A Business Activity Statement (BAS) is a form used by businesses in Australia to report their tax obligations to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). If you are registered for GST (generally when your business makes more than $75,000), you will need to report your GST information on your BAS. You will also need to report other taxes, such as PAYG (Pay As You Go) withholding tax, on your BAS.
As a small business owner in Australia, it is important to understand your BAS obligations and to ensure that you are meeting all of your tax reporting requirements. Failing to lodge your BAS on time or accurately reporting your tax obligations can result in penalties and fines from the ATO. In saying that, the ATO can be very accommodating when contacted, if you have issues.
To complete your BAS, you will need to gather all of your relevant documentation, such as invoices, receipts, and payment summaries for the period in question (usually a quarter). You will then need to calculate the GST you have collected from your customers and the GST you have claimed on your business purchases, and report the difference between these two amounts on your BAS. You will also need to report any other tax obligations, such as PAYG withholding tax.
Once your BAS is complete, you will need to lodge it with the ATO by the due date, of if this is problematic, you can contact the ATO for an extension.
Ensuring you keep up to date with your BAS submissions ensures that you have a clearer understanding of the real performance of your business as well as what the real financial status looks like and potentially, what yours (or your investors) potential returns look like.
If you’d like to know more about this or any other related topic, drop us a line at info@workcertain.com.au or call us on 1300 335 596 to see how we can help you with your BAS commitments and much more.
