A backdated payroll tax assessment, with some facilities able to fund within 2 business days.
- Some trading-assessed facilities can fund within 2 business days
- Loans from $100K to $10M, secured or assessed on practice and business income
- Medical and dental practices, labour hire firms, and professional services businesses
- Backdated assessments from Revenue NSW, the State Revenue Office (SRO) in Victoria and other state revenue offices, including interest and penalties
- Documentation from full-doc (tax returns), low-doc or alt-doc (BAS, bank statements or an accountant's letter instead) to no-doc, across 90+ lenders
An assessment that reaches back years, due on a date only weeks away. For many practice owners, the first sign of a payroll tax problem is a letter from the state revenue office treating payments to contractors as wages. The amount covers several years at once, with interest and penalties added. Payroll tax debt finance pays that assessment, so you owe a lender over a set term with a fixed repayment instead of owing the state on a single date. It can be secured against practice goodwill, property or receivables. Joseph Farhat and his team work with practice owners and employers in exactly this position, and can tell you quickly what funding is available while your adviser works through the assessment itself.
Who we can help access finance
- Medical practice owners reassessed on payments to contractor GPs under the relevant contract rules, which can treat some payments to contractors as wages.
- Dental practice owners whose service fee arrangements with associate dentists have been treated as wages.
- Allied health and specialist clinics that received a backdated assessment after a payroll tax audit.
- Labour hire businesses assessed on workers placed with clients across several financial years.
- Accounting, engineering and consulting firms reassessed on payments to contractors working inside the business.
- Business owners who have asked the state revenue office about a payment arrangement and need funding to cover what the arrangement does not.
- Owners with property or practice goodwill who want the assessment paid and the cost spread over a longer term.
How Payroll Tax Debt Finance Works
Payroll tax is a state tax, collected by each state and territory revenue office. It is separate from the ATO. A backdated assessment usually follows an audit or review that finds some payments, often to contractors, should have been counted as wages. The assessment can reach back several years and adds interest and penalties to the tax itself, which is why the total can be large compared with the practice turnover.
A lender pays all or part of the assessment, and the business repays that lender across an agreed term. Security can be practice goodwill, commercial or residential property, or receivables, and some facilities are assessed on trading income alone. Joseph Farhat and his team review the assessment, your trading position and the security available, choose a suitable lender from a panel of 90+, and run the application until the money is paid. Paying the assessment settles the amount owed to the state. Any decision about penalties, interest or an objection stays with the revenue office and your adviser.
Settled With Joe is a finance broker. We are not accountants, tax advisers or lawyers. We never comment on whether an assessment is correct. Whether to object, and how a payment interacts with an objection, is for your accountant or tax lawyer. NSW and Victoria have both changed their position on GP payments, covered in the questions below, and your adviser can confirm how either applies to your practice. Asking the revenue office about a payment arrangement comes first. If it is unclear whether the business can meet its debts as they come due, a registered insolvency practitioner or your accountant needs to be the first call, ahead of any borrowing.
What Lenders Assess for Payroll Tax Debt Finance
The assessment itself
the tax, interest and penalty components, the period covered, and the due date on the notice.
Practice or business income
recent bank statements, BAS and patient or client billings showing the business can carry a repayment alongside its ongoing payroll tax.
Security available
practice goodwill, property or receivables. Property opens up longer terms and lower rates. Goodwill lending suits established practices with steady billings.
Ongoing liability
lenders want to see that future payroll tax is being registered and paid, so the same problem does not return next year.
Payment arrangement status
whether the revenue office has been asked about an arrangement, and whether any agreed arrangement is being kept up.
Adviser involvement
lenders are more comfortable when an accountant or tax adviser is managing the assessment, including any objection.
Other commitments
practice fit-out loans, equipment finance and existing business debt are all factored into the amount a lender will approve.
The Payroll Tax Debt Finance Process: What to Expect
- Start with a call to Joseph Farhat and his team covering the assessment, its due date and the security on hand. They will say plainly whether it looks fundable, including where your adviser's view on the assessment has to come first.
- Provide the basics: the notice of assessment, any correspondence about a payment arrangement, recent bank statements for the business, and property or practice details. Your accountant can usually supply these quickly.
- We shortlist panel lenders with appetite for state tax debts and, where relevant, goodwill security, then compare what each would cost. That appetite varies widely, so this step decides the outcome.
- Approval arrives in writing with the rate, term, fees and security. We explain the total you will repay before anything is signed.
- The revenue office receives the funds as agreed, and lender repayments start. We remain your contact if anything changes.
Indicative Finance Options
| Lender Type | Indicative Rate | Security | Typical Loan Range | Loan Term | Speed to Funding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank | From ~8.5% p.a. | Practice goodwill or property | $250K to $10M | 1 to 15 years | Typically 2 to 6 weeks |
| Non-Bank Lenders | From ~12% p.a. | Receivables, business assets, or none | $100K to $2M | 6 to 48 months | Within 2 business days |
| Private Finance | From ~1.2% per month | Property | $250K to $10M | 1 to 24 months | Available for unique scenarios |
Indicative figures only. Actual rates and terms depend on your project, financial position, property location, and lender assessment at the time of application. Rates are subject to change.
Why borrowers choose Settled With Joe for payroll tax debt finance
Practice goodwill is specialist security
some lenders understand medical and dental practice values well, others will not lend against goodwill at all, and we know which is which.
A state tax debt is assessed differently
lender policy written for ATO debts does not always cover a state assessment, so we check before an application goes in.
We represent you, not the lender
Joseph Farhat and his team are on the practice owner's side, from reading the notice of assessment to the day the revenue office is paid.
Your adviser stays in charge of the assessment
we arrange the funding and work alongside your accountant, without commenting on the tax position.
