Behind on Tax? Start Here.

It does not change whether we can help, only how the work is sequenced. One or two years is usually straightforward. Five or more years means we work oldest to newest so carried-forward losses, offsets and prior-year balances flow through in the right order. There is no cut-off point where a backlog becomes too old to bring up to date, and there is no limit on the number of years we can lodge in one engagement.

You complete a short confidential form. A registered tax professional reviews it and replies by text within one business day with what we think is outstanding, what we need from you and a fixed fee. No phone call is required at any point. If you would rather talk it through, you can book a free 15-minute call, but it is optional.

That is the normal starting position on a multi-year catch-up. Once you nominate us as your tax agent we can see every outstanding year and the ATO prefill data, which covers most salary and wage income, interest, dividends and government payments. The gaps are filled from bank and card statements, super fund records, agent summaries and anything you still hold. Where a deduction cannot be reasonably supported, we leave it out.

Penalties may increase every 28 days, up to the applicable cap for each overdue document. One penalty unit is currently $364, and the standard maximum for an individual is five units, or $1,820 per overdue document. For failures occurring on or after 1 July 2026, one Commonwealth penalty unit is $364. Earlier failures may be calculated using the penalty-unit value applicable at that time. Failure to lodge penalties are remittable. We request remission as part of the engagement, and the ATO is generally more receptive once every outstanding year has been voluntarily brought up to date, but the decision always rests with the ATO.

The sequence matters: lodge first, then deal with the debt. Until the outstanding years are lodged, nobody knows the real balance, and the ATO will not usually settle a durable payment arrangement over an unknown figure. Once the returns are in, we work with the actual number - a payment plan, a request for remission of general interest charge where the circumstances support it, or both.

Once we have all required records, straightforward catch-ups are typically prepared and lodged within around 5 business days. Larger multi-year or complex matters generally take longer - often around 2-3 weeks. ATO processing time sits on top of that and is outside our control. Refunds across several back years are often manually reviewed before they are released, so allow extra time where multiple years are lodged at once.

Fixed fees, quoted in writing before any work starts. Individual and sole trader years are from $699 +GST per income year, and company work is from $1,599 +GST per annum, with discounts when several years are caught up together. Fees are generally payable upfront. Approved payment arrangements may be available for qualifying multi-year engagements. Fee-from-refund may be available for eligible individual refund cases.