TFN Declaration Form: How to Fill It Out Line by Line

The TFN declaration form is a one-page form your employer gives you when you start a job, and the answers you tick decide how much tax comes out of every pay. For most international students on a course longer than six months, the usual answers are Australian resident for tax purposes, Yes to the tax-free threshold if this is your only job, and No to HELP and similar loans. If you have a second job, a different visa, or an existing study loan, some answers change. This guide walks through the form box by box, and the free tool below suggests what to tick for your situation.

What is the TFN declaration form and who needs it?

When you start a new job, your employer needs to know how much tax to withhold from your pay. The TFN declaration gives them your tax file number and the details they need to work that out. It is not an application for a TFN, and it is not sent to the ATO by you. You fill in your section, sign it and hand it back, and your employer completes their own section and keeps it, usually lodging it with the ATO within 14 days.

If you do not have a TFN yet, apply first. Our guide to getting a tax file number explains how, and our first week in Australia checklist shows where it fits among everything else you need to do on arrival. Casuals, part-timers and full-time staff all complete the form. You usually only need to give your TFN to an employer after you start work with them, not in a job application or over the internet.

Free tool: what should I tick on my TFN declaration?

Pick the options that match your situation and the tool suggests the answers. It follows the ATO’s form instructions, but the final decision is yours, so check the residency and threshold questions against the ATO guidance if you are unsure.

The TFN declaration form, question by question

The layout can differ slightly between versions of the form and between employers’ online onboarding systems, but the questions are the same. Here is what each one asks and what international students usually write.

Older forms may refer to a Trade Support Loan (TSL), which is now called the Australian Apprenticeship Support Loan. If you use a paper form from an old pad, check it is the current version on the ATO website.

Residency: Australian resident, foreign resident or working holiday maker?

This is the most important question on the form, because it decides which tax rates apply to you.

• Australian resident for tax purposes. Applies to people who have always lived in Australia, have migrated and intend to live here permanently, or are an overseas student enrolled in a course of more than six months. Residents get the tax-free threshold and the lower resident rates.
• Foreign resident for tax purposes. Foreign residents pay higher tax, do not get the tax-free threshold and cannot claim most tax offsets to reduce withholding. This can apply to a short-course student or a visitor who is not staying long.
• Working holiday maker. If you hold a Working Holiday (subclass 417) or Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa, you tick this and special rates apply. You answer No to the tax-free threshold. Our working holiday maker tax return guide explains the rates and your return.

International students enrolled in a course of more than six months generally count as Australian residents for tax purposes. If you are on another type of temporary visa, check the ATO’s residency guidance, because it depends on where you live and how long you intend to stay.

The tax-free threshold explained

The tax-free threshold is the first $18,200 of income each year that is taxed at nil for Australian residents. When you claim it from an employer, they withhold less tax from your pay. You can generally claim it from only one payer at a time, because your total income for the year is what counts.

• One job: answer Yes at that job, if you are an Australian resident.
• Two jobs: claim Yes at the job that pays you most and No at the other. If you claim at both, too little tax is withheld and you may get a tax bill at tax time.
• Working holiday maker or foreign resident: answer No.
• Total income under the threshold: the ATO says you can answer Yes at more than one payer if your total income from all sources will stay below the threshold.

If you claim it and your income stays low, you keep more pay each week. If you do not claim it, tax comes out earlier, but you will usually get the difference back as a refund when you lodge your return. See our tax return guide for international students for how that works.

2026-27 resident tax rates

These are the resident rates for 2026-27 from the ATO, not counting the 2% Medicare levy. The first bracket rate fell from 16% to 15% on 1 July 2026.

As an illustration, a resident earning $30,000 pays about $1,770 in tax on the resident rates before Medicare, because 15 cents applies to the $11,800 above $18,200. A foreign resident earning the same pays 30 cents on every dollar, which is $9,000. This is why ticking the right residency box matters so much. You can see your take-home pay in our salary calculator.

Worked examples

What happens if you do not fill in the form?

If you do not give your employer a completed TFN declaration, they must withhold tax at the top rate, which can take a large share of your pay. If you have applied for a TFN but do not have it yet, your employer will usually withhold at the standard rate for 28 days while you provide it. You can recover over-withheld tax in your tax return, but it is easier to get the form right at the start.

Changing your answers later

• New job: complete a new TFN declaration for each employer.
• Your circumstances change: a new declaration overrides any previous one and applies to payments made after you give it. If you claimed the tax-free threshold at two jobs, fix it now rather than at tax time.
• You repay a study loan: complete a withholding declaration (NAT 3093) so your employer stops withholding extra for the loan.
• Your visa or residency changes: for example, finishing your course or leaving Australia. Let your payer know with a new declaration.

Common TFN declaration mistakes

• Claiming the tax-free threshold from two employers at once.
• Ticking foreign resident when you are an international student on a course longer than six months.
• Ticking Australian resident when you are on a working holiday visa.
• Forgetting to tick a loan box, or forgetting to update it after the debt is repaid.
• Writing the TFN incorrectly, which leaves extra tax withheld.
• Giving your TFN in a job application or by email instead of on the form after you start.
• Not signing and dating the form.

If you are unsure whether you should be working as an employee or running an ABN, read our TFN vs ABN guide for students and check your student work rights.

Sources and further reading

• ATO, Tax rates for Australian residents (2026-27)
• ATO, Tax rates for foreign residents
• ATO, Withholding declaration (NAT 3093) instructions, including residency and loan wording
• Sample TFN declaration form (NAT 3092 layout and instructions)
• ATO, Tax file number
• ATO, Coming to Australia or going overseas

Last checked 19 October 2026. The ATO form pages could not be fully opened by our research tools, so the question wording comes from the ATO’s withholding declaration instructions and an employer-published copy of the TFN declaration, and the 2026-27 tax rates come from the ATO. Form layouts and wording can change, so use the current version from the ATO or your employer. This is general information, not tax advice.

Related guides

See also how to apply for a TFN, tax returns for international students, the HECS-HELP repayment calculator and the salary calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions