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taxn00b101(Newbie)Newbie
7 Apr 2026

Hi ATO Community,


I've just lodged a private ruling application successfully through my wife's ABN-linked Online Services account (as the ruling concerns both of us). However, I find it illogical that online lodgement is unavailable to private individuals without an ABN, forcing fax/post instead.

The guidance states "individuals or sole traders or business with an ABN" can lodge online, but private taxpayers without one cannot. Can the ATO please explain:

  1. What is the policy rationale for linking a business identifier (ABN) to a personal tax ruling application?
  2. Is this a deliberate limitation of the individual portal, or a technical restriction that could be expanded?
  3. Are there plans to enable full online lodgement (including private rulings) for all individual taxpayers regardless of ABN status?
  4. If not, why maintain this distinction when myGov/ATO Online already handles complex personal tax matters digitally?

I'm seeking the formal reasoning - not workarounds. The current setup feels like an artificial barrier to digital access for non-business taxpayers.

Links reviewed:

Thanks.

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1 replies
42 views
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KaraATO(Community Support)Community Support
8 Apr 2026

Hi @taxn00b101,


At the moment, private rulings can only be lodged online through ABN‑linked services. This is because Online Services for business and Online Services for agents have an option to send and receive correspondence through an electronic secure channel.


If an individual doesn’t have an ABN, private ruling requests can still be sent via our other secure channels (post or fax). This isn’t about the type of ruling or who it applies to - it’s about using systems that meet our security and identity checks.


For now, the options shown on our website are the supported and secure ways to request a private ruling. If you’d like to raise this further, you can submit formal feedback. 

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Private Ruling application for individuals without ABN and Online Services | ATO Community