What Is a Business Activity Statement and How to Lodge in Australia (2025 Guide)

December 16, 2025    Accountant Perthwa

A BAS is an essential way of tax reporting for businesses in Australia. It is a record of the funds that you owe and can claim back. Gaining detailed knowledge of what is BAS can keep your business compliant to the ATO regulations. Given below is a guide that will help you navigate through the process and how to lodge BAS in Australia easily in 2025:

What Is a Business Activity Statement (BAS)?

A BAS is a form that businesses are required to submit to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) in order to report and pay their tax liabilities. Your BAS can also include PAYG withholding and instalments, fuel tax credit, wine equalisation tax and fringe benefit tax. A BAS tax agent can help you understand these obligations more clearly.

Key Components of a BAS

The ATO uses the filled BAS statement to track how much GST and tax your company owes. A BAS report involves the following components:

1. Goods and Services Tax (GST) Reporting

It is one of the necessary parts of your BAS statement. GST is the 10% tax that is levied on most goods and services in Australia. It is the business owner’s responsibility to report how much GST you have collected from the sales and the amount you have paid on purchases. A tax accountant for BAS can help you make accurate GST calculations and report them on time.

2. Pay As You Go (PAYG) Tax Withholding

PAYG withholding refers to the tax businesses actually withhold from the wages and salaries of employees. The amount is then submitted to the ATO on behalf of the employees.

3. Fringe Benefits Tax Instalment (FBT)

Additional perks are offered to employees in addition to their salaries to keep them motivated at work. Advantages offered by these businesses are known as fringe benefits. Companies need to pay taxes for these benefits offered to the employees.

4. PAYG Income Tax Instalments

PAYG instalments are settled by businesses that have reached a limit to pay the income tax in instalments and alleviate the stress of payments. For example, if your income tax estimate is around $12000 annually, you might pay $3000 quarterly.

5. Luxury Car Tax (LCT)

This tax is imposed on the sale of luxury cars imported by companies with an added GST value. The LCT rate is 33% and is paid by the people who registered for it.

6. Fuel Tax Credits

These are refunds that Australian businesses can claim for the fuel tax, such as excise duty or customs. The fuel tax rates change frequently and need to be thoroughly checked before filling out the BAS form.

7. Wine Equalisation Tax (WET)

You need to fill out the WET section in the BAS in case your business sells or imports wine.

How Often Do You Need to Lodge a BAS?

The frequency with which you are required to lodge a BAS is completely dependent on your GST turnover and reporting. Here is some additional information on how often you should lodge a BAS:

  • Quarterly: If your GST turnover is less than $20 million, and you have not been specified by the ATO to report monthly.
  • Monthly: When you yourself choose to report GST on a monthly basis, or your turnover is $20 million or more.
  • Annually: If you have voluntarily registered for GST and your GST turnover is under $75000.

You can consider partnering with a BAS accountant, which allows you to select the appropriate frequency suited to your business.

Step-by-Step Guide to Lodging a BAS in 2025

Let us have a look at the steps through which you understand how to lodge a BAS accurately:

Step 1: Log in to ATO online services

Sole traders can use their myGov account and log in to their myGovID. Partnerships, companies and trusts need to set up myGovID and link it with Relationship Authorisation Manager.

Step 2: Access Your BAS Form

Once you have logged in, navigate to the ‘Activity Statements’ section and find the list of outstanding BAS forms. Click on the one you want to lodge.

Step 3: Complete Filling in the Required Information

Fill up all the necessary sections with accuracy.

Step 4: Make the Declaration

Before lodging, you will have to declare that the info is true and accurate to the best of your knowledge.

Step 5: Save Your Confirmation

Save the lodgement receipt and keep it safely for your records.

How to Lodge BAS Online

There are multiple ways of BAS lodgement online, including:

  • For sole traders and individuals: You have to access online services through myGov, acting as a platform that helps you manage your tax and super in the same place.
  • For businesses: A secure ATO website can be used to handle your business tax affairs online.
  • SBR based software: This allows secure online lodgement straight from your financial, accounting or payroll software.

Common BAS Lodgement Mistakes to Avoid

Listed below are the most common BAS mistakes businesses are still making in 2025:

1. Incorrect GST Reporting

Businesses often tend to consider input tax credits on personal purchases or GST free products, such as bank charges and paychecks. This can potentially inflate GST claims and trigger an ATO review. Consulting with a business advisor Perth can help you prevent these errors through proper record keeping.

2. Unreconciled Bank Accounts

Businesses also make the mistake of submitting their BAS lodgements without ensuring that their bank and accounting records are reconciled.

3. Cash vs Accrual Confusion

Reporting discrepancies might arise when BAS reports are mixed on either a cash or accrual basis. While selecting the reporting method, you must also know how to save on capital gains tax, specifically if your business is planning to sell assets in the future.

