Can I get a home loan with an ATO debt?
Often yes. It depends on the size of the debt, whether there is a payment plan and which lender you ask.
How lenders see a tax debt
A tax debt tells a lender the business may be short of cash. Major banks often want it cleared before settlement or will decline. Other lenders accept a debt under a payment plan and count the instalment as a commitment. Specialist lenders will lend to pay the debt out.
Disclose it
Tax debts appear on your ATO portal, in your financial statements and sometimes on your credit file. The ATO can report business tax debts above $100,000 that are more than 90 days overdue to credit reporting bureaus. An assessor will find it. An application that explains the debt up front is treated far better than one where it turns up later.
Your options
- Pay it out before applying, if you have the cash and it doesn’t drain your deposit.
- Enter a payment plan and keep to it. A track record of payments opens up more lenders.
- Refinance to clear it. Some lenders allow equity release to pay the ATO, moving the debt to a home loan rate.
- Use a specialist lender now and refinance to a mainstream lender once the debt is gone.
Before you do anything
Speak with your accountant about the debt itself, and with us about the lending. The order you do things in matters. See self-employed home loans.
Questions people ask
Will a payment plan show on my credit file?
A plan in itself usually doesn’t. A default or a debt reported by the ATO can.
General information, last updated November 2026. Scheme figures, lender policies and duty rates change, so confirm them before you rely on them.
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