ATO (tax office) payments by credit card

[KLN]

even better when i control the internet banking for my elderly Mother in Law. she has a large tax bill to pay this year! Yippee!!!

 

[cove]

Thanks wafliron for the payroll tax lead....I phoned the office today regarding that input...

 

[wafliron]

Thanks wafliron for the payroll tax lead....I phoned the office today regarding that input...

No worries, just took advantage of it myself the other day

If you're in a state other the VIC or QLD, can you post the results of said phone call (allowed / not allowed and surcharge rate)?

Also, I forgot to put in my previous post:
- QLD surcharge, IIRC, was about 0.60% for Visa / MC.
- Amex isn't an option for VIC (can't remember for QLD), but with 0.33% surcharge for Visa/MC I figure who needs it?

The ultra-low VIC surcharge does beg the question though: if VIC Office of State Revenue can achieve ~0.33% for Visa/MC, why can't the ATO? :-/

 

[Duffa]

The ultra-low VIC surcharge does beg the question though: if VIC Office of State Revenue can achieve ~0.33% for Visa/MC, why can't the ATO? :-/

Hmmm. ATO say they are passing on the "actual" cost to customers.
I was under the impression that your merchant rate is determined, among other things, by turnover; ours is!
I'm sure that Mr Baillieu would love to get his hands on the sort of revenues that ATO are pulling in !!!!
So how indeed do State Revenue office do it?

 

[cove]

It is hard to get businesses to pay on time so a minor cut in the fee may be producing a better cash in the bin total for that State Government!

 

[penegal]

There are a number of options *cough*

Given it's a state government I wouldn't rule too many things out...

 

[wafliron]

Hmmm. ATO say they are passing on the "actual" cost to customers.
I was under the impression that your merchant rate is determined, among other things, by turnover; ours is!
I'm sure that Mr Baillieu would love to get his hands on the sort of revenues that ATO are pulling in !!!!
So how indeed do State Revenue office do it?

I guess their CC processor (something associated with Optus from memory) is more expensive - ATO say they pass on their actual cost to the customer, but this doesn't say anything about how much margin the CC processor is including.

 

[medhead]

The number of people using the service would also come into it. Despite the advice in this thread I would guess that the number of people paying the ATO by card would be fairly low and hence turn over would be low. Whereas a state government collects lots of payment by card, licence and registration fees across a wide range of departments, fines and penalties, hospital payments (if any). There are probably heaps more. Anyway, I would think a state government collects lots payments via card, more than the ATO.


Sent from my iPhone using Aust Freq Fly app so please excuse the lack of links.

 

[penegal]

At the end of the day it's a commercial agreement. Throughput is just one factor which affects the pricing decision.


Also, large contracts are usually over several years, with locked-in rates.

 

[medhead]

Just hypothesising how a state government could have better turn over than the ATO. Not a comment about other factors.


Sent from my iPhone using Aust Freq Fly app so please excuse the lack of links.

 

[Pushka]

I don't know how I've been missing this thread for so long! I think I must have seen the subject line and though oh I cant do that as the paperwork from the ATO for our BAS says no CC's. Over the weekend I finally read the thread (all the way through!) and I can't believe what I have been missing out on. With a monthly BAS payment that usually sits around $20K I could almost cry thinking of all the points I have missed out on!

I know the feeling, I did exactly the same thing, because trying to use normal Internet Banking with a credit card resulted in a warning saying it was like a cash advance. So I skipped over the thread for a long time. Then I had an ephiphany! :mrgreen:

 

[cove]

It is always nice to read a slightly off topic entry on State payroll taxes,land taxes and some car stamp duties being capable of getting credit carded on your favourite point a dollar credit card.
QLD and NSW both charge 0.5% transaction fee on Visa and MasterCard and VIC charge 0.33 % fee.
WA stands for Wait Awhile and SA stands for Shouldn't Ask when it comes to paying the whole bill on a credit card.
Back to the ATO as next month is the quarterly payments as well as the BAS so in a strange sort of way I am looking forward to the results we get ....J and F travel and quite a bit of that.

 

[MAX_1]

Back to the ATO as next month is the quarterly payments as well as the BAS so in a strange sort of way I am looking forward to the results we get ....J and F travel and quite a bit of that.

Next month?

I submit monthly and yesterday was the deadline for payment. Luckily that my Citi Emirates Card just came out of the capped period, so at 1.5 Emirates points per $1 and 0.44% credit card charge ended up with half a return trip to London. Now for the other half in April.

 

[wafliron]

Next month?

The ATO gives quarterly payers an extra month to pay their Q2 bill each FY - I assume because of the Christmas / New Year break. So it's 28 Jul, 28 Oct, 28 Feb & 28 Apr.

 

[albatross710]

The ATO gives quarterly payers an extra month to pay their Q2 bill each FY - I assume because of the Christmas / New Year break. So it's 28 Jul, 28 Oct, 28 Feb & 28 Apr.

Plus, there is an extra two weeks if lodgement is made using the Business Portal at http://bp.ato.gov.au.

This extra two week policy does change from time to time and is not available for monthly lodgements ie monthly IAS.

The payment date appears on the confirmation screen once the lodging has been submitted on the portal.

 

[wafliron]

Plus, there is an extra two weeks if lodgement is made using the Business Portal at http://bp.ato.gov.au.

This extra two week policy does change from time to time and is not available for monthly lodgements ie monthly IAS.

The payment date appears on the confirmation screen once the lodging has been submitted on the portal.

Ah yeah, good point, I forgot about that. IIRC you need to lodge by the 28th of the appropriate month, but get an extra two weeks to actually pay?

 

[Maca44]

I have been paying my my tax on a credit card for the past couple of year, and have just paid the BAS again on AMEX. I think the ATO charge something like 1.3% for AMEX which is a lot better than some restaurants etc. Thank you ATO.

 

[cove]

I must admit that I have been seduced by the ATO offer to pay taxes at 0.48% on Visa and MasterCard.
This new rate has severely cut my family annual air travel cost despite the slightly lower points earning rate per dollar spent compared with Amex.
Depending on how one looks at it February is a biggie with BAS,Company and Personal Quarterly taxes all falling due between 21st and 28th. The 28th coincides with our business creditor run as this is their payment date as well.
My negotiation with Amex fell on deaf ears so I guess that means AMEX must be paying around that 0.833 cents per point (1.25% with a 1.5 point per dollar card). Really that too is a real bargain but don't tell anyone!
It gets more complicated now that I have reached the cap on one of my Visa cards but it really is just a small pot hole in the scheme of things. I have put that card away to avoid a mistake.

 

[Stephen65]

The ATO gives quarterly payers an extra month to pay their Q2 bill each FY - I assume because of the Christmas / New Year break. So it's 28 Jul, 28 Oct, 28 Feb & 28 Apr.

True but just to confuse you they don't give you a grace extra month to pay your quarterly super contributions for your employees so they are due 28 Jul, 28 Oct, 28 Jan and 28 Apr.

 

[Stephen65]

Back to taxes....paying the ATO after their due date can be pretty costly as they charge twice what you can earn off a bank.

On the bright side you do get to claw almost half of that late payment interest back because the General Interest Charge is tax deductible.