As a business owner, you have certain obligations towards the government, such as paying your taxes. A single company may need to pay several types of taxes, though, so it also needs to lodge a statement detailing its tax obligations. This report is called a Business Activity Statement (BAS) and every business registered for Goods and Services Tax (GST) is required to submit on a monthly or quarterly basis.
Your BAS details:
- GST
- Pay-as-You-Go (PAYG) instalments
- PAYG withholding tax
- Fringe benefits tax (FBT) instalments
- Luxury car tax
- Wine equalisation tax
- Fuel tax credits, etc.
Because it involves various types of taxes, it could be daunting to get all the documents together and organised. Even if a BAS could be submitted online, by phone or by mail, the complexity of the task could mean that you might not be able to make the submission deadline.
You can avoid BAS fines and penalties by using accounting software such as Xero to complete your statement on time. Here are other things to keep in mind if you want to submit your BAS correctly and promptly:
Remember Your Due Dates
The ATO has a schedule for when you need to lodge your statements for each period, so even just familiarising yourself with the relevant ones and putting it down on your calendars is a big step in the right direction.
- Monthly: You’ll need to submit your statement on the 21st day of every month.
- Quarterly: Your BAS should be lodged on the 28th of October, February, April and July.
- Annually (GST return, sent out after the 4th quarter BAS): You’ll need to lodge it by either the 28th of February or before your business’ yearly income tax return is due, whichever comes first.
Note: The ATO will send you your BAS form. It will have the lodging and payment due dates displayed on it for easier reference. If your due date falls on a weekend or public holiday, you can lodge and pay on the following business day. Additionally, if you require more time to prepare (quarterly only) the statement, you can access extended due dates with the help of a registered BAS or Tax Agent. They will be able to get concessions beyond the initial 2-week deferral period available to quarterly statement lodgements.
Complete Your BAS
Once your form is available (about two weeks before the end of your reporting period), you will have to accomplish particular fields depending on your business registrations and whether you’re completing a monthly or quarterly BAS. You can accomplish it online or using one of the ATO’s pre-printed materials.
The following are also useful to do the form properly:
- Cross-check your records against your BAS figures for any discrepancies
- Go through your sales and purchases again and make sure they’re reported accurately (all of the business’ financial transactions were included, the records for sales and expenses are for the same dates as the BAS reporting period and that all items are coded properly if you are using accounting software) and in the correct period
- Accomplish only the sections that apply to your business (leave boxes blank if they don’t apply to your business)
- Remember that you can only enter whole dollars in the form. Also, the form only accepts positive values
Lodge Your Statement
You have a number of options to choose from on how to lodge your BAS. It usually just falls to whichever is the most convenient option. You can lodge your statement:
- With the help of a registered tax or BAS agent
- Electronically via the Business Portal or using Standard Business Reporting (SBR) software
- By mail
There are other methods available to you if your business qualifies:
- If you are a sole trader, you can file your BAS online through your myGov account which is linked to the ATO
- If your statement is nil, you can lodge your BAS by phone
Note: Lodging your statement and paying your taxes isn’t where the story ends. You’ll have to keep a copy of the documents for a certain period of time to meet the ATO’s record-keeping requirements.
Your Finance Department Can Help
If you don’t have the time or simply don’t want to be burdened with the situation, you can appoint a tax agent to prepare and lodge your Business Activity Statement on your business’ behalf. Your Finance Department provides tax services in Brisbane that will see your needs are met.
Call us today.
