Annual Compliance for Australian Businesses

Australian tax and corporate law imposes a range of recurring reporting and payment obligations on businesses. These vary depending on your business structure, whether you are registered for GST, whether you employ staff, and the size of your turnover. Missing or incorrectly lodging these obligations can result in penalties, interest charges, and in some cases, loss of good standing with the ATO or ASIC.

Business Activity Statements (BAS)

A Business Activity Statement (BAS) is the primary reporting form used by businesses registered for GST to report and pay their tax obligations to the ATO. Depending on the size of your business, BAS lodgements may be required monthly, quarterly, or annually.

A BAS can include reporting for:

• GST — reporting the GST collected on sales and the GST credits claimed on purchases
• PAYG Withholding — reporting and remitting amounts withheld from employee wages
• PAYG Instalments — prepayments of income tax based on expected annual income
• Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) instalments — where applicable
• Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) and Luxury Car Tax (LCT) — for businesses that deal in these categories

BAS lodgement deadlines are strictly enforced. The ATO can apply failure-to-lodge penalties and general interest charges for late submissions. Registered tax agents are permitted to lodge on behalf of clients and may access extended deadlines not available to self-preparers.

Annual Income Tax Return

All businesses must lodge an annual income tax return reporting their income and deductible expenses for the financial year ending 30 June. The format of the return differs significantly by structure:

• Sole traders lodge an individual tax return that includes a business and professional items schedule
• Partnerships lodge a partnership tax return, and each partner lodges an individual return showing their share of income
• Companies lodge a company tax return and pay tax at the applicable company tax rate
• Trusts lodge a trust tax return, with beneficiaries reporting their distribution in their individual returns

Tax returns are generally due 31 October for self-preparers, or by a later date for clients of registered tax agents on a lodgement program.

Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT)

FBT applies to non-cash benefits provided to employees or their associates, such as company cars, gym memberships, or entertainment. The FBT year runs from 1 April to 31 March — separate from the income tax financial year. FBT returns and any tax payable are due by 21 May, or a later date if lodged by a registered tax agent.

Single Touch Payroll (STP)

Businesses with employees must report payroll information to the ATO each time they run a payroll using Single Touch Payroll-enabled software. This replaced the annual payment summary process for most employers. STP Phase 2, which requires more detailed reporting of each payment component, now applies to all employers.

ASIC Annual Company Statement

Companies registered with ASIC receive an annual statement on the anniversary of their registration. This statement requires the company to review and confirm or update its registered details, including officeholder information and registered address. An annual review fee is payable at this time. Failure to pay the fee or update incorrect information can result in late fees and, ultimately, deregistration of the company.

Compliance deadlines and penalties

The ATO administers a failure-to-lodge (FTL) penalty regime that applies when returns and statements are not lodged by their due dates. For small businesses the FTL penalty starts at one penalty unit (currently $330) per 28-day period the lodgement is overdue, up to a maximum of five penalty units. For medium and large entities the penalties are higher. In addition to FTL penalties, the general interest charge (GIC) accrues on any unpaid tax from the due date.

Registered tax agents are allocated extended lodgement deadlines under the Tax Agent Lodgment Program, which means lodging through a registered agent provides additional time beyond the standard due dates available to self-preparers. This is one of the practical advantages of engaging an agent for ongoing compliance work.

How we can help

Naletova Advisory provides ongoing compliance support covering BAS preparation and lodgement, income tax returns for all business structures, FBT returns, PAYG reporting, and ASIC annual statement management. Support is available on a one-off basis or as part of an ongoing arrangement, depending on what the business requires.

For businesses that need to catch up on overdue lodgements, we can assist with preparing and lodging outstanding returns and, where appropriate, engaging with the ATO to manage any outstanding liabilities or penalty remission requests.