Completing and submitting your BAS (Business Activity Statement) is one of your prime duties as a business owner. Just like other administrative and reporting tasks, if you are not organised, you are going to have a hard time preparing and submitting your BAS.
However, if you keep up with your accounts throughout the year, it should be quite easy for you. So, here is this blog to help you know everything when it comes to lodging BAS in Australia. But before moving on to lodging, let us understand what BAS is.
What is a Business Activity Statement (BAS)?
A Business Activity Statement (BAS) is a key reporting requirement for businesses in Australia. It is used by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for collecting information about the tax obligations of a business, especially in relation to:
- GST (Goods and services tax)
- PAYG instalments
- PAYG withholding tax
- Employee income tax
- FBT (Fringe benefits tax) instalments
- Luxury car tax
- Wine equalisation tax
Who needs to lodge a BAS?
A business that is registered for GST has to lodge a BAS. You will need to register for GST and submit a Business Activity Statement if:
- You have an annual business income of $75,000 or more in a year or $150,000 or more for a not-for-organisation
- You give taxi travel as a part of your business (transporting passengers by taxi or limousine for a fare)
- You wish to claim fuel tax credits for your business
You will not have to register for GST if your annual income is below $75,000 or $150,000 for not-for-profit organisations. However, you can register if you wish to.
When you are registered for ABN (Australian business number) and GST, the ATO will automatically send you a BAS at the time of lodgement.
Information you may require
You will have to keep a record showing how much GST you collected on sales and how much of it was paid on purchases. Although you will not need to submit tax invoices at the time of lodging your BAS, the ATO may wish to see them later. So, it is better to always keep them on hand.
Since your BAS may also be utilised for other tax reasons, you may also have to provide extra information regarding your business, employees and income. You can reach out to the official website of the ATO to know such requirements about your situation.
When do you need to lodge your BAS?
On each Business Activity Statement, the due date for lodging as well as paying your BAS is displayed. How often you need to complete a BAS and when it must be submitted are dependent on how much business you are doing. How is that measured? By your annual turnover.
Let us look at the different deadlines as per the annual turnover of a business.
Businesses with more than $20 million annual turnover
Businesses that have more than $20 million annual turnover will need to lodge their Business Activity Statements Monthly. The deadline for submitting a BAS, in this case, is within 21 days of month closing.
Businesses with less than $20 million annual turnover
For businesses with a $20 million annual turnover, quarterly BAS lodgement is required. There are different deadlines for each quarter.
- July to September or Quarter 1 BAS is due on 28 October
- October to December or Quarter 2 BAS is due on 28 February
- January to March or Quarter 3 BAS is due on 28 April
- April to June or Quarter 4 BAS is due on 28 July
If your annual turnover is less than $10 million, you might be able to lodge annually. However, you will still need to pay a quarterly instalment of the GST (Goods and Services Tax) you owe.
Businesses with less than $75,000 annual turnover or $150,000 for non-profits
In this case, you will need to lodge your BAS Annually, and you need to submit it with your income tax return.
If you lodge your BAS annually, do it by 31 October.
How can you lodge your BAS?
Business owners have multiple choices regarding the lodgement of their activity statements. The majority of businesses who lodge their own BAS prefer to do it online. Online lodgement gives them an extra two weeks to lodge and pay.
In case you lodge your BAS online, you can use any of the following:
The MyGov portal
An individual or sole trader can lodge, view and revise your activity statement through a MyGov account. First, you will need to sign in at www.my.gov.au. After that, select ‘tax’ and ‘activity statements’ from the menu.
The ATO’s Business Portal
You can use the ATO’s business portal if you are not an individual or sole trader.
Online accounting software
There are a couple of Online software that allow you to lodge your BAS from your accounting portal directly. Xero and MYOB are two such software. As long as your accounting software is SBR (Standard Business Reporting) enabled, it can be used for BAS lodgement.
What if I submit my BAS Late?
In case lodging and paying your BAS by the due date is difficult for you, you must contact the ATO as soon as possible. They might help with setting up a payment plan that may allow you to pay in instalments instead of paying all at once.
However, you must remember that you will still need to lodge your activity statement on time, although you are not able to pay by the due date.
Penalties
A failure to lodge (FTL) on time penalty may apply if you do not lodge and pay your BAS on time. You will be warned by the ATO in writing or by phone if you fail to lodge your activity statement. If you do not rectify this situation, the ATO will send you a penalty notice containing your penalty details.
If you want some help with BAS or need professional advice on your tax matters, reach out to Clear Tax Accountants today.
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