What to do when you receive a letter from the ATO

First, confirm it is genuine

Scammers impersonate the ATO by phone, text, and email, so it is reasonable to pause and verify before acting. Genuine ATO contact will not demand immediate payment through gift cards or cryptocurrency, will not threaten to arrest you on the spot, and will not ask you to pay into a personal bank account.

The safest way to check is to log in to your myGov account linked to the ATO, or to contact the office and have us confirm the correspondence through the registered agent channel. If it is real, it will be visible there.

Identify what kind of letter it is

Not all ATO letters carry the same weight. Working out which one you have received tells you how urgent it is and what a good response looks like.

• Data-matching or pre-fill discrepancy — the ATO’s records differ from your return, often for interest, dividends, or a payment summary.
• Review — a request for information or records to check a claim, which is not the same as an audit.
• Audit — a more formal and detailed examination of specific items or periods.
• Debt or payment notice — an amount owing, sometimes with options to arrange payment.
• Lodgement or activity statement reminder — a return or BAS that is outstanding.
• General or informational — a change to your account or a routine notification that may need no action.

Note the deadline and exactly what is requested

Before collecting anything, read the letter in full and find two things: the date a response is due, and the precise period and items it concerns. A letter about a specific financial year and a specific deduction needs a focused response, not a shoebox of everything you own. Keeping the complete letter — every page, not a photo of the first one — matters, because the details and reference numbers are often on later pages.

Gather the records that actually relate to the request

Match your response to the question. Depending on the letter, that might be income statements, bank and dividend records, receipts and invoices for a claimed deduction, BAS working papers, or payroll records. Providing the specific evidence requested resolves most reviews without escalation.

Good to know — If you genuinely cannot meet the deadline, it is often possible to request more time. Asking early, before the due date passes, is far better received than going silent.

Know your response options

How you respond depends on whether you agree with the ATO’s position. You may agree and amend the return, provide records that support what you originally lodged, dispute the position with evidence, or — where there is a debt — request a payment arrangement. Each path has its own process and timing, which is exactly where an accountant’s involvement helps.

Bring it to the office early

The single most useful thing you can do is not wait until the deadline is days away. Early review gives time to understand precisely what is being asked, assemble the right records, and respond in a way that closes the matter rather than inviting more questions.