The ATO will stop accepting credit-card payments after 30 November 2026, and any payment plan still linked to a card will fail if you don’t switch it.
The Australian Taxation Office will stop taking credit card payments after 30 November 2026. If you pay your tax bill with a card, or you have linked one to a payment plan, you have less than eight weeks to line up another way to pay. The change applies to ATO tax payments, including business and individual tax liabilities.
Strictly speaking, the ATO will stop accepting credit cards in December 2026, because 30 November is the last day a card works.
So what is changing, who feels it, and what should you do this week? Here is the plain version.
Is it November or December?
You have probably seen both. Some headlines say the ATO will stop accepting credit cards from November 2026. Others say the ATO will stop accepting credit cards in December 2026.
They describe the same event, and the confusion comes from one small word. The ATO’s media release, last updated on 1 October 2026, says cards stop working after 30 November. Some outlets read that as “from 30 November.” The ATO’s payment plan page says card payments made after that date will fail.
That makes 30 November the last day a card works. Count it as your deadline, and do not leave it to the last day. Processing times can push a payment past the cutoff.
Why are two card rule changes landing within 60 days?
Australia’s card payment rules change twice in about two months, and small businesses sit in the middle of both.
The first change arrived on 1 October. From 1 October 2026, businesses cannot surcharge debit, prepaid or credit cards on the designated eftpos, Mastercard and Visa networks, subject to applicable exceptions.
It followed a Reserve Bank of Australia decision to lift its long-standing block on card networks writing their own rules against surcharging. The three designated networks—eftpos, Mastercard and Visa—introduced no-surcharge rules from 1 October 2026. Put simply, the networks now enforce the surcharge ban themselves.
The second change lands on 30 November, when the ATO stops accepting credit cards for tax bills, including BAS, PAYG and income tax.
Both changes come from the same RBA review into what it costs to accept card payments. That’s why the ATO’s decision followed the surcharge ban so closely.
Why is the ATO dropping credit cards?
The RBA aimed to save consumers $1.2 billion a year with its review of merchant card payment costs and surcharging.
The ban covers government agencies too. The ATO weighed up the merchant fees and decided it should not pass that cost to the community.
Put simply, the ATO would rather stop taking cards than pay the fees itself.
Until 30 November, the ATO’s website says no card fee applies. Flight Hacks, a site that tracks card rewards, reports the ATO used to charge between 0.94 per cent and 2.03 per cent on card payments. That gives you two fee-free months if you want them.
How many people does this really affect?
It depends on who you ask.
The ATO says about 2.3 per cent of tax payments came by credit card in 2024-25. It adds that more than 60 per cent of card payments came from privately owned and wealthy groups and public and multinational businesses.
Andrew McKellar, chief executive of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, tells a different story. He says small businesses make about 40 per cent of card payments to the ATO. He called the decision “complete hypocrisy” in comments reported by The Nightly.
The two figures sit awkwardly together, and neither side has published the full split. Does it matter? If a card is how you smooth out cash flow, a small national share is cold comfort. The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia made the same point to Accountants Daily.
Can you still pay state taxes by card?
In several states, yes. That’s the odd twist. The ATO is out, but some state and territory revenue offices currently accept cards for certain taxes and levies, but availability varies by jurisdiction, tax type and payment method., according to SmartCompany’s reporting.
- Victoria: cards stay for payroll tax, insurance duties and the commercial passenger vehicle service levy, with no surcharge.
- Queensland: Visa and Mastercard credit and debit cards stay, with no surcharge.
- New South Wales and Western Australia: Visa and Mastercard stay for levies like payroll tax.
- South Australia: cards stay for land tax and the emergency services levy, though the state nudges you towards BPAY and open banking.
- Tasmania: cards work for some payments up to $5,000.
- Northern Territory: cards work in person only, and payroll tax needs direct debit or BPAY.
- ACT: The ACT Revenue Office lists BPAY and EFT for business taxes and levies.
What should you do before 30 November?
Pick the situation that sounds like yours.
If you have a payment plan
- Check whether a card is linked. The ATO is contacting taxpayers with payment plans linked to credit cards, but don’t wait for the letter.
- Log in to ATO online services, select Payments and change the method.
- Finish before your next instalment due after 30 November. After that date, card payments fail, and your plan can fall into arrears or default.
- Switching to direct debit from a debit card? Changes involving direct debit from a credit or debit card generally need to be made at least one business day before the instalment date. Bank-account direct debits generally require at least three business days..
If you pay lump sums by card
The ATO lists these alternatives:
- Direct deposit
- Direct debit from a debit card
- Direct debit from an Australian cheque or savings account
- Government EasyPay (Check the ATO’s current Government EasyPay guidance before relying on it, as its payment page continues to refer to Visa, Mastercard and American Express)
In person at Australia Post, by mail, or through an international money remitter
Flight Hacks also reports that American Express members can use AccessLine, which takes your card payment and sends the ATO a bank transfer. Check the provider’s current terms and fees before relying on this option.
If your card is your cash flow cushion
Say you are a small business owner in Australia and run a café, and your quarterly BAS lands at $9,000. Putting it on a card buys you weeks before the money leaves your bank account. After 30 November, you need a different cushion.
Start with a conversation. An ATO spokesperson said that the office will work with a small business or its tax adviser to find support, including payment plans. You can call 13 11 42 or visit ato.gov.au/supporttolodgeandpay.
A payment plan is not free, because general interest charges can apply to the unpaid balance. Compare the current rate on the ATO site with your card’s interest rate before you decide. Yes, it means a bit of maths. We have all parked a tax bill on a card and hoped for the best.
Will your own prices change too?
The surcharge ban started on 1 October, so businesses cannot surcharge cards on the designated eftpos, Mastercard and Visa networks, subject to applicable exceptions.. The RBA suggests two other routes. You can offer discounts for other payment methods, or you can shop around for a lower-cost payment provider. COSBOA warned that small businesses will only come out ahead if lower interchange fees flow through to them in full.
When did you last check what your payment provider charges you?
Do this today
Open ATO online services and look at Payments. If a card sits behind any instalment, change it now. Then put 30 November in your calendar with a reminder two weeks earlier.
A payment method that fails on its own costs you more than one you chose yourself. Switch when the choice is still yours.
