How to Lodge Your BAS: Due Dates, Payment, and Penalties

To lodge your BAS, report your GST and any other applicable tax obligations on the correct labels of the Business Activity Statement, then submit it to the Australian Taxation Office through Online services for business, myGov, SBR-enabled accounting software, a registered tax or BAS agent, or a paper form. The standard quarterly deadline is the 28th of the month after each quarter closes, and payment is due on the same date. Miss it and you face a Failure to Lodge penalty starting at $330 per 28-day period plus daily compounding interest on any unpaid amount.1Australian Taxation Office. Penalty Units

When Your BAS Is Due

Your reporting cycle depends on GST turnover. Businesses turning over $20 million or more must report and pay GST monthly, and must lodge electronically.2Australian Taxation Office. Options for Reporting and Paying GST Under $20 million, quarterly is standard, though you can choose monthly if that suits your cash flow. If your turnover is under $75,000 (or $150,000 for a not-for-profit) and you registered for GST voluntarily, annual reporting is an option.3Australian Taxation Office (ATO). How Often Do I Lodge and Pay? The ATO confirms your assigned cycle after registration.4Australian Taxation Office. Due Dates for Lodging and Paying Your BAS

Quarterly due dates are fixed to the Australian financial year:

  • Quarter 1 (July–September): 28 October
  • Quarter 2 (October–December): 28 February
  • Quarter 3 (January–March): 28 April
  • Quarter 4 (April–June): 28 July

Extra Time Through a Registered Agent

Lodging through a registered tax or BAS agent generally gives you an extra four weeks on most quarters. For 2025–26, the concessional dates are 25 November for Q1, 26 May for Q3, and 25 August for Q4. Quarter 2 gets no extension; the 28 February deadline still applies. The agent has to lodge electronically through Online services for agents or the Practitioner Lodgment Service for the concession to apply.5Australian Taxation Office. BAS Agent Lodgment Program 2025-26

What You Report on the Form

The BAS pulls several obligations onto one statement: GST, PAYG withholding, PAYG income tax installments, fringe benefits tax installments where they apply, and fuel tax credits.

GST Labels

Most small businesses use Simpler BAS, which reduces GST reporting to three labels. G1 is your total sales for the period. 1A is the GST included in your taxable sales. 1B is the GST included in your business purchases, which offsets what you owe.6Australian Taxation Office. Simpler BAS GST Bookkeeping Guide If 1B is larger than 1A, you’re in refund territory.

PAYG Withholding

If you have employees, you report the wages paid and the tax withheld from those wages at the W labels. This is how the ATO tracks the employee tax you’re remitting through the year.7Australian Taxation Office. Pay As You Go (PAYG) Withholding

PAYG Income Tax Installments

Separate from employee withholding, the ATO may require you to prepay your own income tax in installments. Option 1 uses a fixed dollar amount the ATO calculates from your latest tax return. Option 2 gives you a rate that you multiply by your business and investment income for the period, which works better when income fluctuates.8Australian Taxation Office. Calculate Your PAYG Instalments

FBT Installments and Fuel Tax Credits

Businesses that paid $3,000 or more in fringe benefits tax the previous financial year pay FBT installments quarterly through the BAS, reported at labels F1 and 6A.9Australian Taxation Office. Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) Instalment If you use fuel in machinery, heavy vehicles over 4.5 tonnes, or light vehicles on private roads, and you’re registered for both GST and fuel tax credits, you can claim credits at label 7D to reduce what you owe.10business.gov.au. Claim Fuel Tax Credits

How to Submit Your BAS

You have five channels for lodgment, and the right one depends on your structure and how you keep books:

  • Online services for business. Log in through the ATO portal, complete the labels, submit.
  • myGov, for individuals and sole traders. Link your myGov account to the ATO, then open Activity Statements.
  • SBR-enabled accounting software. Packages like Xero, MYOB, and QuickBooks transmit BAS data straight to the ATO without re-entry.
  • A registered tax or BAS agent, who lodges through the Practitioner Lodgment Service on your behalf.
  • Paper form, if you receive one in the mail. Complete, sign, and post to the address on the form before the due date.

Businesses with GST turnover of $20 million or more can’t use paper; electronic lodgment is mandatory at that level.2Australian Taxation Office. Options for Reporting and Paying GST Once you submit, you receive a lodgment confirmation number. Keep it as proof.

