What is a Business Activity Statement?
A Business Activity Statement commonly referred to as BAS is a statement provided to the Australian Taxation Office for all GST registered whether you are a sole trader or a company. The statement reports on how much GST you collected on sales during the period, and how much GST was paid on purchases to off-set this. This information or report is used by the ATO to determine taxes that your business is required to pay or be refunded for that period.
Who needs to complete a BAS?
Any business operating in Australia that is registered for GST needs to submit a BAS. A business must be registered for GST if they have a turnover greater than $75,000 in a financial year.
You can speak to your accountant or bookkeeper if you are unsure if this applies to your business. Please also refer to my article What is GST and does my business need to be registered?
https://microchilli.com.au/beginners-guide-to-gst-as-a-business/
When do I need to submit a BAS?
The process can be different for large and small businesses. For large businesses that are making profits in the millions per annum, it is likely you will have to submit your BAS every month.
If your GST turnover is less than $20 million and the ATO has not told you that you must report monthly then you need to report quarterly. Quarterly lodgements are due on these dates:
Q1 by 28 April
Q2 by 28 July
Q3 by 28 October
Q4 by 28 February
A registered tax or BAS agent can help you prepare your BAS and submit this on your behalf through the business portal.
What exactly are these statements for?
BAS helps your business report and pay for different types of taxes on a regular basis rather than being hit with a bill from the ATO all at once. These taxes include GST, Pay As You Go (PAYG) for Income Tax, Fuel Tax Credits and Fringe Benefits Tax.
What do I need to provide?
If you have a bookkeeper, your bookkeeper will do all the work for you.
Now, although you don’t need to submit invoices to the ATO for BAS you will need to have them on file as the ATO can ask to see them. This is why it is so important to keep your business books organised, and accurate including properly recording and submitting expenses before you forget what they were and where the invoices can be found!
PRO TIP: Using accounting software such as Xero will make this process much easier (especially if you are having to submit every month).
Speak to us about how we can make your BAS process run smoother.
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