Program · Outcome 1: Confidence in the administration of aspects of Australia’s taxation and superannuation systems, including through helping people understand their rights and obligations, improving ease of compliance and access to benefits, and managing non-compliance with the law; and in delivering effective and efficient business registry services
Program 1.17: Bad & Doubtful Debts & Remissions
The primary objective of the program is to help ensure that the value of tax receivables reported is a true and fair estimate of what can be collected on behalf of the Australian Government. The ATO may not be able to collect all tax liabilities due. The ATO estimates the amount it does not expect to recover and, in accordance with Australian Accounting Standards, creates an impairment allowance provision for this amount. This provision is one of the amounts offset against the gross total taxation receivables to determine the net total taxation receivables, which is a true and fair estimate of what can be collected on behalf of the Australian Government.
Australian Taxation Office, 2026-27 Portfolio Budget Statements, PDF page 262 reported
A further $9.6bn is listed for this program but not counted, because it is counted elsewhere or is not an expense. Each line below says why.
Traced to named suppliers and grant recipients
AusTender and GrantConnect record the agency, not the program, so contracts and grants are shown on the entity page.
Published lines
Each row is one line of the program’s expense table in the 2026-27 Portfolio Budget Statements – Program Expense Line Items, as published.
| Line | Kind | 2025-26 estimated actual |
2026-27 Budget estimate |
Change | Treatment | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expenses not requiring appropriation in the Budget year | administered | $6.3bn | $9.6bn | +$3.3bn +52.4% | not counted: tax bad and doubtful debts | Table 2.1.1, row 1278 |