As a business owner, it’s vital that you know all the tax deadlines the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) sets throughout the year. From when to lodge your Business Activity Statements (BAS) and pay your Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) to when you lodge your income tax return, knowing these deadlines will help you remain compliant and avoid late fees and penalties.
Whether you use a skilled bookkeeper or handle your accounting needs yourself, there are tasks that must be done by these dates. So mark them in your calendar to ensure you never miss one. There are quite a few, so let’s dive in!
Business Activity Statements
You need to lodge your BAS forms either monthly, quarterly, or annually. Depending on the size of your business and your annual turnover, the ATO will let you know when your statements will be due.
| Monthly BAS | Quarterly Activity Statements lodged electronically | All other quarterly Activity Statements lodged in paper form | All quarterly Activity Statements lodged through a Tax or BAS Agent |
| Due on the 21 of the following month | July, August, September – due 28 October October, November, December – due 28 February January, February, March – due 28 April April, May, June – due 28 July | Quarter 1 (July–September) – due 28 October Quarter 2 (October–December) – due 28 February Quarter 3 (January-March) – due 28 April Quarter 4 (April–June) – due 28 July | Quarter 1 (July – September) – due 25 November Quarter 2 (October – December) – due 28 February Quarter 3 (January – March) – due 26 May Quarter 4 (April –June) – due 25 August |
Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT)
FBT is a tax employers pay on certain benefits they provide to staff. FBT can include provisions for employees’ families or other associates. These amounts may form part of their usual salary or wage. Alternatively, they may be considered an extra payment on top of the usual wage or salary. Either way, the ATO sees them as income and requires reporting on these amounts.
The Fringe Benefits year is different from the calendar and financial year. It runs annually between 1 April and 31 March. As a business owner, you must lodge and pay your FBT liability by the 21st of May. From 2021, the due date for FBT payments moved to the 25th of June for business owners who have a registered tax agent lodge their return electronically. If your tax agent lodges your return by paper, the due date for lodgement and payment is still the 21st of May.
Goods and Services Tax (GST)
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a tax of 10% on most goods and services sold within Australia. If your business earns over $75,000 annually, you must register for and collect the GST from your customers. You’ll need to pay the amount you’ve collected minus any GST credits you claim in your reporting period via your BAS.
To learn more about claiming GST credits, please visit our guide to GST credits for business owners. Otherwise, these are the key dates on which you’ll need to lodge and pay your GST:
| Date | Reporting |
| 28 Jul | Final date for GST quarter 4 (April- June) payment. If varying the instalment amount, this is also your lodgement due. |
| 21 Aug | Final date for eligible monthly GST reporters to elect to report GST annually. |
| 28 Oct | Final date for GST quarter 1 (July – September) payment. If varying the instalment amount, this is also your lodgement due. Final date for eligible quarterly GST reporters to elect to report GST annually. |
| 31 Oct | Annual GST return or Annual GST information report – lodgement and payment is due when your income tax return is due. |
| 28 Feb | Final date for GST quarter 2 (October – December) payment. If varying the instalment amount, this is also your lodgement due. This is also the final date for lodgement and payment, if required, of your annual GST or Annual GST Information Report. |
| 28 Apr | Final date for GST quarter 3 (January – March) payment. If varying the instalment amount, this is also your lodgement due. |
Pay As You Go (PAYG) withholding and instalments
As an employer, you’ll need to withhold a portion of the wage or salary of your employees, contractors, and company directors. You then pay this income tax to the ATO on their behalf. This is known as PAYG withholding. You may also need to withhold it from payments to other businesses if they don’t quote their Australian business number (ABN) to you.
You’ll need to report your PAYG on your BAS. Here are the dates to know about:
| Date | Reporting |
| 28 Jul | Final date for payment. If varying the instalment amount, this is also your lodgement deadline for Quarter 4 (April – June). You’ll need to finalise all your PAYG instalments before you lodge your tax return to receive the correct credit in your income tax assessment. |
| 21 Oct | Annual PAYG instalment notice final date for payment. |
| 28 Oct | Quarter 1 (July – September) instalment notices for payment. If varying the instalment amount, this is also your lodgement deadline. |
| 28 Feb | Quarter 2 (October – December) instalment notices for payment. If varying the instalment amount, this is also your lodgement deadline. |
| 28 Apr | Quarter 3 (January – March) instalment notices for payment. If varying the instalment amount, this is also your lodgement deadline. |
Super Guarantee
As an employer, you must pay into every employee’s superannuation account. The minimum you need to pay is known as the super guarantee (SG). As of 2024, the SG is 11% of an employee’s ordinary time earnings. You’ll need to report your super guarantee contributions every quarter.
| Date | Reporting |
| Quarter 1 | Due 28 October. If you do not pay the minimum super contributions, you must pay the SG charge and lodge a Superannuation Guarantee Charge Statement – Quarterly by 28 November. |
| Quarter 2 | Due 28 January. If you do not pay the minimum super contributions, you must pay the SG charge and lodge a Superannuation Guarantee Charge Statement – Quarterly by 28 February. |
| Quarter 3 | Due 28 April. If you do not pay the minimum super contributions, you must pay the SG charge and lodge a Superannuation Guarantee Charge Statement – Quarterly by 28 May. |
| Quarter 4 | Due 28 July. If you do not pay the minimum super contributions, you must pay the SG charge and lodge a Superannuation Guarantee Charge Statement – Quarterly by 28 August. |
Taxable Payments Annual Report (TPAR)
A TPAR is an industry-specific report for companies that need to let the ATO know about payments made to contractors. You’ll need:
- The contractor’s ABN
- Their business name and address
- The gross amount paid (including GST) over the financial year
- The total GST included in the gross amount
This report is due by the 28th of August each year.
You’ll generally need to file TPARs if your company uses:
- Building and construction services
- Cleaning services
- Courier or road freight services
- IT services
- Security, investigation or surveillance services
- Government entities
Tax deadlines for closely held trusts
If you’re the trustee of a closely held trust, you must use a TFN report to inform the ATO of the tax file numbers (TFNs) and other personal details quoted by beneficiaries of the trust.
Here are the tax deadlines you need to know about:
| Date | Reporting |
| Quarter 4 | April – June TFN report due 31 July |
| Quarter 1 | July – September TFN report due 31 October |
| Quarter 2 | October – December TFN report due 31 January |
| Quarter 3 | January – March TFN report due 30 April |
| 30 September | Annual TFN withholding report due |
| 28 October | Annual activity statement for the previous financial year due |
Income Tax Deadlines
Here are the key lodgement and payment dates for businesses and entities that balance on 30 June. They do not apply to entities that use a substituted accounting period.
| Date | Reporting |
| 31 October | Income tax lodgement due date for non-full assessment of company entities. Income tax payment date for companies that were taxable medium to large taxpayers in the immediate prior year and required to lodge by 31 October |
| 1 December | Lodgement due date for income tax returns for companies and trusts that were taxable medium to large business clients in the prior year and are not required to lodge earlier. |
| 15 January | Lodgement due date for income tax returns for companies, and trusts that were taxable medium to large business clients in the prior year and are not required to lodge earlier. |
| 28 February | Due date for tax medium to large trusts that were non-taxable in the latest year |
Staying Compliant with the ATO
Hopefully, this gives you clarity on the key tax deadlines you need to remember when reporting to the ATO. If you’re too busy to remember these dates, help is at hand. ITP’s business accountants can tailor their service to meet your needs. Whether you’re looking for one-off assistance or a bookkeeper to help you from one to five days a week, ITP can keep your business perfectly ATO-compliant. Phone 1800 367 487 or book online today.