Business Activity Statement Overview

Business Activity Statement

There are two types of Activity Statements: BAS for taxpayers registered for GST and IAS for those not registered for GST.
BAS forms are tailored to different entity types and reporting requirements.
Sole traders typically use BAS A for quarterly GST, PAYG withholding, and PAYG installments.
Businesses with no PAYG installments but with GST and PAYG withholding use BAS F.
ATO provides prefilled BAS with details like taxpayer’s name, address, document ID, ABN, form due date, payment due date, and GST accounting method.
Tax agents download prefilled BAS using machine-to-machine credentials.

Reporting Obligations

Businesses registered for GST report their obligations using BAS.
BAS covers:
- Goods and Services Tax (GST)
- Luxury Car Tax and Wine Equalisation Tax
- PAYG Instalments
- PAYG Withholding
- FBT Instalments
- Fuel Tax Credits

Checking Taxpayer Registrations

Tax agents access ATO online services for professionals (https://onlineservices.ato.gov.au/onlineservices/) to check registrations.
Steps:
- Select client
- Select Profile tab
- Select Tax registrations
This information is used for adding or updating registrations, like GST or PAYG installments.

BAS Lodgment

Each taxpayer receives one BAS per reporting period, even if they have monthly and quarterly obligations.
Electronic lodgment options:
- MyGov (individuals and sole traders)
- Online services for business
- SBR-enabled software
- Tax or BAS agent
BAS can be lodged by mail using the pre-addressed envelope or sent to:
- Australian Taxation Office
- Locked Bag 1936
- ALBURY NSW 1936
"Nil" BAS (nothing to report) can be advised to the ATO automated phone service at 13 72 26.
Large PAYG remitters and those with GST turnover of $20 million or more must lodge electronically.
ATO presumes electronic lodgment if the taxpayer indicated using the ATO's e-commerce system during registration.
Payments owed to the ATO are due within 14 days of lodging the completed BAS.
ATO pays interest on refunds not paid within 14 days.
Interest received is taxable in the year it is received.
Amounts owed to the ATO after the due date incur a general interest charge (GIC).
BAS requires a signature (digitally for online lodgment) and date by the authorized person, which includes:
- Individual in business
- Partner in a partnership
- Director or public officer of a company
- Trustee of a trust
- Office holder of an association
Tax agents sign a required declaration.
The taxpayer must provide a written declaration to the tax agent, confirming the information's accuracy and authorizing the agent to lodge the form.

Lodgment Dates

Monthly reporting for GST registered enterprises or solely for PAYG withholding requires lodgment by the 21st of the following month.
Quarterly GST tax periods or quarterly PAYG installments have these due dates:
- Quarter 1 (30 September): 28 October
- Quarter 2 (31 December): 28 February
- Quarter 3 (31 March): 28 April
- Quarter 4 (30 June): 28 July
Lodgment date extensions are possible if lodging through a tax agent.
Dual GST and PAYG installments (special professionals or primary producers) only need to file statements for the third and fourth installments, unless they are medium or large PAYG withholders.
If the due date falls on a weekend or public holiday, the lodgment can be made on the following business day.

GST Reporting and Payment

Methods:
- Report and pay GST monthly
- Report and pay GST quarterly
- Report annually and pay GST quarterly
- Report annually and pay a GST installment quarterly
- Report and pay GST annually
Businesses with voluntary GST registration and annual turnover below:
- $75,000 for businesses or
- $150,000 for non-profit bodies can elect to report GST annually, provided that they have not elected to pay GST by installments and have no outstanding activity statements.
The election must be made in the approved form by:
- 21 August for monthly GST reporters
- 28 October for quarterly GST reporters
- Six months from GST registration date for new registrants
There's no need to re-elect each year, but eligibility must be reviewed on 31 July.
If the annual turnover exceeds the registration threshold, a requirement to register for other reasons exists, or a change of reporting cycle is desired, the ATO will adjust the reporting cycle to monthly or quarterly after notification.
Projected annual turnover on 31 July (for GST purposes) is calculated as the sum of:
- July's taxable and GST-free sales
- Expected sales for the next 11 months (excluding capital asset transfers).
Annual reporting clients receive an annual GST return to complete closer to the end of the financial year, covering the period from the election's effective date to 30 June.
The GST, wine equalization tax (WET), and/or luxury car tax (LCT) for this period are reported on the return.
The lodgment date and payment due date for the annual GST return are:
- The client's income tax return due date, or
- 28 February if no income tax return is required.
- Clients who choose to report and pay GST annually also elect to do so for refunds, which can be detrimental if a large input tax credit entitlement exists during the year.

Quarterly GST Payment

Option 1:
- Calculates, reports, and pays GST quarterly.
- Requires reporting more information than other options.
- No annual reconciliation needed.
Option 2:
- Calculates and pays GST quarterly.
- Reports annually.
- Only requires reporting:
  - Total sales
  - GST on sales
  - GST on purchases
- Exports, other GST-free sales, capital purchases, and non-capital purchases are reported in an annual GST information report.
Option 3:
- Pays GST installments quarterly.
- Reports annually.
- Available for enterprises with annual turnover below $2 million and quarterly reporting requirements.
- The quarterly payments are determined by a GST installment amount provided by the ATO, usually based on the previous year's net amount, adjusted for GDP.
- An annual GST return is necessary to reconcile quarterly installments with the actual annual GST liability.
- Annual reports (Option 2) and returns (Option 3) must be lodged by the earlier of:
  - Income tax return lodgment date, or
  - 28 February.
- No GST refunds are paid until the report/return is lodged.
- Taxpayers can adjust the installment amount if they believe their total installments will be higher or lower than their annual liability, but this must be within 85% of the actual GST amount, otherwise, the General Interest Charge (GIC) applies.
- The varied installment is calculated based on the estimated annual GST liability:
  - Quarter Ending (GST Installment Amount):
    - 30 September: Estimated annual GST liability x 25%
    - 31 December: Estimated annual GST liability x 50%, less GST installments already paid.
    - 31 March: Estimated annual GST liability x 75%, less GST installments already paid.
    - 30 June: Estimated annual GST liability x 100%, less GST installments already paid.

GST and Annual Apportionment

Eligible taxpayers can make an annual apportionment election.
This allows adjusting for private use of purchases after the end of the income year, instead of estimating it for every purchase.
Eligibility:
- Small business entity with turnover below $10 million, or
- Enterprise (not a business) with GST turnover at the time of election of $2 million or less, and
- No election to pay GST by installments or report annually.