Tax disputes and litigation
Acting for taxpayers and advisers across Australia
Experience that puts you in control.
Received a director penalty notice? It can make you personally liable for certain unpaid company tax debts, and the time to respond is short. We review your position, advise on your options and act for you in your dealings with the ATO, so you know where you stand at every stage.
A director penalty notice can make you personally liable for the company’s PAYG withholding, GST and superannuation guarantee charge tax debts. We consider the whole tax position, yours and the company’s, to reach the best possible outcome for you.
Our approach
A director penalty notice is serious. It gives you 21 days to act, and once that period passes, some of the options that can remove your personal liability are no longer available. Early legal advice means you can weigh each option while it is still available.
We act quickly to understand your position, give you timely advice and seek any extension that is available, so the right steps are taken within the time you have.
We are experienced in tax disputes and know how these matters work. We work with you and your accountant to resolve what are often complex and difficult matters.
About the firm
Wolfe Kershaw Law is a national tax disputes and litigation practice based in Brisbane. We act for individuals, businesses, private groups and their advisers in disputes with the ATO, from the first request for information through to appeals in the Tribunal and Federal Courts.
We bring an in-depth understanding of how the ATO approaches a dispute at every stage, and experience in matters of every scale, from individuals and family groups to large business and multinationals. That experience shapes how we set strategy, test the ATO’s position and prepare each case.
For directors, that means advice on the notice and the company’s position together, pursuing the best possible outcome for you.
Before you book
A director penalty notice is how the ATO tells a director that they may be personally liable for certain unpaid company tax debts, namely PAYG withholding, GST and superannuation guarantee charge. It is issued before the ATO can begin recovery against you personally. The notice sets out the amounts and the options available, which depend on whether the company reported those amounts on time.
Yes. Resigning does not remove liability for amounts that fell due while you were a director, and a notice can be issued after you have left. A new director can also become liable for debts that arose before their appointment if they remain unpaid 30 days after it.
The liability behind the penalty can arise in two ways. Where it arises from an assessment, it may be able to be challenged by lodging an objection. Where it arises from an estimate, the estimate can only be reduced or revoked through its own separate process, with its own time limits. Separately, defences may be available to you as a director, for example where illness prevented you from taking part in the company’s management for the whole of the relevant period, or where you took all reasonable steps. These are complex matters, and we will advise you on every option open to you.
Please have the notice, any other correspondence from the ATO and the dates you became, and if relevant ceased to be, a director. If possible, please also have details of the company’s tax debt and lodgement history.
Work together
Booking a call does not create a solicitor and client relationship. Each booking is reviewed before the call, and we may contact you to reschedule or redirect it if the matter falls outside the practice or raises a conflict.
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