If you lodge your own tax return, it is due by 31 October. That covers the income year from 1 July to 30 June just gone. A registered tax agent can lodge it for you much later, but only if you are on their books before 31 October, so the extension is something you have to arrange in advance rather than claim afterwards.
For the 2025–26 return, 31 October 2026 falls on a Saturday. The ATO's rule is that when 31 October lands on a weekend, the due date moves to the next business day, which makes the real deadline Monday 2 November 2026. Every date on this page was read from ato.gov.au on 21 September 2026.
The dates, in one table
| What | When | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Income year covered | 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026 | Everyone |
| Lodge it yourself | Mon 2 Nov 2026, because 31 Oct is a Saturday | Self-lodgers |
| Engage a tax agent by | 31 Oct 2026 | Anyone wanting the agent extension |
| Agent lodgment program | Generally up to 15 May 2027 | Agent clients, date set by the agent |
| Pay a bill from a self-lodged return | 21 Nov 2026 | Lodged between 1 Jul and 31 Oct |
Does a sole trader lodge a different return?
No, and this is the part that confuses people who have just started. A sole trader does not lodge a separate business tax return. You lodge the ordinary individual tax return, and your business goes inside it: the supplementary section, plus the business and professional items schedule. Your business profit and your salary, dividends and rental income all land on the same return and are taxed together at individual rates.
There is no separate company to file for, which is why there is no such thing as a sole trader tax rate.
Do I still have to lodge if the business made nothing?
Yes. The ATO is explicit about this: you need to lodge a tax return if you carried on a business, even if the business did not earn any income. There is no threshold for business income, and the tax-free threshold does not get you out of it either. If you had an ABN and you were trading, a return is due whether you made $90,000 or nothing at all.
This catches people who started something that did not work. A quiet year still produces a return, and a loss recorded properly this year is worth having on file. Doing nothing is the expensive option, because failure to lodge attracts a penalty whether or not there was any tax to pay.
How does a tax agent change the date?
Registered tax agents have their own lodgment program with the ATO and can lodge client returns well after 31 October. For most individual clients that runs through to 15 May of the following year, which is roughly six and a half extra months.
The condition is the bit that trips people up. In the ATO's own words, if you are using a tax agent for the first time, or a different one from last year, you need to contact them before 31 October to be part of their lodgment program. Ringing an agent in February does not retrospectively buy you the extension. By then you are simply late, and the agent is helping you catch up.
Your actual date also depends on your lodgment history. If you have prior year returns outstanding, the concession usually does not apply and the date snaps back. Your agent will tell you which date is yours, and you can check that anyone claiming to be a tax agent is registered on the Tax Practitioners Board register at tpb.gov.au. Only a registered agent may charge a fee to prepare your return.
When do I actually have to pay?
Lodging and paying are two different dates, and a refund is not the only possible outcome for a sole trader. Nobody has been withholding tax from your business income during the year, so a bill is the normal result rather than a surprise.
- Lodged yourself between 1 July and 31 October: if it results in a tax bill, payment is due by 21 November.
- Assessment issued after 31 October: payment is due 21 days after the assessment is issued.
- Lodged late: the payment date is still 21 November, and interest can apply to anything still owing after it. Lodging late does not push the payment date out, which is the strongest practical argument for lodging on time even when you cannot pay yet.
If the bill is more than you can pay at once, the ATO offers payment plans, and setting one up is a great deal better than going quiet. A bill also tends to mean the ATO enters you into PAYG instalments for the following year, so the year after a good year is the one to plan for.
Should I lodge on 1 July?
Tempting, and usually a mistake. Employers, banks, health funds and government agencies report your data to the ATO on their own schedule, and myTax pre-fills from it. Lodge before that data lands and you are filling the form in from memory.
Contractors have a sharper version of this problem. If you provide services in the taxable payments reporting system, the businesses that paid you report those amounts in a taxable payments annual report, and the ATO now pre-fills that into your return. Most of that data only becomes available after 28 August. Lodging in July or early August means it may not be there yet, which leads to omissions, an amendment later, and sometimes repaying a refund you have already spent.
Late August onwards is the practical window. That still leaves two comfortable months before the deadline.
What to have ready before you start
- Your bank BSB and account number, for the refund.
- Income statements from any employer, which appear in myGov.
- Your business income for the year, and the expenses you are claiming against it.
- Receipts and statements backing those expenses.
- Your spouse's income, if you have one, and private health cover details.
- Any PAYG instalments you already paid during the year, which are credited back to you.
The business half of that list is the half nobody has ready in October. If your income and expenses are already categorised as you go, the return is an evening rather than a weekend. Our guide to what a sole trader can claim covers the deductions most people miss, and the records the ATO expects behind them.
This is not your BAS
Two different obligations, two different calendars, and mixing them up is common. Your tax return is annual and reports profit. Your BAS is usually quarterly and reports the GST you collected and paid. Being registered for GST does not change your tax return due date, and lodging your BAS on time does not lodge your return. The BAS calendar is a separate page.
Related reading
Frequently asked questions
If you lodge your own return it is due by 31 October, covering the income year from 1 July to 30 June. When 31 October falls on a weekend the ATO moves the due date to the next business day. In 2026 that means Monday 2 November, because 31 October 2026 is a Saturday.
Only through a registered tax agent, and only if you engaged them before 31 October. Agents have their own lodgment program that generally runs to 15 May for individual clients. If you contact an agent after 31 October you are already late, and the concession does not apply retrospectively. Prior year returns outstanding will also remove it.
No. A sole trader lodges the ordinary individual tax return, including the supplementary section and the business and professional items schedule. Business profit is taxed together with any salary, dividends or rental income at individual rates, on one return.
Yes. The ATO requires a return if you carried on a business, even if it earned no income, because there is no threshold for business income. The tax-free threshold does not exempt you. A quiet year still produces a return, and failure to lodge can attract a penalty even when no tax is owing.
If you lodged your own return between 1 July and 31 October and it produced a bill, payment is due by 21 November. If the assessment issues after 31 October, payment is due 21 days after it is issued. Lodging late does not move the payment date, and interest can apply to amounts still owing after 21 November.
Lodge as soon as you can. The ATO can apply a failure to lodge penalty, and interest accrues on unpaid amounts. If you cannot pay the full amount, a payment plan is available and is far better than not lodging. The penalty is for not lodging, so lodging without being able to pay yet is still the better position.
Usually not. Employers, banks, health funds and government agencies report your data on their own schedule and myTax pre-fills from it. If you are a contractor in the taxable payments reporting system, most of that data only becomes available after 28 August. Lodging earlier risks omissions, an amendment, and repaying part of a refund. Late August onwards is the practical window.
Sources
Lodgment and payment due dates, the weekend rule, the tax agent engagement condition, the business schedule a sole trader lodges and the taxable payments pre-fill timing were all read from ato.gov.au on 21 September 2026. Due dates are stable year to year, but your own date can differ if you have prior year returns outstanding or your circumstances are unusual, so confirm yours with the ATO or a registered tax agent. Balaana is bookkeeping software, not a tax agent. This article is general information, not personal tax advice.