Quarterly activity statements for tax agents and BAS agents
Quarterly activity statements are due on the 28th day of the month following the reporting period, except for quarter two, which is due on 28 February 2011.
There are two important changes this year that impact the quarterly activity statement concessions:
- BAS agents and tax agents will have the same concessions for quarterly activity statements.
- The lodgment and payment concession for paper lodgment of quarterly BAS will be removed for tax agents by the third quarter (1 January 2011 - 31 March 2011)
What this means for tax agents:
- In previous years' programs we have automatically provided a two week 'standard agent' concession for tax agents if they lodge via paper or ECI.
- From quarter 3, we will not provide this automatic concession if the quarterly activity statement is lodged by paper.
- The electronic lodgment concession where tax agents receive a four week lodgment and payment concession if lodging via the Tax Agent Portal or ELS remains - we are removing concessions related to paper lodgment and extending concessions related to ECI.
- From quarter 1, we will consider ECI as an electronic lodgment channel for tax agents.
What this means for BAS agents:
- A four week lodgment and payment concession from quarter 1 will be provided if the quarterly activity statement is lodged electronically, except for quarter 2
Note: The quarterly activity statement concessions for 2010-11 obligations commence in quarter 1. That is, the July to September 2010 quarter will have a concession until 25 November if lodged electronically.
- Quarterly activity statements lodged via paper by BAS agents will not be provided with a lodgment and payment concession.
- BAS agents should lodge quarterly activity statements through the preferred electronic channels which are ECI and BAS Agent Portal. This concession is automatically granted and the lodgment date is updated when you lodge activity statements through this method.
The following table outlines the due dates for lodgment and payment of quarterly activity statements and the corresponding concession dates.
Tax Agents
Quarterly lodgment obligation
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Original due date
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Tax agent lodgment and payment concession date if lodging by paper (or ECI for Quarter 4, 2009-10)
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Electronic lodgment and payment concession date
If lodging by Tax Agent Portal, ELS, or ECI from quarter 1, 2010-11
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Quarter 4, 2009-10
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28 July 2010
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11 August 2010 (paper or ECI)
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25 August 2010
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Quarter 1, 2010-11
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28 October 2010
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11 November 2010 (paper only)
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25 November 2010
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Quarter 2, 2010-11
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28 February 2011
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n/a
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n/a
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The quarter 2 lodgment due date is more than eight weeks after the end of the quarter, which is similar to the electronic lodgment concession available for the other three quarters. Therefore, lodgment concessions are not available for quarter 2.
Quarterly lodgment obligation
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Original due date
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Registered agent concession for lodgment and payment
If lodging by
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Quarter 3, 2010-11
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28 April 2011
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26 May 2011
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Quarter 4, 2010-11
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28 July 2011
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25 August 2011
(To be confirmed)
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To ensure your clients receive the correct instalment credit in their income tax assessment, all PAYG instalments relating to the 2009-10 year should be finalised before lodgment of the 2009-10 income tax return.
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BAS Agents
Quarterly lodgment obligation
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Original due date
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Registered agent concession for lodgment and payment
If lodging by BAS Agent Portal or ECI
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Quarter 1, 2010-11
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28 October 2010
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25 November 2010
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Quarter 2, 2010-11
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28 February 2011
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n/a
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Quarter 3, 2010-11
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28 April 2011
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26 May 2011
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Quarter 4, 2010-11
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28 July 2011
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25 August 2011
(To be confirmed)
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The quarter 2 lodgment due date is more than eight weeks after the end of the quarter, which is similar to the electronic lodgment concession available for the other three quarters. Therefore, lodgment concessions are not available for quarter 2.
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The four-week electronic concession will only be provided where a BAS agent lodges a quarterly activity statement by BAS Agent Portal or ECI.
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Electronic lodgment
Our preferred channels for lodgment of activity statements are ELS, Tax Agent Portal and BAS Agent Portal; this is because all these channels are secure and you need a digital certificate or AUSkey to access these channels.
We recognise that currently BAS agents do not use ELS and therefore may use ECI to lodge multiple activity statements. We are working on a solution to assist BAS agents to lodge multiple activity statements.
To ensure that there is an alignment of concessions and lodgment channels, we will be recognising ECI as an electronic channel of lodgment for registered agents from quarter 1. This is only a transitional measure and will be reviewed for the Lodgment Program 2011-12.
Eligible activity statements
The following table details which activity statements are eligible for registered agent concessions.
Type
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*Form/AS Name
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Eligible for registered agent concession**
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Business activity statement
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Form A
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Yes
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Instalment activity statement
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Form B
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Yes
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Business activity statement
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Form C
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Yes
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Business activity statement
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Form D
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Yes
|
Business activity statement
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Form F
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Yes
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Business activity statement
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Form G
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No
|
Instalment activity statement
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Form I
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Yes - if quarterly role.
