ATO Lodgment Dates

Running a business comes with many different deadlines and dates that you need to remember. There are dates that you need to pay your employees, dates that payments to suppliers are due, dates of new product releases or business changes. The ATO also have a list of dates for lodging of different financial reports for your business. These are very important dates to remember and it is best to ensure that you are lodging each of them on time to avoid any issues with the ATO or possible costs being incurred.

Business Activity Statements (BAS)

You need to lodge your business activity statements to the ATO. The cycle in which you are lodging your BAS will depend on the GST turn over of the business.  If the GST turnover of the business is over $75,000 but under 20 million dollars annually that you need to lodge your BAS on a quarterly basis. You do not get to set your own ‘quarters’ and it is based on the requirements of the ATO. There is a deadline for the lodging of the previous quarters BAS statements. The lodgment can be done in a number of different ways including through your accountant, through the online portal or via paper lodgment.

The deadline details are below

Quarter Due date
1. July, August and September 28 October
2. October, November and December 28 February
3. January, February and March 28 April
4. April, May and June 28 July

As you can see the lodgment date is 28 days from the end of the quarter finishing.

Tax Returns

Each year your business needs to lodge a tax return, even if the business is running at a loss. Depending on the structure in which your business has been set up will determine the type of return that needs to be lodged. If your business is set up as a company that the company needs to lodge a tax return. If the business is set up as a sole trader you need to complete just your personal tax return with the business financial details included in it. For those that are set up with their own TFN such as a partnership and trust you need to lodge both the personal tax returns and either a partnership or trust return as well.

If you are lodging a personal, trust or partnership tax return you are required to do so by 28th October following the end of the financial year. If you are lodging a tax return for a company you have until the 28th February in order to complete your return. You can have the October deadline extended if you are lodging through a registered tax agent.

Superannuation

Superannuation is a requirement for businesses to pay to employees who reach the required employment status. You need to pay your superannuation on a quarterly basis, although you can choose to pay it weekly or monthly if you prefer.

Superannuation needs to be paid and recorded through superstream which is an online portal.

The deadlines for superannuation payments are 28 days following the end of the quarter. The quarters are set up the same as the quarters for your BAS statements to be lodged – making it that little bit easier to remember.

It may seem a little daunting however with organization you should have no trouble keeping up with the dates. It is a good idea to set reminders in your phone or calendar in the weeks has the different deadlines so that you can be aware of them coming up and ensure that you have everything in order ready for it. If you are unable to complete your lodgment in time it is a good idea to call the ATO and speak with a member of the team to discuss your options.

Each of these lodgments can be done yourself or you can choose to have your accountant look over them first and then complete the lodgment for you.

Happy Lodging!

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