Instructions and form for taxpayers
NAT 3093-06.2019
Withholding declaration
Who should complete
thisdeclaration?
You should complete this declaration if you want:
your payer to adjust the amount withheld from
paymentsmade to you
to advise your payer of a change to information
youpreviously provided in a Tax file number
declaration(NAT3092).
These instructions are current to 30June 2020.
You must lodge a new declaration if either:
you leave your current payer and start to
receivepaymentsfrom a new payer
your circumstances change.
If you give the wrong information, you may have a tax debt
at the end of the income year.
Is this the right form for you?
Complete this declaration if the following applies:
you have completed a Tax file number declaration (NAT3092)
with yourcurrent payer and you now want to
advise your payer that you have become, or ceased
tobe,an Australian resident for tax purposes
claim or discontinue claiming the tax-free threshold
advise your payer of your Higher Education Loan Program
(HELP), VET Student Loan (VSL), Financial Supplement
(FS), Student Start-up Loan (SSL) or Trade Support Loan
(TSL) debt, ormake changes tothem
claim your entitlement, or vary your entitlement to a tax
offset (including the seniors and pensioners tax offset
[SAPTO]).
Downward variation
You can apply to reduce the rate or amount of withholding if
you believe you will have too much tax withheld from your pay
for the year. To apply, you must complete a PAYG withholding
variation application (NAT2036) and send it to us.
Upward variation
If you want to increase the rate or amount of withholding
fromyour pay you can now do so by providing a written
requestto your payer. Refer to Upward variations on our
website at ato.gov.au
How to complete this form
Section A: Payee’s declaration
Questions 1and2
Complete with your personal information.
Question 3
What is your tax file number (TFN)?
We and your payer are authorised by the Taxation
Administration Act 1953 torequest your tax file number (TFN).
Itis not an offence not to quote your TFN. However, quoting
your TFN reduces the risk of administrative errors and having
extra tax withheld. Your payer is required to withhold the top
rate of tax from allpayments made to you if you do not provide
your TFN or claim an exemption from quoting your TFN.
How do you find your TFN?
You can find your TFN on any of the following:
your income tax notice of assessment
correspondence we send you
a payment summary your payer issues to you.
If you have a tax agent, they may also be able to tell you
yourTFN.
If you still can’t find your TFN, you can:
phone us on 132861 between 8.00am and 6.00pm,
Monday to Friday
visit your nearest shopfront (phone us on 132861
tomakean appointment)
complete a Tax file number – application or enquiry
forindividuals (NAT1432).
If you phone or visit us we need to know we are talking to
the correct person before discussing your tax affairs. We will
ask you for details only you, or your authorised representative
wouldknow.
Print X in the appropriate box if you:
have lodged a Tax file number – application or enquiry
forindividuals (NAT1432) or made a phone or counter
enquiry to obtain your TFN
are claiming an exemption from quoting a TFN. You are
exempt from quoting your TFN if you meet any of the
following conditions 
you are under 18years of age and do not earn enough
topay tax
you receive certain Centrelink pensions, benefits or
allowances or a service pension from the Department
ofVeterans’ Affairs. However you will need to quote
your TFN if you receive Jobseeker Payment from
20March 2020, Youth, Austudy, Newstart, sickness
orparentingallowance
you receive benefits from the Military Rehabilitation
andCompensation Commission.
Find out more
Refer to Tax file number on our website at ato.gov.au
Question 4
Are you an Australian resident for taxpurposes
or a working holiday maker?
Generally, we consider you to be an Australian resident for
taxpurposes if you:
have always lived in Australia or you have come to Australia
and now live here permanently
are an overseas student doing a course that takes more than
six months to complete
migrate to Australia and intend to reside here permanently.
If you go overseas temporarily and do not set up a permanent
home in another country, you may continue to be treated as an
Australian resident for tax purposes.
If you are in Australia on a working holiday visa (subclass 417)
or a work and holiday visa (subclass 462) you must place an X
in the working holiday maker box. Special rates of tax apply for
working holiday makers.
For more information about working holiday makers, visit
ato.gov.au/whm
If you’re not an Australian resident for tax purposes or a
working holiday maker, place an X in the foreign resident box,
unless you are in receipt of an Australian Government pension
or allowance.