4. Oversight PAYG Withholding or Instalments

Errors associated with PAYG withholding are some of the most common ones. Wages are sometimes forgotten to be recorded in the BAS period or recorded in the wrong category. This creates compliance issues in the payroll.

5. Incorrect Expense Coding

Claiming GST on ineligible mistakes, such as staff gifts and entertainment, is also a common mistake. Always remember to code your expenses accurately before you submit.

6. Quarterly Lodgement Gaps

Mistakes made in one quarter can be transferred to the other. One instance can be missing a few items, while recording a refund or credit note might result in quarter-to-quarter discrepancies in reporting. A business tax accountant can be useful in helping you avoid accumulated errors from hampering your business.

Benefits of Using a BAS Agent or Tax Accountant

When you team up with a BAS agent, reporting becomes much easier and more accurate. They handle the complicated tasks so that you can stay focused on running your business. A well qualified agent has great expertise in understanding your numbers. They guide you through the regulations and ensure your reports match the standards highlighted by ATO.

Here are the key benefits also offered by a tax accountant Perth:

1. Accurate Reporting

Professionals verify your business finance figures and decrease the likelihood of errors, helping you avoid penalties. By partnering with an expat tax accountant, your cross-border reporting needs are solved as well.

2. Time Savings

You can completely skip the paperwork and make time for having a look at your business’s daily operations.

3. Timely Lodgement

A business tax accountant can track deadlines specified by the ATO much better and help you lodge the BAS perfectly on time.

4. Better Compliance

You constantly stay updated with tax changes, ensuring that your BAS successfully meets the requirements of the ATO.

5. Smooth communication with the ATO

Your agent can communicate with the ATO on your behalf, just in case issues ever arise. Learning how to manage ATO communications can also cut down the chances of misunderstandings significantly.

6. Better Financial Insights

You can plan a better future for your business when you receive clear guidance on BAS numbers and how they might affect your cash flow.

Important BAS Deadlines for 2025

Here are detailed insights into how due dates are decided for 2025-2026:

1. Monthly BAS Due Dates

The monthly BAS due date is on the 21st day of the following month after the reporting period ends.

2. Quarterly BAS Due Dates

Here is a table containing the official quarterly BAS due dates:

Quarterly (2025–2026) Standard BAS Due Dates
Q1 28 October 2025
Q2 28 February 2026
Q3 28 April 2026
Q4 28 July 2026

3. Annual BAS Due Dates

31st October 2026 is the standard annual BAS due date. New fund managers can also refer to the ATO guidance for new SMSFs while they are handling complicated reporting.

Conclusion

Lodging a BAS is an important part of keeping your business compliant and business finances properly on track. When you understand the reporting cycle and follow clear steps, the procedure becomes simpler and highly organised. If you want to stay confident throughout each phase of the process, hire an Expat tax specialist to handle BAS lodgement throughout the year.

Need Professional Help With Account Services?

RELATED POSTS
  • Extremely happy to work with the team at Accountant Perth WA. They understood the issues and provided prompt advice regarding my personal tax returns and made sure the returns correlated with the Superfund that I manage. The tax agent here was very professional, efficient as well as friendly, and responsive. They made the whole process easy and convenient from start to finish. They even help us to lodge tax returns within the stipulated timeline. We will definitely recommend Accountant Perth WA to anyone who wants to have tax advice & tax return service in Perth, Australia.
    kuenga lhazom
  • We were looking for a tax accountant in Perth CBD who can help us with tax filing, financial planning, manages appropriate bookkeeping, business activity records, and all the tax management for our small business as we have to focus on our core operations to grow our business. We are genuinely thankful to the team of Tax Accountant Perth WA for helping us sort all these tax management and assessment services for our business. And the cheery on the cake was that the because of their professional and highly experienced small business accountant Perth we are able to minimise our tax deductions and maximise the saving. We have found them to be very professional and they have always acted in our best interests. We highly recommend them for all your tax return needs in Perth, WA
    Bavaaniiy V
  • I must say Tax Accountant Perth is the most professional and prompt tax expert. I had them incorporate my business and set up my books and give me the best Tax planning advice. One thing I have always been incredibly impressed about is that they helped me in dealing with personal and corporate taxation with ease. I am not that good in accounting stuff and needed some time off to take care of other business activities and then I took company tax return services from the Tax Accountant Perth and was impressed with their demeanor. Then I was able to focus on the production department of my company. It was only possible by having these experts watching my back for all tax related concerns. Sure, we all get stressed, but I have never met a less judgmental group of people in some of the hardest times of my life. I am really thankful and appreciate the efforts of the Tax Accountant Perth WA.
    Noorka
Paying Too Much For Tax or Need an Expert Tax Accountant?
Copyright 2026 Tax Accountant Perth All Rights Reserved.
Enquire Now
Call Us Now