Have not lodged a tax return in 10 years. Dont know what to do

 Author: NikkiATO(Community Moderator)Community Moderator

ATO Certified Response30 Nov 2025

Hi @tkhuu,

You're not in serious trouble, and you definitely don't need to flee the country. Many people find themselves in similar situations, and we're here to help you get back on track.

Since you've been a PAYG employee for 20 years and have always had tax withheld from your pay, you may not have even needed to lodge returns for some of those years. The first step is to work out which years you actually needed to lodge for:

• Log into your myGov account to see if you have outstanding lodgments.
• You can use our 'Do I need to lodge a tax return?' tool to check each of the past 10 years.
• If you're not required to lodge, you can complete non-lodgment advice through ATO online services or return paper forms.

For any years where you did need to lodge, you can simply lodge those outstanding returns now. Your tax liability will be worked out when you lodge each return. If you end up with any tax debt, we have payment plan options available to help you manage it over time.

For the last 10 years, we should have prefill details on file for you - this should hopefully cover all of your employment payment summaries. If some of the info is missing and you've tried to locate it yourself but can't find it, we can accept calculations from our gross pay estimator. Keep records of how you worked out these figures in case you're asked later.

If you're feeling overwhelmed, you can contact our Lodge and Pay team who can see your account and talk through your options. Alternatively, you could engage a registered tax practitioner to help you work through everything and lodge on your behalf.

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