What is BAS? (and how can a bookkeeper help with lodgements?)

February 14, 2017

What is a BAS lodgement?

BAS stands for Business Activity Statement, and it is a required ATO statement that your business needs to lodge on or before its due date.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) issues your business the statement and many businesses enlist the help of their bookkeeper to ensure lodgements are submitted correctly and on-time.

If your business is registered to pay GST in Australia, you must lodge its BAS correctly and on-time.

BAS lodgements

What is its purpose?

Your BAS is issued by the ATO once you register your business for GST, and is the official business statement that declares how much GST your business owes to the ATO.

Do all businesses have to lodge BAS?

Back in 2000, when GST was first introduced, businesses that earned more than $50,000 a year had to register for BAS.

This limit was increased to $75,000 a few years later.

Once a business is registered, they are obligated to lodge BAS statements for as long as they are registered. A fluctuating income – even below the threshold – does not exempt a business as long as they are registered. It is a business’s responsibility to cancel registration if it falls below the yearly income limit. (Registration can also be cancelled if a business closes or is sold.)

How often does it need to be done?

Depending on your business, you will likely need to lodge a BAS either monthly, quarterly, or yearly.

Monthly statements are due 21 days after the last day of the month. That means, for example, that January’s BAS is due on the 21st of February, February’s is due on the 21st March, and so on.

Quarterly lodgement periods are:

  • July, August, September (due 28th October)
  • October, November, December (due 28th February – an extra month is given due to the typical Christmas break)
  • January, February, March (due 28th April)
  • April, May, June (due 28th July)

Usually, businesses with a turnover of $20 million or more will need to submit statements monthly. If your business’s turnover is less than $20 million, you will likely only have to report quarterly.

In rare cases, your business – with a turnover less than $20 million – may need to do monthly BAS lodgements. This is determined by the ATO and in such a case, you will be instructed by them to do so.

Do I have to do it?

In a word: yes.

Actually, to clarify, you yourself do not have to do it, however… yes, it must be done for your business.

So if the thought of tax, accounting, and GST is enough to make your head spin, you’d take the only logical next step: engaging the support of a bookkeeper.

Melbourne bookkeeper

Choose a bookkeeper in Melbourne to help with routine BAS

When you engage the work of a professional bookkeeper in Melbourne, they can take care of all your BAS submissions. Not only will they ensure that all correct and accurate information is submitted, they will also guarantee that it is submitted on time. Failure to launch on time can incur fees.

If your business is registered to pay GST in Australia, seek the support from a bookkeeper that will ensure your BAS is lodged correctly and on-time. Contact Maximum Business Solutions today to organise a meeting and learn more about how we can help with everyday business accounting.