Tips to help complete your BAS

If you’re impacted by the floods in parts of Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales, or Queensland, we understand that tax may not be at the top of your list during this time. See We’re here to help for information about the support available.

When completing your next business activity statement (BAS), remember these tips to get it right.

1. Online lodgment is the fastest, easiest and most secure way to complete your BAS. If you still lodge a paper BAS, make October the month you join the millions of small businesses who lodge online. You may even receive an extra 2 weeks to lodge and pay.

2. Lodging on time is important to gain a complete picture of your overall tax position. Even if you have nothing to report, you still need to lodge your BAS as ‘nil’. If you’re unable to lodge or pay on time, engage with us as soon as possible to discuss your options.

3. Is your BAS on track? If you’ve made a mistake, it’s best to submit a replacement BAS to get your BAS back on track, rather than amending your original submission. You can also revise or fix most mistakes on your next BAS.

Other ways to avoid mistakes are:

• only completing fields that apply to you. If you have nothing to report, enter zero
• checking that you’ve entered the figures for your obligations at the correct label
• entering whole dollar amounts – leave cents out and don’t round up to the next dollar.

Your BAS can also be lodged through a registered tax or BAS agent.

Source: ATO