No - if monthly role.
|
Instalment activity statement
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Form J
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Yes
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Annual instalment activity statement
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Form N
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No
|
Annual GST return
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Form P
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n/a
|
Annual GST information report
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Form Q
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n/a
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Quarterly PAYG instalment notice
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***Form R
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No
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Quarterly GST instalment notice
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***Form S
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No
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Quarterly GST and PAYG instalment notice
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***Form T
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No
|
Business activity statement
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Form U
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Yes
|
Business activity statement
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Form V
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Yes
|
Business activity statement
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Form W
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Yes
|
Business activity statement
|
Form X
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Yes
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Business activity statement
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Form Y
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No
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Annual GST return
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Form Z
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n/a
|
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For information about activity statements forms, refer to the Activity statement home page.
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*The form or activity statement name is visible in ELS and the portals (Tax Agent or BAS Agent Portal) and varies depending on the:
- client's reporting cycle
- client's elected reporting method
- details being reported.
** Eligible clients are covered by the registered agent concession for lodgment of their eligible quarterly activity statement only where notice of your authority to act for activity statement purposes has been received by the end of the reporting period (for example, for the January to March 2011 quarter, you need to have advised us of your authority to act by 31 March 2011). Clients that operate on substituted accounting periods are only eligible where their quarters align with the standard quarters. Please note that lodgment of an activity statement on behalf of a new client does not notify us of your authority to act.
Eligible clients will receive the additional time available under the electronic lodgment concession for lodgment of their eligible quarterly activity statements automatically. Electronic lodgment channels are ELS, ECI, the Tax Agent Portal and the BAS Agent Portal.
***Forms R, S and T are linked to an election to pay quarterly instalments and lodgment is only required where the client is varying the instalment amount.
Monthly activity statements
Monthly activity statements are due for lodgment and payment on the 21st of the following month.
Clients who do not have a monthly GST obligation but are registered for PAYG withholding monthly, and have at least one quarterly obligation (for example, GST, PAYG instalment, or fringe benefits tax instalments), will receive a monthly activity statement for the first two months of the quarter (due on the 21st of the following month) and a quarterly activity statement for the third month (due on the 28th of the following month or 28 February for Quarter 2).
Quarterly PAYG instalment activity statement - head companies of consolidated groups
Quarterly PAYG instalment activity statements are due on the 21st of the month following the end of the reporting period - 21 July 2010, 21 October 2010, 21 January 2011, 21 April 2011 and 21 July 2011.
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To ensure your clients receive the correct instalment credit in their income tax assessment, all PAYG instalments relating to the 2009-10 year should be finalised before lodgment of the 2009-10 income tax return.
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Instalment notices
Instalment notices (also called remittance advices) include:
- quarterly PAYG instalment notice (form R)
- quarterly GST instalment notice (form S)
- quarterly PAYG and GST instalment notice (form T)
- annual PAYG instalment notice (form N).
You don't need to lodge these forms with us if you are paying the amount advised. Forms R, S and T have payment due dates of 28 July 2010, 28 October 2010, 28 February 2011, 28 April 2011 and 28 July 2011. Form N has a payment due date of 21 October 2010.
If you vary the amount to be paid (or with form N, use the rate method to calculate your instalment amount), you must complete the form and lodge it by the payment due date.
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The instalment notices can be lodged electronically via ELS using the generic business activity statement. These notices are not eligible for electronic concessions.
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Elections
When your clients receive an activity statement with an instalment amount and an instalment rate option, they can elect either of these options. They should tick the box to select the option and complete labels relating only to this option. The activity statement must be received on or before the due date for the election to take effect.
If your client received a form R or T in Quarter 1 and would like to change to the instalment rate option, contact the ATO on 13 28 66 on or before 28 October. We will arrange the change of option and send a new instalment activity statement for lodgment.
Variations
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Could your client be paying too much in PAYG instalments?
In the current economic climate there has been a downward trend in earnings, so we are encouraging businesses to review their tax position to see if their pay as you go (PAYG) instalments reflect their current financial position.
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Some business and investment taxpayers that use the instalment rate method for PAYG instalments could end up paying more than their expected tax liability for the relevant income year. If this is the case, they are entitled to vary their PAYG instalment rate to ensure that the correct amount of tax is paid.
A business or investment taxpayer may wish to consider varying the instalment rate where there has been a substantial change in the proportion of the business and investment income that will be paid as tax - for example, if they expect to have much higher tax deductions for a similar level of business and investment income. Any overpaid instalments from previous quarters can then be applied to meet the current PAYG instalment.
A taxpayer may be liable to pay an incorrect variation general interest charge where the varied instalment rate is less than 85% of what should have been used. However, the ATO will give fair latitude as to what is reasonable at the time it was made, particularly where the taxpayer has a good compliance record.
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Remember if you are using ELS to lodge the variation of PAYG instalments:
- complete T1, T2, T3 and T4 labels for the instalment rate method
- complete T7, T8, T9 and T4 labels for the instalment amount method.
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Last Modified: Tuesday, 4 October 2011