to claim or stop claiming the tax-free threshold, change your residency status, tell them about a study loan or claim a tax offset through your pay.
The instructions below come from the ATO's Withholding declaration page and form instructions, as of October 2026.
Withholding declaration or TFN declaration?
| Form | When you use it |
|---|---|
| Tax file number declaration (NAT 3092) | When you start with a new payer: it gives your TFN and sets up withholding |
| Withholding declaration (NAT 3093) | After that, when something changes or you want your payer to adjust withholding |
You must have given your payer a TFN declaration quoting your TFN, or claiming an exemption, before you can vary your withholding. You lodge a new withholding declaration if you start receiving payments from a new payer and want them to adjust withholding, or whenever your circumstances change.
When to lodge one
- You become, or stop being, an Australian resident for tax purposes.
- You want to claim, or stop claiming, the tax-free threshold from this payer.
- You have a HELP, VET Student Loan, Financial Supplement, Student Start-up Loan or Australian Apprenticeship Support Loan debt, or you've repaid it in full.
- You want to claim or vary a tax offset, including the seniors and pensioners tax offset (SAPTO), through your pay.
How to fill it in, question by question
- Questions 1 and 2: your personal details.
- Question 3: your TFN. You're not legally required to quote it, but if you don't provide it or claim an exemption, your payer must withhold the top rate of tax.
- Question 4: whether you're an Australian resident for tax purposes, a working holiday maker or a foreign resident.
- Question 5: whether you want to claim the tax-free threshold from this payer.
- Question 6: whether you have a study or training support loan.
- Questions 7 and 8: whether you want to claim tax offsets, or SAPTO, by reducing withholding.
- Sign and date it, and give it to your payer, not the ATO.
The tax-free threshold rule most people get wrong
Answer Yes to question 5 only if you're an Australian resident for tax purposes and either you aren't claiming the threshold from another payer, or you are but your total income from all sources will be less than the threshold. Claiming it from two jobs at once is the classic way to end up with a bill at tax time. If you get taxable government payments such as JobSeeker, Youth Allowance or Austudy, you're probably already claiming it there. The tax-free threshold page has more on how it works.
Working holiday makers on a subclass 417 or 462 visa must tick the working holiday maker box and answer No to question 5. Foreign residents must also answer No, unless they receive an Australian Government pension or allowance, because they can't claim the threshold or tax offsets to reduce withholding.
The one-payer rule for offsets
You can't reduce your withholding for tax offsets, or claim SAPTO through your pay, with more than one payer at the same time. Your rebate income, not your taxable income, decides how much SAPTO you get. And if you overestimate an offset, you may end up with a tax debt at the end of the year. If you can't estimate it, you can claim it in your tax return instead.
If you don't have a TFN yet
If you've applied for a TFN or made an enquiry, you can tick that box on the paper form. You then have 28 days to give your TFN to your payer, who withholds at the standard rate in the meantime. After 28 days without it, they must withhold the top rate. Under-18s who don't earn enough to pay tax, and recipients of certain pensions and allowances, can claim an exemption. The guide on how to get a TFN covers the application.
Online, phone or paper
The ATO's preferred route is online: link your myGov account to the ATO and complete the form in ATO online services, where you can also see your current and past tax details under Employment. You can order a copy by phone on 1300 720 092, or download the PDF and fill it in. Your payer files it and must not send it to the ATO, and a new declaration overrides any earlier one.
Asking for more or less tax to be withheld
For payers, the declaration only applies to payments made after you receive it, and you work out withholding from the ATO's PAYG withholding tax tables. Treat the form as sensitive, store it securely under the TFN rule, and keep it for the current and following financial year if the payee gives you a new one or leaves.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
If your deductions are unusually high and normal withholding would leave you a big refund, you can apply to reduce it with a PAYG withholding variation application sent to the ATO. To have more withheld, agree it with your payer in writing or do it through the online withholding declaration.
The verdict
The withholding declaration is a two-minute form that stops a surprise tax bill. Lodge one whenever your situation changes, claim the tax-free threshold from one payer only, and claim offsets through one payer at most. If you're unsure, leave the offset for your return rather than overestimating it in your pay.
Frequently asked questions
What is a withholding declaration used for?
To ask your payer to adjust the tax withheld from your payments, after you've given them a TFN declaration, for example to claim or stop claiming the tax-free threshold.
Do I send the withholding declaration to the ATO?
No. Give it to your payer. The payer files it and mustn't send it to the ATO.
Can I claim the tax-free threshold from two payers?
Only if your total income from all sources will be less than the tax-free threshold. Otherwise claim it from one payer.
What happens if I don't quote my TFN?
Your payer must withhold the top rate of tax from payments to you unless you've claimed an exemption.
Can I claim SAPTO from more than one payer?
No. You can't reduce withholding for offsets, or claim SAPTO, with more than one payer at the same time.