Temporary residents can claim super when leaving Australia,
if all requirements are met. For more information, visit
ato.gov.au/departaustralia
Foreign resident tax rates are different
A higher rate of tax applies to a foreign resident’s
taxableincome and foreign residents are not entitled
to atax-free threshold nor can they claim tax offsets
to reduce withholding, unless you are in receipt of an
Australian Government pension or allowance.
To check your Australian residency status for tax purposes
or for more information visit ato.gov.au/residency
2 Withholding declaration
Question 5
Do you want to claim the tax-free threshold
from this payer?
The tax-free threshold is the amount ofincome you can earn
each financial year that is not taxed. By claiming the threshold,
you reduce the amount of tax that is withheld from your pay
during the year.
Answer yes if you want to claim the tax-free threshold, you
arean Australian resident for tax purposes and one of the
following applies:
you are not currently claiming the tax-free threshold from
another payer
you are currently claiming the tax-free threshold from another
payer and your total income from all sources will be less than
the tax-free threshold.
Answer yes if you are a foreign resident in receipt of an
Australian Government pension or allowance.
Answer no if none of the above applies or you are a working
holiday maker.
If you receive any taxable government payments
or allowances such as Newstart, Youth Allowance,
Jobseeker Payment from 20 March 2020 or Austudy
payment, you are likely to be already claiming the tax-free
threshold from that payment.
For more information about the current tax-free threshold,
which payer you should claim it from or how to vary your
withholding rate, visit ato.gov.au/taxfreethreshold
Question 6
Do you have a Higher Education Loan Program
(HELP), VET Student Loan (VSL), Financial
Supplement (FS), Student Start-up Loan
(SSL)or Trade Support Loan (TSL) debt?
Answer yes if you have a HELP, VSL, FS, SSL or TSL debt.
Answer no if you do not have a HELP, VSL, FS, SSL or TSL
debt, or you have repaid your debt in full.
You have a HELP debt if either:
the Australian Government lent you money under
HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP, OS-HELP, VET FEE-HELP,
VET Student loans prior to 1 July 2019 orSA-HELP
you have a debt from the previous Higher Education
Contribution Scheme (HECS).
You have a SSL debt if you have an ABSTUDY SSL debt.
You have a separate VSL debt that is not part of your
HELP debt if you incurred it from 1 July 2019.
Find out more
Information about HELP, VSL, FS, SSL or TSL debts:
visit ato.gov.au/getloaninfo
phone us on 13 28 61 between 8.00am and 6.00pm,
Monday to Friday.
Question 7
Do you want to claim or vary your tax offset
entitlement by reducing the amount withheld
from payments made to you?
There are two categories of tax offsets in this section at
thisquestion:
a invalid or invalid carer tax offset
b zone or overseas forces tax offset.
Find out more
Information about calculating your tax offset entitlement:
visit ato.gov.au/withholdingdecs
phone us on 13 28 61 between 8.00am and 6.00pm,
Monday to Friday.
Overestimating your entitlement to any of these benefits
may result in a tax debt at the end of the year. Similarly,
underestimating may lead to a tax refund.
If you cannot estimate your entitlement to certain benefits
for the year, you can claim it at the end of the financial year
on your tax return.
Withholding declaration 3
Question 8
Do you want to claim the seniors and
pensioners tax offset (SAPTO) by reducing the
amount withheld from payments made to you?
Claim the tax offset from only one payer
You are not entitled to reduce your withholding amounts,
or claim the seniors and pensioners tax offset (SAPTO),
with more than one payer at the same time.
If you receive income from more than one source and
need help with this question, phone 1300 360 221
between 8.00am and 6.00pm, Monday to Friday.
How your income affects the amount of your tax offset
You must meet the eligibility conditions to receive SAPTO.
Your rebate income, not your taxable income, determines the
amount of SAPTO, if any, you will receive.
Answer yes if you are eligible and choose to claim the SAPTO
with this payer by reducing the amount withheld from payments
made to you during the year.
For more information about eligibility for SAPTO:
visit ato.gov.au/withholdingdecs
phone us on 13 28 61 between 8.00am and 6.00pm,
Monday to Friday.
