Business activity statement (BAS) is a form submitted to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) by all businesses to report their taxation obligations. These obligations include Goods and Services Tax (GST), Pay As You Go Withholding (PAYG), Pay As You Go Instalments (PAYGI), Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT), Luxury Car Tax (LCT) and Wine Equalisation Tax (WET). Business activity statements are usually issued quarterly. Some roles can be reported at different frequencies depending on business structure and income. Some roles such as GST can be reported annually, subject to eligibility criteria being met. If you do not submit your BAS on time, you may be subject to a failure to lodge (FTL) penalty. If the BAS you submitted contains information that is not correct, the least you will be charged - in the case of a genuine mistake, is general interest on the underpaid tax or extra credit received. However, when the mistake was attributable to carelessness or purposeful ignorance of the law, you will be charged a penalty based on a percentage of the shortfall amount in question - the exact percentage charged will be based on the reason for the discrepancy. As a registered BAS and TAX Agent, we can lodge your activity statement online via the Tax Agent portal. Also, we can provide business bookkeeping packaged with BAS lodgement which is a far more cost effective solution for maintaining your company’s financial records and books.
