Tax Return:: What to do if you have misplaced your Australian Tax File Number (TFN)

Hello everyone, this is P&C Tax Professionals, a specialist in all things related to tax.

When it comes to lodging tax returns, we get a lot of questions from our clients on what to do if they cannot find their Tax File Number (TFN).

In Australia, a TFN is a nine-digit number that must be obtained in order for you to start your work or business. Your TFN must be provided to your employers while you work in Australia, and in some cases, you may have to register with a superannuation company or provide it to a bank when requested.

It is normal for you to panic when you lose your TFN since it is an important number which must be supplied when it comes to lodging your tax return. So, today in this blog post I will explain to you the steps to take when you have lost your TFN.

1. First method: Check all the letters you've received from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

After applying for your TFN with ATO, if you look at the upper right hand side of the letter sent from ATO, you should be able to observe your TFN (i.e. the 9-digit figure). Please refer to the smiley face below.

2. Second method: Check your Notice of Assessment (NOA) issued by ATO

The letter shown below is called the Notice of Assessment which is basically your tax return result notice. Usually, after you lodge your tax return, the ATO will send through this NOA to the registered address in their system.

If you take a look below, your 9-digit TFN is normally written on the upper right hand side of the letter.

3. Third method: Check your PAYG Payment Summary

The PAYG Payment Summary is a payment summary issued by the company to its employees, showing the payments that have been made to them and the amounts that have been withheld from those payments during the financial year. As you can see below, the part in the center that appears as Payee's tax file number corresponds to your individual tax file number.

4. Fourth method: If you have a MyGov account

If you have an account on MyGov, you can easily find your TFN after logging into your account and linking your MyGov account to the ATO.

5. Fifth method: Asking your employer

This method may be similar to the PAYG Payment Summary method mentioned during the third method earlier on. Since your employer issues your pay summary, they will be aware of your tax file number. Therefore, asking your employer is another method for you to consider when you cannot find your TFN.

6. Sixth method: Giving ATO a call

This is one of the most accurate method of them all and you will not be able to retrieve your TFN is the details provided when you initially applied for your TFN does not match the details you give during the phone call.

Usually, when you call the ATO you will be asked for your personal information such as your name, date of birth and details of your address and employer that the ATO has on their records.

If all of the information matches the information the ATO has, the ATO will inform you of your TFN.

In order to avoid all the hassle that arises when you misplace your TFN, it is recommended that you take a photo of the issued TFN immediately after obtaining the TFN in Australia or you can also save it in your contacts so that you can refer to it whenever you need to.

Once again, I hope this post has assisted you in one way or another and if you have any further enquiries, please leave a message through our Official Facebook Page (P&C Tax Professionals - Australia) or alternatively, direct your queries to our email address at: pnctax@naver.com.

Thank you and bye for now:)