Tax File Number Australia: How to Apply (2026)

A tax file number (TFN) is the number that ties your pay, your tax and your super together in Australia. You need one to be taxed properly, and getting it is free. The only official place to apply is the ATO.

Do You Need a TFN on a Working Holiday Visa?

Yes, if you plan to work. A working holiday maker is taxed at special rates, and your employer needs your TFN to apply them. Without one, you can still be employed, but your employer has to withhold tax at the top rate, which is a lot more than you owe.

How to Apply

1. Wait until you hold a valid work visa. You cannot apply on a tourist visa.

2. Go to the ATO TFN page and apply online, or use the paper form if you cannot apply online.

3. Have your passport and visa details ready, plus an Australian address if you have one.

4. Submit, then keep the reference number.

Applying is free. Anyone charging you to "lodge your TFN" is taking your money for something you can do in ten minutes.

How Long Does It Take?

The ATO says allow up to 28 days from when they receive your completed application and identity documents. Some people get it much faster, and applicants who can use a digital identity can be issued one immediately.

My own TFN came through quickly. That was years ago and the process has changed since, so plan for a few weeks rather than a few days.

Starting Work Before It Arrives

This is the bit nobody warns you about. If you start work and you have not given your employer a TFN, they withhold tax at the 45% rate. You do get the difference back when you lodge your tax return, but not until then, and it hurts when you are living on a tight budget.

I have been emergency taxed and it is genuinely grim: you budget for a pay, you get a lot less, and there is nothing you can do but wait for the refund.

Practical tips:

• Apply the day you land, or the day your visa is granted, before you start job hunting.
• Give the TFN to every employer as soon as it arrives, even if you have already been paid once.
• Keep your payslips. They are your proof of what was withheld.
• If 28 days pass with nothing, contact the ATO rather than assuming it is lost.

TFN, ABN and Super: What Is the Difference?

• TFN: your personal tax number, needed by any employer.
• ABN: a business number. If an employer asks you to work on an ABN, you are being treated as a contractor, with no paid leave, no super and no workers compensation. See my guide to casual vs part-time vs contract work before agreeing to that.
• Super fund: where your retirement money goes. You will be asked to nominate a fund, and you should read superannuation for backpackers first, because the default option is not always the cheapest.

What Comes Next

Once you have the TFN and you are working, the next jobs are a bank account and a tax return. If you want the wider picture of how the system treats expats, expat tax in Australia is the overview, and how to save tax in Australia covers the legal ways to keep more of it. Start with the Ultimate Australia Working Holiday Guide for the full setup order, then read how much tax backpackers pay and how to lodge a working holiday tax return.

Keep reading:

• How Much Tax Do Backpackers Pay in Australia?
• Working Holiday Tax Return Australia
• Superannuation for Backpackers