Applications kept to a minimum
each credit enquiry is recorded on your credit file, and a run of them close to a due date makes the next lender more cautious.
Bank, non-bank, and specialist lenders in one place
with 90+ on the panel, an established practice with full financials can be put to a bank for a lower rate, and a short timeline is still workable.
Private finance for unique scenarios
for a large assessment, thin financials or a date the mainstream lenders cannot meet, we can introduce you to private finance options.
Usually no direct cost to you
brokers like us are typically remunerated by the lender once the facility settles.
An honest answer early
with an assessment due in a few weeks, call early and Joseph Farhat and his team will tell you what is realistic while there is time to act.
Frequently asked questions
What is payroll tax debt finance?
Payroll tax debt finance is a business loan that pays a state payroll tax assessment, including any interest and penalties. The state revenue office receives the funds, in whole or in part, and the business then repays the lender on agreed terms. It is most often used after a backdated assessment that reclassifies contractor payments as wages, such as payments to doctors, dentists or placed workers. Security can be practice goodwill, property or receivables.
Can I borrow while I am objecting to the assessment?
In many cases, yes. Some lenders will fund the full assessed amount while an objection is underway, and assess the application on the assessment as issued. Whether to object, whether to pay before an objection is decided, and what happens to any amount paid if the objection succeeds are questions for your accountant or tax lawyer. We do not comment on whether an assessment is correct. Once your adviser has set the approach, Joseph Farhat and his team can arrange funding that fits it.
Does a payment arrangement with the state come first?
Asking the state revenue office about a payment arrangement is the usual first step, and your adviser can help with that request. Revenue NSW, the SRO in Victoria and other state offices each set their own terms. Finance may be worth exploring where an arrangement is not available, where the instalments do not fit your cash flow, or where the arrangement covers only part of the amount. Some lenders will also fund alongside an existing arrangement that is being kept to.
Can practice income support the loan?
Yes. For medical and dental practices, lenders look at billings, patient numbers, bank statements and how long the practice has been established. Several lenders on the panel lend against practice goodwill, sized on the income the practice produces. Property security is not always needed, though it opens up longer terms and lower rates where it is available. Labour hire and professional services firms are assessed in a similar way, on contracted revenue and receivables.
Is a payroll tax debt the same as an ATO debt?
No. Payroll tax is a state tax, assessed and collected by the revenue office in each state or territory, such as Revenue NSW or the SRO in Victoria. ATO debts cover federal amounts such as GST, income tax and PAYG withholding, the tax taken from wages. Some lenders treat the two differently, so the first question we ask is which office issued the notice. A business can carry both at once, and a single facility can sometimes cover both.
Do the NSW and Victorian GP changes affect my assessment?
They may, and that is a question for your accountant or tax adviser. In NSW, unpaid payroll tax on eligible contractor GP payments made before 4 September 2024 is exempt (tax already paid is not refunded), and from that date a rebate is available for practices that meet bulk-billing thresholds (80% of GP services in metropolitan Sydney, 70% elsewhere, bulk billed or billed under veterans arrangements). Eligibility conditions apply. In Victoria, from 1 July 2025, wages to employee and contractor GPs can be exempt in proportion to fully funded GP work, subject to the conditions the SRO sets. The Victorian exemption does not extend to dentists or allied health. Once your adviser has confirmed the amount that is actually payable, we can arrange funding for that figure.
Can I get payroll tax debt finance with low-doc or no-doc?
Often, yes. A number of non-bank lenders work from turnover and recent business bank statements in place of full financials, useful for practices and firms still catching up on lodgements. No-doc options exist where there is strong property security, at a lower loan-to-value ratio (LVR), the loan as a share of the property's value, and a higher rate. Most lenders will still want the notice of assessment and confirmation that ongoing payroll tax is registered. Joseph Farhat and his team will set out the documents each suitable lender needs.
Do you work with borrowers with bad credit?
Yes, we do. A past default, some arrears or a mark on a director's file does not rule you out, and raising it with us is not awkward. Practice owners hit with a backdated assessment have often been absorbing other cash flow strain over the same years, and the credit file records it. What matters more to some panel lenders is the strength of the billings, the trading history and the security, and they will set a rate that reflects the risk instead of declining. Let us know at the outset, so the application goes to a fitting lender the first time and your file does not pick up needless enquiries. Joseph Farhat and his team will be candid about what is achievable before any application is made.
Why work with Settled With Joe to arrange your payroll tax debt finance?
Because you deal with one broker instead of applying lender by lender, as the due date approaches. Practice owners, self-employed employers and company directors usually reach us with a backdated assessment covering several years, interest and penalties on top of the tax, a payment arrangement that falls short of the full amount, or an objection their adviser is still preparing. We work with assessments like these regularly, and the conversation carries no judgement. Lenders want to see steady practice or business income, security they can rely on, and current payroll tax being met. Our 90+ bank, non-bank, and specialist lenders mean a well-documented practice can go to a bank for a keener rate, and a short timeline does not rule funding out. The business is Sydney-based and helps employers in every state. Joseph Farhat and his team will tell you frankly, and early, whether we can help and what can be achieved before the due date.
Do you give financial advice?
No. We do not guide you on your finances, nor give financial advice. We focus on outcomes and solutions of presenting your unique scenario to the right lender so you can access funding in a timely and compliant manner.
Do you help with payroll tax debt finance outside Sydney?
Yes. Settled With Joe is based in Sydney and arranges payroll tax debt finance Australia-wide, in capital cities and regional areas. The practices and employers we work with are in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, and Canberra, and in regional locations such as Newcastle, Wollongong, Geelong, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, and Toowoomba. Each state runs its own payroll tax rules and revenue office, and lender appetite differs as well, so Joseph Farhat and his team choose panel lenders that suit your state and your security.
