ATO (tax office) payments by credit card

i was once last year sent a notice to pay a quarterly PAYG. i knew i had paid this and had the receipt to prove it, but wondered what would happen. paid the initial payment by CC, paid the overdue notice by CC. about 4 weeks later received a cheque in the mail for the extra payment. but did hold my baited breath as i didn't want them to re=credit the CC for obvious reasons, but yes, it was a cheque in the mail.
 
I was happy to be able to pay my debt to the family tax office by EDR card using postbillpay.

This year I'm sure I'm going to have to pay extra tax better prepaid it. ;)
 
I so hope you are correct regarding the payment of bills with gift card(s), have you tested it out? ie: Amex card used to purchase a gift card, then use the same gift card to repay the CC.....? (excluding card activation fee).

Also, Woolies EDR CC, purchase a Woolies gift card with your WWEDR CC, then pay it normally at the supermarket(s).

I so so wanna try this... Auspost version first.

xsiq said:
Australia Post does accept Westfield XS Gift cards for Tax payments. It treats it like any other Eftpos card. You can pay all over the counter bills with the gift card. Hell you can purchase the Gift Card using Amex Issued card and pay the Amex card statement using the gift card. Rinse, repeat and fly :)
Click to expand...
 
As soon as my Plat Edge arrives in the mail I'll be giving the XS gift card ploy a go. Will post results.
 
Yes, I have tried and never had any problems. Keep in mind that there is a $2.50 a fees imposed by Amex to make payments over the counter at the post office. All up $4.95+2.50 for 1000 points assuming the earn rate is 1 points per dollar
 
Have been successful in paying my Amex card statements using XS Gift Cards at the post office. Amex does however impose $2.50 for paying over the counter at the post office. One may have to revert to getting paper statements as they only carry the bar code that is used by the post office to scan the bill.


coles525 said:
I so hope you are correct regarding the payment of bills with gift card(s), have you tested it out? ie: Amex card used to purchase a gift card, then use the same gift card to repay the CC.....? (excluding card activation fee).

Also, Woolies EDR CC, purchase a Woolies gift card with your WWEDR CC, then pay it normally at the supermarket(s).

I so so wanna try this... Auspost version first.
Click to expand...
 
Choosing which cards to use to pay the ATO can be quite a brain teaser where you prefer to use those cards that earn the most points but at the lowest cost. Normally that would rule out using any Amex card as the cost is about 0.95 cents per point provided your card is one that still earns 1.5 points per dollar.
There are about 6 Visa and MasterCards that have a points earning rate of one per dollar at 0.48 cents per point or less.
This next month is one where the amount to pay is quite large so I really have to use a slightly less than an optimum group of cards as I want to wrap it all up before I take off to LAX and LHR.
I am thinking of using 6 or more cards and have a split of about 80% on Visa/ MasterCard and the rest on Amex cards for the tax deductible fee bills.
Does this make sense to anyone?
 
I'm using the "long line haul" of Amex Ult....1.5 points at a cost that seems reasonable to me. Family of four that likes to travel....I need every point I can get.

When Amex give me the one finger salute & downgrades the card - I'll move on over to Citi Select.
 
Just to verify, you purchased an xs gift card with your AMEX Plat. CC. You then went to the PO and paid that same platinum CC with the exact same gift card you had just purchased?

Other then the activation fee, were there any other fees or conditions with using a cc to purchase a gift card?

I ask question 2 due to all the woolies gift cards saying payment/credit balance can only be done by cash, or savings account.

Sorry for being a pain in the butt with any questions.

xsiq said:
Have been successful in paying my Amex card statements using XS Gift Cards at the post office. Amex does however impose $2.50 for paying over the counter at the post office. One may have to revert to getting paper statements as they only carry the bar code that is used by the post office to scan the bill.
Click to expand...
 
I have purchased the gift cards with my Amex Platinum Edge Card. The concierge at Westfield may request some id. The fees is $4.95 irrespective of the denomination of the gift card but the maximum value that can be loaded in one gift card is $995. Present you Amex Statement (Must be a paper statement that they send in the mail, not the ones printed from their website) at the post office and elect to pay by EFTPOS. Select the the savings account on swiping your gift card. Amex charge $2.50 for the privilege of paying at the post office.

