GST for small business

When to report and pay GST

Monthly

If you report and pay monthly, the due date for lodging your activity statement and paying any amount you owe on that statement is 21 days after the end of each month.

Quarterly

If you report and pay quarterly using the due dates for lodging your activity statement and paying any amount you owe on that statement (including quarterly instalment amounts) are:

Quarter	Due date
September (July, August, September)	28 October
December (October, November, December)	28 February
March (January, February, March)	28 April
June (April, May, June)	28 July

If you are using option 3 and you receive an instalment notice, you may not have to lodge that notice. However, you must pay the instalment amount specified on the notice by the due date.

If you report quarterly using option 2 or 3, the due date for lodging your annual information report or annual GST return is:

• the date your income tax return is due, or
• 28 February following the end of the financial year covered by that return or information report, if you are not required to lodge an income tax return.

Annually

If you report annually the due date for lodging your annual GST return and paying any amount owing on that return is:

• the date your income tax return is due, or
• 28 February following the end of the financial year covered by that return or information report, if you are not required to lodge an income tax return.

You must lodge the original activity statement we sent you, not a copy or a version generated from a commercial software package. If you use a commercial record keeping package, transfer the information from it to your original statement. We recommend you keep a copy of your original activity statement for your records.

Using a registered tax agent or BAS agent

If you use a tax agent or BAS agent to prepare your activity statements, your agent will advise you when the statements must be lodged. Contact your agent to work out when they need your information to lodge your forms on time.

You are responsible for making sure the necessary information is with your agent in time.

How to pay GST amounts

You can pay GST amounts, along with other amounts you must pay us:

• electronically, via direct credit, BPAY® or direct debit
• by mailing a cheque or money order to us, or
• by taking your original pre-printed payment advice to any post office and paying by:
• cheque or EFTPOS (from a savings or cheque account only, not a credit card account), or
• cash (up to $3,000).

® Registered to BPAY Pty Ltd ABN 69 079 137 518

You pay only the assessed net amount of GST to us, that is, the GST you owe less GST credits plus or minus any adjustments you have.

For information about paying GST by: direct credit, BPAY®, post office payments or mail: phone 1800 815 886 email payment@ato.gov.au direct debit: phone 1800 802 308 email eft-information@ato.gov.au

Sections within 07 Reporting and paying GST

• When to report and pay GST