To lodge a company tax return by paper, complete the ATO’s NAT 0656 form for the relevant income year, attach any schedules your company’s activities require, sign the public officer’s declaration, and post the package to the ATO’s GPO Box 9845 at your state or territory capital. The ATO lists paper as one of three accepted lodgment channels alongside Standard Business Reporting software and registered tax agents.1Australian Taxation Office. Income tax return It takes longer than electronic filing, but it is a legitimate option for companies that manage their own tax affairs.
Is Paper Lodgment Available to You
Paper lodgment is available to companies that self-prepare their returns without professional representation.1Australian Taxation Office. Income tax return If your company uses a registered tax agent, the agent will almost always lodge electronically on your behalf.
One thing to note before you commit to paper: you cannot lodge a company return directly through the ATO’s online services portal the way individuals can. Your electronic option is SBR-enabled software only. If you don’t have that software and you’re not using an agent, paper is your route.
Getting the NAT 0656 Form
The company tax return form is officially designated NAT 0656.2Australian Taxation Office. How to get the Company tax return 2025 Pre-printed copies through the ATO’s publication ordering service have been exhausted, but the form is available as a PDF download that you can print yourself through the ATO’s iorder service at iorder.com.au.3Australian Taxation Office. Company tax return 2025
Use the correct year. The form is updated each financial year, so a return for the income year ending 30 June 2025 needs the 2025 version of NAT 0656. Using the wrong year’s form can cause processing delays or rejection.
What to Gather Before You Fill It In
Before you start writing on the form, pull together the company’s Tax File Number and Australian Business Number. These identifiers link the return to your registered entity. You also need complete financial records for the income year: total assessable income, all deductible expenses, and any capital gains or losses carried forward from prior years.
The ATO requires businesses to keep records supporting these figures for at least five years.4Australian Taxation Office. Consolidation Reference Manual – Record keeping guidelinesa> That clock runs from when you lodge the return, not when the transaction happened. If you’re carrying a loss forward, the records supporting it need to survive until five years after the return that finally absorbs it.
The Applicable Tax Rate
The corporate rate depends on whether your company qualifies as a base rate entity. A company qualifies if its aggregated turnover for the income year is under $50 million and no more than 80 percent of its assessable income is base rate entity passive income (dividends, rent, royalties, interest, and net capital gains). Base rate entities pay 25 percent. All other companies pay 30 percent.5Australian Taxation Office. Changes to company tax rates
Getting this classification wrong flows through every calculation on the return. A company that claims the 25 percent rate when it actually exceeds the passive income threshold will understate its liability and face shortfall penalties. Work through both tests carefully if you’re anywhere near the boundary.
Offsets, Franking Credits, and PAYG Instalments
The return also requires you to report any tax offsets the company claims, franking credits, and PAYG instalment amounts already paid during the year.1Australian Taxation Office. Income tax return PAYG instalments reduce the final amount owed, so leaving them off the return can lead to overpayment or slow processing while the ATO reconciles.
Schedules You May Need to Attach
Depending on your company’s activities, supplementary schedules may need to accompany the main NAT 0656.6Australian Taxation Office. Company tax return instructions Common ones include:
- A capital gains tax schedule if the company made or needs to report capital gains or losses during the income year.
- An international dealings schedule if the company had cross-border transactions with related parties above the relevant thresholds.
- A research and development tax incentive schedule if the company is claiming R&D offsets.
- A losses schedule for certain companies claiming tax losses from prior years.
The company tax return instructions identify which schedules apply based on how you answered specific questions on the main form. For paper lodgment, each required schedule must be printed, completed, and physically included with your return. A return submitted without a required schedule can be treated as incomplete.
The Public Officer’s Declaration
Every company tax return must include a declaration signed by the company’s public officer, the person legally responsible for the company’s tax affairs under section 252 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936. The declaration confirms the information in the return is true and correct, and the signature must be accompanied by the officer’s name, title, date, and telephone number.7Australian Taxation Office. Company tax return instructions – Declarations
This is not a formality. If the return is lodged late or contains errors, the public officer can be personally liable for the same penalties that apply to the company.7Australian Taxation Office. Company tax return instructions – Declarations
Where to Post the Return
The completed return, declaration, and all attached schedules go to:
Australian Taxation Office
GPO Box 9845
[Your capital city and postcode]
Insert the name and postcode of your state or territory capital. A company in New South Wales, for example, would address it to GPO Box 9845, Sydney NSW 2001.8Australian Taxation Office. Write to us If you’re posting from outside Australia, use Sydney NSW 2001. A tracked postal service is worth the small extra cost because it gives you proof of lodgment date if a dispute ever arises about timeliness.
The Lodgment Deadline
For companies that self-lodge without a tax agent, the standard due date is 28 February following the end of the financial year (which runs 1 July to 30 June). If any prior year returns are still outstanding, the due date pulls back to 31 October.1Australian Taxation Office. Income tax return
Companies that use a registered tax agent typically get extended deadlines under the agent’s lodgment program, but those extensions do not apply when you lodge yourself. Work backwards from 28 February. Paper returns take time to prepare, print, check, and post.
What Happens After You Post It
Paper returns take up to 50 business days (roughly 10 weeks) to process.9Australian Taxation Office. How to track the progress of your tax return Electronic lodgment often completes within two weeks, so paper is significantly slower.
One point that catches people off guard: the ATO does not issue a separate notice of assessment for company tax returns. The lodged return itself is treated as the deemed notice of assessment.1Australian Taxation Office. Income tax return This differs from individual returns, where you receive a distinct assessment document. For companies, the figures you put on the return become the assessment unless the ATO amends them. If the ATO finds discrepancies against data it already holds, it may contact the public officer for clarification before making amendments.
Paying the Tax
Lodging the return and paying the tax owed are separate steps. Your company needs a Payment Reference Number so the payment is allocated to its income tax account. You can find the PRN by logging into Online Services for Business and going to Accounts and Payments, or by checking an existing ATO notice. If you cannot locate it online, call the ATO’s payment enquiry line on 1800 815 886.10Australian Taxation Office. Other payment details Using the wrong PRN can result in the payment being applied to the wrong account and triggering debt collection activity.
The ATO accepts BPAY through your bank using the ATO’s biller code and your PRN, direct electronic funds transfer with your PRN as the reference, debit or credit card through the ATO’s online services or by phone, and in-person payment at Australia Post.11Australian Taxation Office. How to pay
If you owe tax and do not pay by the due date, the ATO charges a general interest charge on the outstanding amount. The GIC rate fluctuates quarterly and sits at 10.96 percent annually as of mid-2026.12Australian Taxation Office. General interest charge (GIC) rates It compounds daily.
Late Lodgment and Error Penalties
Missing the deadline triggers a failure-to-lodge penalty. For most small companies, the penalty accrues at one penalty unit for every 28 days (or part of a 28-day period) the return is overdue, up to a maximum of five penalty units.13Australian Taxation Office. Failure to lodge on time penalty A penalty unit is currently $330, so the maximum for a small entity is $1,650.14Australian Taxation Office. Penalty units
Errors on the return carry their own penalties. If the ATO determines that a return contains a false or misleading statement, the penalty depends on the company’s behaviour. Failing to take reasonable care costs 20 penalty units ($6,600). Recklessness jumps to 40 penalty units ($13,200), and intentional disregard reaches 60 penalty units ($19,800).15Australian Taxation Office. Compliance – administrative and failure to lodge penalties These are per-statement penalties, so multiple errors on one return can compound. The financial stakes for getting the paper return right the first time are real.