Declaration
Make sure that you have signed and dated the declaration.
Give your completed declaration to your payer.
Section B: Payer’s declaration
This section is to be completed by the payer.
Payer obligations
If you withhold amounts from payments, or are likely to withhold
amounts, your payee may give you this form with sectionA
completed. A Withholding declaration applies to payments
made after the declaration is provided to you. The information
provided on this form is used to determine the amount of tax
to withhold from payments based on the PAYG withholding tax
tables we publish. If your payee gives you another declaration,
it overrides any previous one.
4 Withholding declaration
More information
Useful products
You can get the following forms and publications from
ato.gov.au/onlineordering or by phoning 1300720092:
Tax file number declaration (NAT3092)
Medicare levy variation declaration (NAT0929)
Withholding declaration – short version for seniors and
pensioners (NAT5072)
Tax file number – application or enquiry for individuals
(NAT1432)
PAYG withholding variation application (NAT2036)
For more information about income tests for a number of tax
offsets and government benefits, refer to Income tests on our
website at ato.gov.au
Phone
For personal tax enquiries, phone us on 132861 between
8.00am and 6.00pm, Monday to Friday. You can:
get help to complete this form
receive information about 
HELP, VSL, FS, SSL or TSL debts
claiming the tax-free threshold, Australian residency,
zonesor special areas
qualifying for overseas forces tax offset, entitlement
toinvalid or invalid carer tax offset, seniors
andpensionerstax offset
varying your withholding amounts upwards.
For PAYG withholding variation enquiries, phone us on
1300360221 between 8.00am and 6.00pm, Monday to
Friday. If you have income from more than one source, you
canalso receive information about claiming the tax offset.
Other services
If you do not speak English well and need help from the ATO,
phone the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131450.
If you are deaf, or have a hearing or speech impairment,
phonethe ATO through the National Relay Service (NRS)
onthenumbers listed below:
TTY users, phone 133677 and ask for the ATO number
youneed
Speak and Listen (speech-to-speech relay) users, phone
1300555727 and ask for the ATO number you need
internet relay users, connect to the NRS on
relayservice.com.au and ask for the ATO
number you need.
If you would like further information about the NRS, phone
1800555660 or email helpdesk@relayservice.com.au
Other agencies
Department of Human Services
For help working out your eligibility for a social security
orCentrelink pension:
visit humanservices.gov.au
phone 132300 between 8.30am and 5.00pm,
MondaytoFriday.
For advice on how you should claim your family tax benefit:
visit familyassist.gov.au
phone 136150 between 8.00am and 8.00pm,
MondaytoFriday.
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
If you are a veteran and not sure whether you are eligible
forapayment:
visit dva.gov.au
phone 133254 between 8.30am and 5.00pm,
MondaytoFriday.
Withholding declaration 5
© Australian Taxation Office for the
CommonwealthofAustralia, 2019
You are free to copy, adapt, modify, transmit and distribute this material as
youwish (but not in any way that suggests the ATO or the Commonwealth
endorses you or any of your services or products).
Published by
Australian Taxation Office
Canberra
June 2019
DE-6534
Our commitment to you
We are committed to providing you with accurate, consistent and clear
information to help you understand your rights and entitlements and meet
yourobligations.
If you follow our information in this publication and it turns out to be incorrect,
oritis misleading and you make a mistake as aresult, we must still apply the law
correctly. If that means you owe us money, we must ask you to pay it but we will
not charge you a penalty. Also, if you acted reasonably and in good faith we will
not charge you interest.
If you make an honest mistake in trying to follow our information in this publication
and you owe us money as a result, we will not charge you a penalty. However, we
will ask you to pay the money, and we may also charge you interest. If correcting
the mistake means we owe you money, we will pay it to you. We will also pay you
any interest you are entitled to.
If you feel that this publication does not fully cover your circumstances, or you
areunsure how it applies to you, you can seek further assistance from us.
We regularly revise our publications to take account of any changes to the law,
somake sure that you have the latest information. If you are unsure, you can
checkfor more recent information on our website at ato.gov.au or contact us.
This publication was current at June 2019.