Essentially the additional cash flow one can generate by way of the revolving credit (interest free) ends up paying for all the transaction fees associated with the purchase and the payment of the card making the points nearly free :)

Have also used the Gift Cards to beat the surcharge various places have on Amex.

coles525 said:
Just to verify, you purchased an xs gift card with your AMEX Plat. CC. You then went to the PO and paid that same platinum CC with the exact same gift card you had just purchased?

Other then the activation fee, were there any other fees or conditions with using a cc to purchase a gift card?

I ask question 2 due to all the woolies gift cards saying payment/credit balance can only be done by cash, or savings account.

Sorry for being a pain in the butt with any questions.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Thank you heaps for your answers, and the fast reply :)

xsiq said:
I have purchased the gift cards with my Amex Platinum Edge Card. The concierge at Westfield may request some id. The fees is $4.95 irrespective of the denomination of the gift card but the maximum value that can be loaded in one gift card is $995. Present you Amex Statement (Must be a paper statement that they send in the mail, not the ones printed from their website) at the post office and elect to pay by EFTPOS. Select the the savings account on swiping your gift card. Amex charge $2.50 for the privilege of paying at the post office.

Have also used the Gift Cards to beat the surcharge various places have on Amex.
Click to expand...
 
Noticed that you are in Melbourne. Westfield Southland and Fountain Gate Post Office have automated bill payment machines. Helps avoid the stares one would usually get if making payment by many different EFTPOS Card in one day.


coles525 said:
Thank you heaps for your answers, and the fast reply :)
Click to expand...
 
Hey

Can't quote the above post as I'm posting from mobile App. Does the Platinum Edge award 3 points per dollar on the Westfield XS Gift Card purchases?

Cheers
 
Can someone post a cost for $10K ATO bill paid:
Amex via Westfield Gift Card cost Total = ?
ATO website with CC fee Total = ?

Regards
 
coles525 said:
Just to verify, you purchased an xs gift card with your AMEX Plat. CC. You then went to the PO and paid that same platinum CC with the exact same gift card you had just purchased?

Other then the activation fee, were there any other fees or conditions with using a cc to purchase a gift card?

I ask question 2 due to all the woolies gift cards saying payment/credit balance can only be done by cash, or savings account.

Sorry for being a pain in the butt with any questions.
Click to expand...

So it sounds like he bought an XS gift card for $4.95 with up to $995 on it. Then went to the post office to pay off the card used to but the gift card with said gift card and there was a $2.50 surcharge for paying at the post office.
So, best case, it's $6.45 of fees and $992.50 of value so that's an effective 0.65% surcharge. That could be 0.43cpp if the XS was bought using a 1.5ppd Amex. Can it be bought on the Plat Edge under the supermarket merchant category?
 
The cost to pay the a $9950 bill would be $49.50 as the ATO do no charge anything to pay at the post office.

PLANT said:
Can someone post a cost for $10K ATO bill paid:
Amex via Westfield Gift Card cost Total = ?
ATO website with CC fee Total = ?

Regards
Click to expand...
 
You can use the XS gift cards to pay off your CC's??

On my AMEX statement it says:

Paying in person
You can pay your Card Account in person with cash or a cheque at either:
- Australia Post Offices
- American Express Foreign Exchange Offices, in Australia
Cash payments are limited to AUD6,500 or the outstanding balance as shown on your current Account Statement, You must present your Card and current Account Statement when paying your Card Account. Please allow 3 days payment processing time. A $2 processing fee will apply to payments made in person at Australia Post and
Foreign Exchange Offices, in Australia.


Hmmmmmmm?
 
Last edited:

Become an AFF member!

Join Australian Frequent Flyer (AFF) for free and unlock insider tips, exclusive deals, and global meetups with 65,000+ frequent flyers.

AFF members can also access our Frequent Flyer Training courses, and upgrade to Fast-track your way to expert traveller status and unlock even more exclusive discounts!

AFF forum abbreviations

Wondering about Y, J or any of the other abbreviations used on our forum?

Check out our guide to common AFF acronyms & abbreviations.

Recent Posts

Currently Active Users

... and 9 more.
Total: 377 (members: 59, guests: 318)
Back
Top