If you lodge quarterly, which most sole traders do, your Business Activity Statement is due on 28 October, 28 February, 28 April and 28 July. Those dates are the same every year. Lodging online can earn you an extra two weeks, and lodging through a registered agent can earn you more, but not in the February quarter, which already includes an extension. If a due date falls on a weekend or a public holiday, you have until the next business day.
Quarterly BAS due dates
| Quarter | Period | Due date | Agent concession |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarter 1 | July, August, September | 28 October | Yes, if lodged by a registered agent |
| Quarter 2 | October, November, December | 28 February | No. The date already includes a one-month extension |
| Quarter 3 | January, February, March | 28 April | Yes, if lodged by a registered agent |
| Quarter 4 | April, May, June | 28 July | Yes, if lodged by a registered agent |
The due date printed on your own statement is the one that governs. If it differs from the table above, yours wins, because the ATO adjusts for weekends, public holidays and any concession already applied to your account.
Why is the December quarter due in February?
Because the ATO already moved it. The October to December quarter would normally be due on 28 January, which falls in the middle of the summer shutdown, so the standard date carries a built-in one-month extension to 28 February.
That has a consequence people miss: there is no further agent concession for quarter 2. The other three quarters get extra time if a registered tax or BAS agent lodges for you. This one does not, because the extension is already in the published date. If you have an agent and you assume every quarter gets the same treatment, February is the one where that assumption costs you a late lodgment.
The two ways to get more time
Lodging online
If you lodge your quarterly BAS online, you may be eligible for an extra two weeks to lodge and pay. It is a concession with conditions attached rather than an automatic right, and it applies to the quarterly cycle. It is one of the better reasons to lodge through Online services rather than on paper, alongside the fact that the form arrives partly filled in.
Lodging through a registered agent
A registered tax or BAS agent lodges under a program with its own, later dates. You get the benefit by being on their client list before the quarter's lodgment date, not by engaging one the week it is due. As above, quarter 2 is excluded.
Both concessions move the payment date as well as the lodgment date, which is the part worth planning around. They do not move your PAYG instalment obligations onto a different schedule; those sit on the same statement.
Monthly and annual due dates
Quarterly is the default for small business, but it is not the only cycle.
- Monthly: due on the 21st day of the following month. A July BAS is due 21 August. You must report monthly if your GST turnover is $20 million or more, and you can choose to if it is under that.
- Annually: the annual GST return is due 31 October, with your income tax return. If you are not required to lodge a tax return, it is due 28 February after the annual tax period instead. This cycle is only open to you if you are voluntarily registered for GST and your turnover is under $75,000.
The annual option is the one most under-used by sole traders who registered for GST before they needed to. If you are below the threshold and registered by choice, reporting once a year instead of four times is a real saving in effort. Whether you should be registered at all is a separate question worth revisiting.
Changing your reporting cycle
Sole traders are treated differently here, and it is an odd rule. Other businesses can request a cycle change through Online services for business. A sole trader has to phone the ATO or apply in writing. Ask early in a lodgment period, because a request made late in one generally takes effect from the start of the next quarter or year. You are usually ineligible to change again within twelve months of the last change.
What happens if you lodge or pay late?
Two separate consequences, and they are worth separating because the fix is different.
- Lodging late can attract a failure to lodge penalty. It accrues per period the statement is overdue, and it applies whether or not you owe anything, so a nil BAS lodged late is still a late BAS.
- Paying late attracts the general interest charge, which compounds daily until the balance is cleared.
The practical conclusion is: lodge on time even if you cannot pay on time. Lodging is free and stops the first problem. If you cannot pay, contact the ATO before the due date to arrange a payment plan, which is a different conversation from the one you have after missing it. Extra time is also available where a natural disaster has affected you.
How to lodge, and what it takes
For a sole trader the usual route is ATO Online services, reached through myGov and linked to the ATO, where the statement is pre-filled with your details and the labels you have to complete. A registered agent can lodge on your behalf, and the paper form still exists if you have no practical way to lodge digitally.
The lodgment itself takes a few minutes. What takes the time is arriving at the figures, which is a bookkeeping job rather than a lodgment one. If your sales and expenses are already coded and your GST is already separated, filling in the labels on the form is a copy-across. If they are not, the quarter turns into a weekend, which is the actual reason BAS gets a reputation.
Two things make the difference over a year: reconciling as you go rather than at the end, and keeping the GST you have collected somewhere you will not spend it. GST collected is not income. It is money you are holding for the ATO, and treating it as turnover is how a BAS becomes a surprise.
Related reading
- What is a BAS?: what the form is and what goes in each label
- Do I need to register for GST?: whether you should be lodging one at all
- PAYG instalments: the other thing that lands on the same statement
- Cash vs accrual accounting: the reporting method behind the figures
- How much tax does a sole trader pay?: setting money aside for both
- How to invoice with GST: getting the GST line right at the source
Frequently asked questions
If you report quarterly, the standard dates are 28 October for July to September, 28 February for October to December, 28 April for January to March and 28 July for April to June. They are the same every year. If you report monthly, it is due on the 21st of the following month. The date printed on your own statement is the one that governs.
The October to December quarter would fall due on 28 January, in the middle of the summer shutdown, so the ATO builds a one-month extension into the standard date. That is why there is no further agent concession for quarter 2: the extension is already in the published date.
You may be eligible for an extra two weeks to lodge and pay your quarterly BAS if you lodge online. It is a concession with conditions rather than an automatic entitlement, so check that it applies to you before relying on it.
A failure to lodge penalty can apply, and it accrues for each period the statement is overdue whether or not you owe any money, so a nil BAS lodged late is still late. Paying late is separate and attracts the general interest charge, which compounds daily.
Lodge it anyway, on time, and contact the ATO before the due date to arrange a payment plan. Lodging is free and avoids the failure to lodge penalty, which means the only thing left to deal with is the payment. Contacting the ATO before the due date is a materially different conversation from doing it afterwards.
You have until the next business day to lodge and pay. The same applies where the due date falls on a public holiday, which is why the date shown on your own statement can differ by a day or two from the standard date in any given year.
Often yes, but sole traders have to phone the ATO or apply in writing rather than requesting it through Online services for business. Ask early in a lodgment period, because a late request usually takes effect from the start of the next quarter or year, and you are generally ineligible to change again within twelve months.
Sources
The quarterly, monthly and annual due dates, the two-week online lodgment concession, the quarter 2 exclusion and the rule that sole traders must phone or write to change reporting cycle come from the Australian Taxation Office. Dates and concessions can change, and the date on your own statement always governs, so confirm the current position at ato.gov.au or with a registered tax or BAS agent. Balaana is bookkeeping software, not a tax agent. This article is general information, not personal tax advice.