If you’re a business owner using GovReports to manage your lodgements, you might find it handy to have a summary of the typical quarterly and annual Australian Taxation Office (ATO) reporting requirements for small businesses. What applies to your business depends on factors such as whether it’s registered for GST, whether you employ staff or contractors, and your business size and structure.
Quarterly or Monthly Reporting
The Business Activity Statement (BAS) and the Instalment Activity Statement (IAS) are also known as the Activity Statement (AS).
If your business is registered for GST and has a GST turnover of less than $20 million, you most commonly lodge a BAS quarterly.
The quarters and standard due dates are typically:
Quarter (Period) BAS Due Date
Q1 — July to September 28 October
Q2 — October to December 28 February
Q3 — January to March 28 April
Q4 — April to June 28 July
Monthly activity statement 21 each month
Remember, if a due date falls on a weekend or public holiday, the lodgment moves to the next business day. Also, due dates are extended if you lodge online or use a registered BAS or tax agent to lodge on your behalf.
Some businesses may instead lodge monthly (e.g. if GST turnover is high or if required by the ATO or if voluntarily lodging monthly for easier cashflow). Monthly BASs are due by the 21st day of the following month – no extensions.
Activity statements cover a variety of obligations depending on your business, which may include:
- GST sales and purchases.
- PAYG withholding (tax withheld from employee salaries).
- PAYG instalments (tax paid toward an expected income tax liability.
- Other taxes if relevant (e.g. fuel tax credits, fringebenefits tax instalments or withholding from royalties).
- Specialised taxes such as wine equalisation tax or luxury car tax.
- Superannuation is not reported on the activity statement but is currently required to be paid quarterly.
Single Touch Payroll (STP) Reporting
If you employ staff, you must report each pay run to the ATO via STP-enabled software. Every ‘pay event’ must be reported to the ATO within a day of paying employees.
Every time you pay employees, you report their wages, PAYG withholding amounts, and superannuation guarantee information.
At the end of the financial year (or when employment ends), employers must finalise the STP data and lodge an end-of-year declaration — typically by 14 July.
From 1 July 2026, employers will be required to pay super with every salary and wage payment.
Annual Reporting
At the end of your financial year, there are several annual lodgements you may need to complete, depending on your business activities:
- STP finalisation and declaration. The finalisation process submits the annual total of all payments made to each employee, including wages, allowances, deductions, taxes, super, bonuses, etc. This is due by 14 July for the previous financial year.
- PAYG withholding payment summary report for any payroll or withholding payments not reported by STP. This may apply, for example, if you pay royalties to an overseas business. The due date is 14 August or 30 September, depending on whether a registered agent is used.
- Income Tax Return — all businesses (sole traders, companies, trusts, etc.) must lodge an income tax return annually, reporting profits, deductions, and tax payable. The due dates differ depending on the entity type.
- Taxable Payments Annual Report (TPAR) — if your business makes payments to contractors for certain services (for example, in building and construction, cleaning, IT, courier services, etc.), you will most likely need to lodge a TPAR by 28 August for the previous financial year.
- Fringe Benefits Tax return (FBT Return) — if you provide fringe benefits to employees (e.g. company cars, certain non-cash benefits), you may need to lodge an FBT return annually. This is due by 21 May each year for the previous FBT year (1 April to 31 March), or 25 June if you use a registered agent.
- Annual GST Return— businesses that are voluntarily registered for GST and have low turnover (under relevant thresholds) may elect to report GST annually instead of quarterly or monthly. The return is generally due on the same date as the business’s income tax return.
- While payroll tax is not an ATO obligation, it is typically completed by 21July for the previous financial year in each state where the business is required to report.
- Another annual obligation outside the ATO is the workers’ compensation wages declaration. The due dates for this depend on the state or territory where your business is registered.
Important Points to Check for Your Business
Most small businesses need to report quarterly, but if your business is heading towards a turnover of $20 million, you may need to register for monthly activity statements. Some companies find that well before reaching this threshold, they elect to report monthly to make financial reporting and paying the ATO liabilities easier.
Keep an eye on state payroll tax thresholds so you are prepared before payroll tax becomes compulsory.Payroll tax may apply to payments made to contractors, so it’s good to review this each year, track all payments to workers, and assess whether the business may be liable for payroll tax.
If you engage external contractor services (e.g., construction, IT, cleaning), check whether you are required to lodge a TPAR.
Super may need to be paid for some contractors, particularly if they are sole traders. Regularly review the nature of the engagement to assess whether super is payable. Ideally, when you engage a contractor, you have a written contract in place that covers the nature of the work and working relationship and addresses superannuation.
