BAS Obligations

 

 

The Business Activity Statement (BAS) is a document issued by the ATO on either monthly, quarterly or annual basis, summarizing the amounts of GST payable and receivable for the relevant period and a range of other taxes including PAYG withholding and ABN withholding.

 

How is it lodged?

 

Your BAS can be lodged either:

  • Online (via business portal) ,

     

  • through your accountant,

     

  • via mail,

     

  • over the phone
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When is it due?

 

You can lodge your BAS either :

  • monthly (If you have a GST turnover of $20 million or more, you must report and pay GST monthly, and lodge your activity statement electronically). In this instance you need to lodge by the 21st day of every month for the period just passed,

     

  • quarterly, the 28th of the following months : October, February, April, and July. (In the case of a lodgment/payment falling due on a weekend or public holiday, it is due by the next business day), or

     

  • annually (If you are voluntarily registered for GST and you have not made an election to pay GST by installments, you can choose to report and pay or claim a refund of GST annually). sent out after the fourth quarter BAS, and needs to be lodged by either the 28 February, or before your yearly income tax return is due, whichever comes first.
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What happens if you don’t submit your BAS in time?

 

If you don’t submit your BAS on time, you may be subject to a failure to lodge (FTL) penalty which is a notice issued by the Tax Office. The Tax office may remit the penalty if your history with the Tax Office is favourable. If you are late in lodging your BAS, for every 28 day period (or part thereof) that you failed to lodge you can be charged $110; subject to a maximum charge of $550. It should be noted that the penalty is doubled if your business turns over more than $1 million but less than $20 million, and x5 if you turnover more than $20 million.

 

What happens if your BAS has errors?

 

For genuine mistakes the minimum charge would be an allocation of the interest on the underpaid tax or extra credit received. In instances where the error is due to carelessness or purposefully ignoring the law, you will be charged a penalty based on a percentage of the shortfall amount in question with the exact percentage charged will be dependent on the reason for the incorrect amount.

 

 

How do refunds work?

 

The usual outcome of a BAS being processed is either a refund (from the ATO), or you will owe them money (in relation to your tax collections). When it comes to your refund, sometimes the ATO will keep some or all of it. Their basis for this can include:

 

  • You have a previous outstanding tax debt owing to the ATO,

     

  • Information provided in your BAS needs clarifying,

     

  • You failed to nominate a bank for the payment to go to, or the information you gave the ATO regarding that account was incorrect,

     

  • You forgot to lodge one of your BAS

 

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Relevant internal Resources

 

Useful External Links...

 

Relevant Client Services

Initial Establishment , Setup & Train-
ing

 

  • Bookeeping / Recordkeeping
  • Systems implementation and training
  • BAS Lodgement
  • Advice or assistance as neccesary
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