Do I need a tax file number to work in Australia?
Short answer
Not legally — you can start work without one. But without a TFN your employer must withhold tax at 47 per cent after a 28-day grace period, and your super fund taxes contributions more heavily. In practice everyone working in Australia needs one, and the ATO issues it free.
Verified · 4 cited sources
There is no law that says you must hold a tax file number. What the law does say is what happens if you do not. Under the pay-as-you-go withholding rules, an employer who has no TFN for an employee must withhold at the top marginal rate plus the Medicare levy — currently 47 per cent — rather than at the rate that matches your actual income.
You get a 28-day cushion. On your first day you complete a tax file number declaration and tick the box saying you have applied but not yet received the number. For 28 days your employer withholds normally. If the number has not arrived by then, the higher rate kicks in until you provide it.
The excess is not lost. It is credited against your tax when you lodge a return, and if you have overpaid you get it refunded. But that can be many months away, and few people can comfortably live on 53 per cent of their pay while they wait.
Superannuation is affected too. A fund that holds no TFN for a member cannot accept most personal contributions, and pays additional tax on employer contributions. Bank interest above a small threshold also attracts withholding if the bank has no TFN on file.
The TFN itself is free, permanent and issued only by the Australian Taxation Office. Australian passport holders can often get one within minutes using Digital ID; foreign passport holders with a valid visa apply through the ATO's online form once they are in Australia.
- No TFN and no declaration: 47 per cent withholding from the first pay
- Declaration ticked as 'applied for': normal withholding for 28 days
- After 28 days without the number: 47 per cent until you supply it
- Overpaid tax is refunded when you lodge your return, not before
- Give the TFN to your super fund as well as your employer
People also ask
Sources & provenance
Facts verified
- 1.Tax file number declaration OfficialAustralian Taxation OfficeUsed for: The 28-day grace period and the consequence of not providing a TFN
- 2.Apply for a TFN OfficialAustralian Taxation OfficeUsed for: That the TFN is free and how to apply
- 3.Tax rates — Australian residents OfficialAustralian Taxation OfficeUsed for: Top marginal rate and Medicare levy underlying the 47 per cent figure
- 4.Withholding from investment income OfficialAustralian Taxation OfficeUsed for: Withholding on bank interest where no TFN is quoted
The rates and rules here are taken from the ATO pages cited above. The characterisation of the 28-day period as a 'cushion' and the practical observation about living on reduced pay are ours, not the ATO's. Withholding rates and the Medicare levy change with tax law — confirm the current rate on ato.gov.au.
Facts on this page are taken from the sources listed above — Australian government departments, regulators, statutory bodies and official statistical releases. Comparisons, judgements and "which option suits whom" conclusions are AI-assisted analysis written over those sources; they are marked in the text and listed as an AI-analysis entry in the sources, not attributed to any authority. Rates, thresholds, fees and processing times change, often at the start of a financial year; figures are current as at the review date shown and should be confirmed with the responsible agency before you rely on them for money or legal decisions.