Guide · company and business TFN

How to find your company's tax file number

A company's TFN cannot be looked up publicly. It is on the ATO's TFN notification letter and notices of assessment, in Online services for business under Profile, and on file with your registered tax agent. Failing those, phone the ATO's business line on 13 28 66, 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday, with the company's ABN and proof that you are an officeholder.

Why there is no lookup

A tax file number identifies a taxpayer to the ATO and is confidential by law — the ABN is the public number, the TFN is not. That applies to a company's TFN as much as to a person's. So there is no search, no register and no third party that can tell you it; there is only the ATO, the documents the ATO has sent the company, and the people the company has authorised.

Where the TFN is

1
ATO correspondence addressed to the company.The TFN notification letter sent when the company registered, every notice of assessment, and most letters since. The registered office or the accountant usually holds them.
2
Online services for business — Profile, then Business details.The ATO shows the TFN, ABN and ACN together on that screen. You log in with myID and need to be authorised for the company in Relationship Authorisation Manager, which a director can set up.
3
Your registered tax agent or BAS agent.They hold it on file and can give it to a director or an authorised contact. Usually the fastest route.
4
The company's own records.The corporate register or binder, the accounting software's settings, the bank's account-opening pack, the payroll file.
5
The ATO by phone: 13 28 66, 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday.Have the ABN or ACN and your director ID ready. The ATO will confirm you are an officeholder or authorised contact before it releases anything.

Sole trader, company, trust: which TFN is which

A sole trader is the business, so the business uses the owner's personal TFN — there is no separate one to find. A company, a trust and a partnership are each a separate taxpayer with a TFN of their own, issued when the entity registered. A director who runs a company and also trades as a sole trader has two TFNs to keep straight: their own and the company's.

What the search is usually about

The TFN is wanted for a form, and the form is usually late: a company return that has not been lodged, a superannuation guarantee statement, a response to an ATO letter. Lodging is the right first move, because the ATO's failure-to-lodge penalties accrue by the month and an unlodged return is a reason the ATO stops negotiating. But lodging turns an unknown debt into a known one, and the known one still has to be paid. Our pages on returns that are behind and clearing an ATO debt pick up where this one stops.

If the number was not the whole problem

Nobody looks for a company's TFN for fun. It is wanted because a return is overdue, a form has arrived from the ATO, or an accountant has just been engaged to sort out a backlog — and behind most of those is a tax bill that has not been paid yet.

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Questions people ask alongside this one

Can I look up a company's TFN online?

No. There is no public TFN lookup for any entity — a TFN is confidential and protected by law, and the ATO will not read it out to anyone who cannot prove they are entitled to it. It is on your own ATO correspondence, in Online services for business, and with your tax agent.

Does a company have its own TFN, separate from mine?

Yes. A company, a trust and a partnership each have their own TFN, issued when the entity registered with the ATO. A sole trader does not — the business is the person, and the person's TFN is used.

Which ATO letters show the TFN?

The TFN notification letter sent when the entity first registered, notices of assessment, and most ATO correspondence addressed to the entity. Activity statements show the ABN rather than the TFN.

Can my accountant tell me the TFN?

Yes. A registered tax or BAS agent holds the entity's TFN on file and can give it to an authorised person — a director, or someone the director has authorised. This is usually the fastest route.

I called the ATO and they would not tell me. Why?

Because they have to establish that you are entitled to it first. Have the company's ABN or ACN, your own identity details and your director ID ready, and expect to be asked questions about the entity that only an officeholder could answer. If you are not listed as an officeholder or an authorised contact, the ATO will not release it, whatever the reason.

Is a TFN the same as an ABN?

No. The ABN is public and goes on invoices; the TFN is confidential and goes on tax returns and ATO forms. A company has both, plus an ACN from ASIC. See our guide to finding an ABN or ACN for the difference in full.

Do I need my TFN to apply for a business loan?

Not with HomeSec. We ask for an active ABN, a business purpose, the property and the exit. No tax returns, no financial statements and no TFN — which also means no credit assessment run off the ATO's view of your affairs.

Why am I looking for the TFN in the first place?

Usually because something needs lodging: an overdue return, a super guarantee statement, an ATO form that asks for it, or an accountant's onboarding pack. If returns are behind, the number is the smallest part of the job; the pages on unlodged returns and ATO debt cover the larger part.

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Reviewed by Catriona Anderson, General Manager