The Business Activity Statement (BAS) is a pre-printed document issued by the ATO on either a monthly or quarterly basis. Businesses use a BAS to report and pay a number of tax obligations, including GST, PAYG instalments and withholding, fringe benefits tax and ABN withholding. Activity statements are also used by individuals who need to pay quarterly PAYG instalments. Lodging and paying your BAS has now been made even easier with the option to pay via credit card. Your BAS can be lodged either:
• Online
• Through your accountant
• Via the mail
• Over the phone
• At Australia Post
You can now pay your BAS via credit card, either online or at Australia Post. This is great news because it can take away from the stress of making payments on due dates which don’t suit your business.
Important Dates
You can lodge your BAS either monthly, quarterly, or annually. The following are important dates you need to know in relation to the lodgement and payment of your BAS:
• Monthly: The 21st day of every month for the period just gone.
• 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.)
• Annually: (pertaining to GST Return): Is sent out after the fourth quarter BAS, and needs to be lodged by either 28 February, or before your yearly income tax return is due, whichever comes first.
If you don’t submit your BAS on time, you may be subject to a failure to lodge (FTL) penalty. 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; however, you can not incur charges that exceed $550. Note: the penalty is doubled if your business turns over more than $1 million but less than $20 million, and is 5 times higher if you turnover more than $20 million.
If the BAS you submit contains information that is not correct, the least you will be charged – in the case of a genuine mistake, is general interest on the underpaid tax or extra credit received. If however, the mistake was attributable to carelessness or purposefully ignoring the law, you will be charged a penalty based on a percentage of the shortfall amount in question – the exact percentage charged will be dependent on the reason for the incorrect amount.
Here at The Quinn Group our experienced team of Accountants and Tax Agents can assist you with all of your BAS queries. For more information with relation to BAS, or for any other Business tax enquiries submit an online enquiry or call us on 1300 QUINNS (784 667) or on +61 2 9223 9166 to book an appointment.