Accurate books make the form quick to complete. You need tax invoices for sales and purchases, receipts, bank statements, and payroll records, kept for at least five years and in English or readily convertible to English.11Australian Taxation Office. Class Ruling CR 2015/13 – Section: Record Keeping If you’re picking software, choose an SBR-compatible package so you can lodge from within it.12Australian Government – Australian Taxation Office. Choosing Record-Keeping Software

Paying the Balance

Lodging and paying are two separate steps with the same deadline. The ATO accepts BPAY, direct debit set up through Online services for business, Government EasyPay for card payments, electronic funds transfer to the ATO’s bank details, in-person payment at Australia Post, and cheque or money order by mail.13Australian Taxation Office. Other Payment Options If your BAS produces a refund rather than a payment, the ATO aims to process it within 12 business days, assuming no issues with the lodgment and no debts to other agencies that could be offset.

Fixing a Mistake After You’ve Lodged

If you find an error after submitting, you have two paths. Many GST and fuel tax credit mistakes can be corrected on your next BAS, provided the error meets the ATO’s conditions (value thresholds apply, and the error must be a genuine mistake rather than a deliberate misstatement). If it doesn’t qualify for correction on the next statement, lodge a revised BAS for the original period.14Australian Taxation Office. Fixing BAS Mistakes or Making Adjustments

To revise, open the processed statement in Online services for business (or your myGov-linked ATO account if you’re a sole trader) and click Revise. If that button isn’t there, you’ll need to contact the ATO or your agent to make the correction.15Australian Taxation Office. Revising an Earlier Business Activity Statement

What Happens If You’re Late

Two separate charges can apply if you miss the deadline. The Failure to Lodge penalty is imposed under the Taxation Administration Act 1953 and accrues at one penalty unit per 28-day period (or part thereof) the statement is overdue, up to five units. As of November 2024, one Commonwealth penalty unit is $330, so the base penalty ranges from $330 to $1,650 depending on lateness.1Australian Taxation Office. Penalty Units That base rate covers individuals and small withholders. Medium and large entities face multiplied rates that can run substantially higher.16Australian Taxation Office. Failure to Lodge on Time Penalty The unit amount is indexed periodically, so check the ATO’s page before relying on any specific dollar figure.

The General Interest Charge runs separately. Any unpaid BAS liability accrues GIC from the day after the payment due date, compounding daily and updated quarterly. For April to June 2026, the annual rate is 10.96%.17Australian Taxation Office. General Interest Charge (GIC) Rates On a $10,000 debt, that’s roughly $3 a day. GIC applies even if you lodged on time but haven’t paid, which is why lodgment and payment are treated as distinct obligations with distinct consequences.18Australian Taxation Office. General Interest Charge

If You Can’t Pay in Full

The ATO offers payment plans that can materially reduce the pressure. Small businesses may qualify for an interest-free arrangement of up to 12 months if they meet all of the following:

  • Annual turnover under $2 million
  • $50,000 or less owed from activity statements, overdue no more than 12 months
  • Good compliance history: no more than one payment plan default in the past 12 months and no outstanding activity statement lodgments
  • Unable to obtain normal commercial finance
  • Ongoing business viability

The GIC technically still accrues under these plans, but the ATO automatically remits it as long as you keep the plan current and pay by direct debit.19Australian Taxation Office. Alternative Payment Plans Whatever you do, lodge on time even if you can’t pay. A lodged statement with an unpaid balance avoids the FTL penalty and keeps payment-arrangement options open; an unlodged one closes doors.

Company Directors: Personal Liability

If your business is a company, unpaid BAS debts carry a personal exposure that catches many directors off guard. When a company fails to pay its GST, PAYG withholding, or superannuation guarantee charge by the due date, directors become personally liable.20Australian Taxation Office. Director Penalties

Whether that liability can be extinguished depends on how quickly the company reported the debt:

  • Reported within three months of the due date: you can clear the penalty by having the company pay the debt, appoint an administrator, appoint a small business restructuring practitioner, or begin to wind up.
  • Reported more than three months late, or never reported: the penalty locks in and can only be cleared by paying the debt in full. Administration or winding up won’t help.

New directors get a 30-day grace period after appointment to deal with pre-existing debts; after that, they’re treated like any other director.20Australian Taxation Office. Director Penalties The practical rule: even when the company can’t pay, lodging the BAS on time preserves your ability to use administration or restructuring to deal with the director penalty. Not lodging is what locks personal liability in.