Australian Tax MCP
Cited Australian tax answers from 34,500+ ATO documents, legislation and public rulings.
Australian Tax MCP Server
The Australian tax knowledge base for AI agents.
Connect your AI agent to 34,500+ ATO documents (guidance, legislation, and public rulings) and get cited answers to the tax questions you'd otherwise pay your accountant to answer.
ato-mcp.com.au · Tool reference · Changelog
Quick start
Add the MCP Server to the client you already use.
Standard config works with most tools that run stdio servers:
{
"mcpServers": {
"ato": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "ato-mcp"]
}
}
}
npm install -g ato-mcp # optional, npx works without installing
For hosts that natively support remote MCP servers, connect your client directly:
Claude Code
claude mcp add --scope user --transport http ato https://api.ato-mcp.com.au/mcp
Then run /mcp inside Claude Code, select ato, and choose Authenticate.
Your browser opens to sign in.
Codex CLI
codex mcp add ato --url https://api.ato-mcp.com.au/mcp
codex mcp login ato
codex mcp login opens your browser to sign in.
Gemini CLI
gemini mcp add --scope user --transport http ato https://api.ato-mcp.com.au/mcp
Gemini CLI detects the auth challenge on first use and opens your browser automatically.
VS Code (Copilot)
Or from the command line:
code --add-mcp '{"name":"ato","type":"http","url":"https://api.ato-mcp.com.au/mcp"}'
VS Code prompts to authenticate in your browser when the server first connects.
Cursor
Or add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"ato": {
"url": "https://api.ato-mcp.com.au/mcp"
}
}
}
Cursor shows a "Needs login" prompt on the server. Click it to sign in via your browser.
Windsurf
Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"ato": {
"type": "streamable-http",
"serverUrl": "https://api.ato-mcp.com.au/mcp"
}
}
}
If Windsurf doesn't open a sign-in window, use the standard npm config at the top of this section instead; it handles the browser sign-in itself.
Claude.ai / Claude Desktop
- Open Settings → Connectors
- Add custom connector
- Paste
https://api.ato-mcp.com.au/mcp - Click Connect and sign in when the browser window appears
Available on paid Claude plans. Claude Desktop can alternatively use the standard
npm config at the top of this section in claude_desktop_config.json.
ChatGPT
- Settings → Apps & Connectors → enable Developer Mode
- New connector → paste
https://api.ato-mcp.com.au/mcp - Choose OAuth and sign in when prompted
Requires a plan with connector support.
Other (OpenCode, Zed, etc)
Use the standard npm config at the top of this section. This package bridges any stdio host to the hosted server with the same browser sign-in.
Full instructions: ato-mcp.com.au/install
What's in the corpus
Everything the ATO publishes, in one searchable place, refreshed monthly:
| Source | Contents |
|---|---|
| ato.gov.au | 23,000+ guidance pages, forms & instructions, occupation guides, myTax help |
| Legislation | ITAA 1997, ITAA 1936 and the GST Act: 6,468 sections + 2,310 statutory definitions (point-in-time aware) |
| ATO public rulings | 4,900+ rulings across 10 types (TR, TD, GSTR, GSTD, PR, CR, LCR, PCG, MT, FTR), withdrawn rulings flagged |
| Cross-references | 64,217 links between rulings and legislation |
| Thresholds | Time-keyed values (instant asset write-off, GST registration, CGT discount, super caps, …) |
34,500+ documents (286,000+ searchable passages), refreshed monthly and served from the hosted platform.
The 13 tools
Workflows are the reason this exists:
"Here's my bank transactions, what can I claim this year? How do I write off my new laptop? Is anything in my return risky?"
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
deduction_discovery | Surfaces every deduction category that plausibly applies to your profile: a curated, cited taxonomy branched across sole traders, companies, trusts, partnerships, investors and SMSF members |
depreciation_helper | Deterministic prime-cost / diminishing-value / instant-write-off / small-business-pool / Div 43 schedules for any asset, with the live IAWO threshold |
bas_prep_checklist | A tiered, cited BAS checklist for your reporting period: which labels apply, what evidence to gather, the gotchas |
audit_risk_check | Flags the patterns the ATO scrutinises in a draft return (WRE vs income, rental anomalies, unreported crypto, …) with risk bands and the guidance behind each flag |
Every workflow tool returns structured data and resolvable ATO citations, never advice in its own voice.
Personal context: get_user_facts, 25 facts captured once at onboarding
(business structure, GST registration, investments, super type, residency, …)
so the agent never re-asks.
Retrieval: search (keyword and semantic retrieval), get_chunks,
get_doc, get_doc_anchors (cross-references), get_definition (statutory,
point-in-time), get_threshold (time-keyed values), fetch (live page fetch),
stats.
See the full tool reference.
Disclaimer
This service is provided as information infrastructure, not tax advice. It does not consider your full financial circumstances and it is not a registered tax agent service. Confidence ratings and risk bands are guides, not professional judgement. Verify material decisions with a registered tax agent.
ato-mcp is an independent service. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Australian Taxation Office. ATO content remains subject to ATO publication terms. Legislation text is reproduced from the Federal Register of Legislation under its open licensing.
See the Terms of Service & Privacy Policy for more details.
License AGPL-3.0 © William Laverty
The hosted platform and corpus are proprietary. Commercial licensing available on request.
Installation
Source-derived launch command. Check the maintainer’s required arguments and credentials before running:
npx -y ato-mcpSet up in your AI client
Merge this template into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. Keep existing servers. Add any arguments, credentials, and permissions required by the maintainer; this template has not been install-tested.
{
"mcpServers": {
"au-com-ato-mcp-ato-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"ato-mcp"
]
}
}
}Restart Claude Desktop completely for changes to take effect. Confirm the server appears connected in the client’s tool list, then try a read-only example from its documentation.
Claude Desktop setup referencePackage
Compatible MCP Clients
Australian Tax MCP works with any MCP-compatible client. Copy the config snippet from the Configuration section above and add it to the file shown for your client, then restart the application.
- Claude Desktop
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.jsonRestart Claude Desktop completely for changes to take effect. - Cursor
~/.cursor/mcp.jsonRestart Cursor for changes to take effect. - VS Code
.vscode/mcp.jsonReload VS Code window for changes to take effect. - Windsurf
~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.jsonRestart Windsurf for changes to take effect. - Claude Code
.mcp.jsonSave at the project root, then start Claude Code in that project and review the MCP server approval prompt. Keep real credentials out of shared files.