Lost your tax paperwork? How to get copies of returns, NOAs and BAS

It’s a familiar scene. A lender, an accountant, a landlord or a government scheme asks for “your last two tax returns and notices of assessment”, and you realise you’ve no idea where they went. The paper copies are in a box somewhere, the emails are buried, and the accountant who lodged them retired.

The good news: most of what you need is sitting in ATO online services, ready to download.

Which tax documents do people usually need?

Document	What it is	Who has one
Income tax return	The return as lodged	Everyone who lodges
Notice of assessment (NOA)	The ATO’s assessment of that return: taxable income, tax payable, credits, refund or debt	Everyone who lodges
Activity statement (BAS/IAS)	GST, PAYG withholding, PAYG instalments reported each period	Businesses registered for these
ATO account statement	Balances and transactions on your tax accounts	All businesses with ATO accounts

For business finance, a lender might ask for any of these, depending on the option. Our page on business loans without tax returns explains when returns are needed and what can stand in for them.

If you’re an individual or sole trader: use myGov

Sole traders lodge an individual tax return using their own tax file number, so everything lives in your personal ATO online services, accessed through myGov.

According to the ATO, through myGov you can view and print:

• lodged income tax returns from 2010 onwards,
• notices of assessment from 2010 onwards,
• income statements from July 2019 onwards, if your employer reports through Single Touch Payroll,
• lodged activity statements (for sole traders).

Finding a notice of assessment: The ATO says that if your myGov account is linked to the ATO, your NOA is sent to your myGov Inbox. If it’s not there, sign in to myGov, open the ATO service, go to your profile, and look under communication history.

Step by step:

1. Sign in to myGov and select the ATO from your linked services.
2. For returns: look for your lodged tax returns in the tax return section and choose the year.
3. For NOAs: check your myGov Inbox first, then the ATO communication history.
4. Save each as a PDF with a clear name, like “2025-tax-return.pdf” and “2025-NOA.pdf”.

If you’re a company, trust or partnership: use Online services for business

Non-individual entities use Online services for business. The ATO says you can view and print:

• lodged income tax returns from 2010 onwards,
• notices of assessment from 2010 onwards,
• lodged activity statements from July 2000 onwards.

To log in, you need a myID with Standard or Strong identity strength, linked to the business’s ABN in RAM. If that’s not set up, our guide to myID and RAM for business owners walks you through it.

While you’re logged in, it’s worth downloading your ATO account statement too. Lenders often ask for it to see whether there’s any tax owing. See your ATO statement of account.

The quickest route of all: ask your tax agent

Registered tax agents have their own online services and can access your lodged returns and NOAs from 2010 onwards. If you use an accountant, a two-line email is often the fastest way to get everything:

“Could you please send PDFs of our last two lodged tax returns and notices of assessment, the last four BAS, and a current ATO account statement? It’s for a finance application.”

Asking for everything at once saves several rounds of emails. If you’re gathering documents for a loan, our paperwork checklist builder tells you which ones your situation is likely to need, so you only ask for what matters. And you can always check with us first: there’s no credit check to enquire, and no documents are needed at that stage.

What about documents from before 2010?

For older documents, the ATO provides a copies of tax documents request form, which you submit as a secure message through the relevant online service. Most lenders only ask for the last year or two, so it’s rare to need these for finance.

What if a return was never lodged?

Then there’s no copy to find, and the fix is to lodge it. Speak to your accountant about catching up. For context, the ATO says individuals who lodge their own return must do so by 31 October; different dates apply if you use a registered tax agent.

Being behind on lodgements doesn’t automatically rule out finance. Bank statements, BAS or an accountant’s letter can sometimes fill the gap. See what an accountant’s letter should say.

How should I store tax documents from now on?

A simple system saves you next time:

• One folder per financial year, digital, backed up.
• Consistent file names: “2026-BAS-Q1.pdf”, “2026-NOA.pdf”.
• Download each NOA when it arrives in your myGov Inbox, rather than relying on finding it later.
• Keep business and personal documents separate, especially if you’re a sole trader.

Business.gov.au notes sole traders must keep financial records for at least five years, so a tidy folder does double duty.

Where do lodged BAS fit in?

If you’re GST registered, lodged BAS are often the most up-to-date official record of turnover. For companies and other entities, they’re in Online services for business; for sole traders, in ATO online services via myGov. Our page on BAS for a business loan explains which quarters a lender is likely to want.

Which documents does a lender usually want, and how many years?

It varies with the option and the amount, but a common pattern looks like this:

If you’re applying for…	Tax documents often requested
A smaller unsecured amount	Often none beyond an ATO account statement if there’s tax owing; bank statements do most of the work
A larger unsecured amount	Recent lodged BAS, and possibly the latest return and NOA
A property-secured loan	Sometimes the latest return and NOA; the property and repayment plan carry more weight
A business with unlodged returns	BAS and an accountant’s letter instead, with a lodgement plan

So before you download ten years of paperwork, find out what your option actually needs. It’s usually far less than you’d expect.

What if the ATO shows something I don’t recognise?

Occasionally, while downloading documents, you’ll spot something unexpected: a return you don’t remember lodging, an amended assessment, or a debt you thought was paid. Don’t ignore it. Note the details, then:

• ask your accountant whether they lodged or amended anything on your behalf,
• check your myGov Inbox or the ATO communication history for related letters,
• contact the ATO directly using contact details from its own website if something still doesn’t add up.

It’s far better to sort out a surprise now than to have a lender ask about it later.

Illustrative example: the retired accountant

Illustrative only; not a real business.

A picture framer’s long-time accountant retires, and his new accountant doesn’t yet have access. A lender asks for the last two years’ returns and NOAs. He signs in to myGov, finds both NOAs in his Inbox, and downloads both lodged returns from the ATO service. Twenty minutes later, four clearly named PDFs are in a folder. His new accountant, once linked, sets up a shared folder so next year’s documents land there automatically.

Paperwork found, now the easy part

Once you know where your tax documents live, the rest of a finance application gets much lighter. Our enquiry takes about 60 seconds, there’s no credit check when you first enquire, and your details stay with our lending team rather than being sprayed across a pile of lenders. A real person calls to explain your options in plain English, and tells you exactly which of these documents your option needs.

Please answer the form accurately, including where your tax lodgements are up to. That’s what lets us suggest the right path, and the right paperwork, the first time.

Find out which documents you’ll actually need →