# Plan an Australian PAYG tax reserve

Plan what to set aside for PAYG instalments from the amount or rate the ATO gave you, with the share of income to put aside from today, the due dates and the risk of varying an instalment too low.

Canonical: https://aroai.com/tools/au_tax_reserve_plan/

## Tool reference

MCP tool ID: `au_tax_reserve_plan`. Availability: Live. Country: Australia.

Credit use: 1 credit.

## Input schema

```json
{
  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "financial_year": {
      "type": "string",
      "enum": [
        "2025-26",
        "2026-27"
      ]
    },
    "as_of_date": {
      "description": "Planning date for the forward reserve; defaults to today.",
      "type": "string",
      "pattern": "^\\d{4}-\\d{2}-\\d{2}$"
    },
    "method": {
      "type": "string",
      "enum": [
        "amount",
        "rate"
      ],
      "description": "Use the option printed on the ATO activity statement or instalment notice."
    },
    "ato_issued_amount": {
      "type": "number",
      "minimum": 0,
      "maximum": 100000000
    },
    "ato_issued_rate": {
      "type": "number",
      "minimum": 0,
      "maximum": 1
    },
    "instalment_frequency": {
      "type": "string",
      "enum": [
        "monthly",
        "quarterly"
      ]
    },
    "expected_receipts": {
      "minItems": 1,
      "maxItems": 200,
      "type": "array",
      "items": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
          "received_on": {
            "type": "string",
            "pattern": "^\\d{4}-\\d{2}-\\d{2}$"
          },
          "amount": {
            "type": "number",
            "minimum": 0,
            "maximum": 100000000
          }
        },
        "required": [
          "received_on",
          "amount"
        ],
        "additionalProperties": false
      }
    },
    "expected_income_per_period": {
      "description": "Expected receipt income excluding GST for each monthly or quarterly period; use dated expected_receipts if as_of_date falls inside a period.",
      "type": "number",
      "minimum": 0,
      "maximum": 100000000
    },
    "expected_periods": {
      "description": "Number of undated receipt periods; must match the selected monthly or quarterly frequency.",
      "type": "integer",
      "minimum": 1,
      "maximum": 12
    },
    "instalments_paid": {
      "maxItems": 12,
      "type": "array",
      "items": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
          "period_end": {
            "type": "string",
            "pattern": "^\\d{4}-\\d{2}-\\d{2}$"
          },
          "amount": {
            "type": "number",
            "minimum": 0,
            "maximum": 100000000
          }
        },
        "required": [
          "period_end",
          "amount"
        ],
        "additionalProperties": false
      }
    },
    "plans_to_vary": {
      "type": "boolean"
    }
  },
  "required": [
    "financial_year",
    "method",
    "instalment_frequency"
  ],
  "additionalProperties": false
}
```

## Example input

```json
{
  "financial_year": "2026-27",
  "method": "amount",
  "instalment_frequency": "quarterly",
  "ato_issued_amount": 4200
}
```

## Usage notes

- Uses the amount or rate the ATO issued; it is never inferred.
- Income forecasts exclude GST.
- Shows the general interest charge risk when a varied instalment falls below 85% of the actual liability.