Can You Earn Frequent Flyer Points Paying the ATO with a Credit Card?
Paying income tax, GST, or quarterly BAS straight to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) via standard credit card portals usually yields 0 points on most major bank cards, or attracts standard card surcharges with heavily reduced earn rates.
Use our live calculator to test fees vs point value across Sniip, B2Bpay, and RewardPay.
Open Live Points Calculator →Why Paying Direct Often Fails
Most Australian credit card issuers classify the ATO under government merchant category codes (MCC 9311), which reduces earn rates to 0 or 0.5 points per dollar. Third-party payment intermediaries (such as Sniip, B2Bpay, and RewardPay) process the payment as a commercial bill-payment transaction, preserving full reward points.
Platform Rates for ATO Tax Payments
| Platform | Accepted Cards | Typical Fee (inc. GST) | Points Preserved? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sniip | Amex, Visa, Mastercard | 1.50% (Visa/MC), 1.99%+GST tiered (Amex) | Yes (Full earn) |
| pay.com.au | Amex, Visa, Mastercard | 1.10% (Visa/MC), 1.925% (Amex) | Yes (Business only) |
| B2Bpay | Amex, Visa, Mastercard | From 1.45% (Visa/MC), 2.42% (Amex) | Yes + B2B Bonus points |
The Golden Rule: Cost-Per-Point vs Break-Even
Never pay a surcharge unless the value of the points earned exceeds the fee. If a platform charges a 1.5% fee on a $20,000 BAS bill ($300 fee), and you earn 25,000 Qantas points, your cost per point is 1.20 cents. If you redeem points for business class flights (typically valued at 1.8¢–2.2¢), the transaction generates net positive value.