6 Withholding declaration
Withholding declaration
Complete this declaration to authorise your payer to adjust
theamount withheld from payments made to you.
You must provide, or have previously provided, your payer
with a completed Tax file number declaration (NAT 3092)
quoting your tax file number or claiming an exemption from
quoting it,before you can make a Withholding declaration.
 Refer to the Instructions to help you complete this declaration.
 Print neatly in BLOCK LETTERS.
 Print
X
in the appropriate boxes.
Sensitive (when completed)
PAYER’S COPY
NAT 3093-06.2019
1 What is your name?
Family name
Given names
OtherTitle: Mrs Miss Ms
Mr
2 What is your date of birth?
Day Month Year
5 Do you want to claim the tax‑free
thresholdfrom this payer?
Answer no here if you are a foreign
resident or working holiday maker,
except if you are a foreign resident in
receipt of an Australian Government
pension or allowance. You must
answer no at questions 7and 8.
Yes
Or
No
6 Do you have a Higher EducationLoan Program
(HELP), VET Student Loan (VSL), Financial
Supplement (FS), Student Start-up Loan (SSL)
orTrade Support Loan (TSL) debt??
Yes No
7 Do you want to claim or vary your tax offset by
reducing the amount withheld from payments
made to you?
Yes No
Insert your estimated
totaltax offset amount.
$
,
8 Do you want to claim or vary the seniors and
pensioners tax offset entitlement by reducing the
amount withheld from payments made to you?
Are you:
single
a member of an
illness-separated couple
a member
of a couple
Yes No
I have lodged a
TFNapplication.
I am claiming an exemption
because I am a pensioner.
I am claiming an exemption because I am under
18 years of age and do not earn enough to pay tax.
4 Are you: (select only one)
An Australian resident
for tax purposes
A foreign resident
for tax purposes
A working
holiday maker
If you have not provided your TFN, indicate if any of the following reasons apply:
Only claim the tax-free threshold from one payer at a
time, unless your total income from all sources for the
financial year will be less than the tax-free threshold.
3 What is your tax le number (TFN)?
For information about tax filenumbers, see instructions.
Section A: Payee’s declaration
To be completed by payee.
DECLARATION BY PAYEE
Privacy
For information about your privacy, visit our website at ato.gov.au/privacy
The tax laws impose heavy penalties for giving false or misleading statements.
I declare that the information I have given on this form is true and correct.
Signature of payee
Date
Day Month Year
Sensitive (when completed)
YOUR DETAILS
2 What is your registered business name or trading name (or your individual name if you are not in business)?
1 What is your Australian business number (ABN) (or your
withholding payer number if you are not in business)?
How much should you withhold?
The payee’s answers to questions 4 and 5 will indicatewhich of the weekly, fortnightly or monthly tax tablesyou should use as
thebase rateof withholding.
A yes answer at question 6 will require an amount to be withheld as specified in the Study and Training Support Loans tax tables.
A yes answer at question 7 or 8 will generally require avariation of the rate of withholding specified in thetaxtables.
Written notice
This declaration will constitute written notice under section 15-15
of Schedule 1 to theTaxation Administration Act 1953 (TAA 1953)
of the Commissioner’s approval tovary the amount required to be
withheld where:
the payee has given a completed Tax file number declaration to
the payer, or theyhave entered into a voluntary agreement with
the payer.
the payee has notified the payer of the varied rate of withholding
in writing on this approved form at section A.
Storing and disposing of withholding declarations
The information in the completed Withholding declaration form
mustbe treated as sensitive. Once you have completed, signed
and dated the declaration, file the declaration form. Do not send
the declaration to us.
Under the TFN guidelines in the Privacy Act 1988, you must use
secure methods whenstoring and disposing of TFN information.
Under tax laws, if a payee submits anew Withholding declaration
orleaves your employment, you must still keep this declaration for
the current and next financial year.
Do not send this declaration form to us.
DECLARATION BY PAYER
Privacy
For information about your privacy, visit our website at ato.gov.au/privacy
The tax laws impose heavy penalties for giving false or misleading statements.
I declare that the information I have given on this form is true and correct.
Signature of payer
Date
Day Month Year
Section B: Payer’s declaration
To be completed by payer.
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