Applying for a SAP
An entity's accounting period is ordinarily the 12-month period ending on 30 June.
You can seek leave from the Commissioner of Taxation to adopt an alternative annual accounting period (known as a 'substituted accounting period' or SAP).
Use the instructions on applying for a substituted accounting period to:
- apply for a SAP
- revert to a standard accounting period ending 30 June.
When you apply, you must provide:
- a reason for requesting a SAP
- supporting evidence.
Find out what supporting evidence you need to provide and why it's important to lodge as early as possible. For guidance on circumstances that warrant granting a SAP, see Law Administration Practice Statement PS LA 2007/21 Substituted accounting periods.
We accept retrospective or out-of-date applications in limited circumstances. See PS LA 2007/21 for details.
Lodging your income tax return with a SAP
If you've been granted leave to adopt a SAP, you must meet different lodgment requirements.
See Substituted accounting periods to find out:
- your lodgment date
- tax agent concessions
- more about how SAPs work.
Transitioning to a SAP
When you adopt a SAP, the end date of your accounting period changes. This results in a transitional period of more or less than 12 months. You must lodge an income tax return for the transitional period.
We will determine and notify you of your transitional period when we approve your SAP.
To better understand your transitional period, see examples of transitional periods for scenarios including:
- first time lodgers
- existing entities
- entities exiting consolidated groups.
When you've adopted a SAP, the new accounting period will involve either late or early balancing in relation to a 30 June year end.
- Where a SAP ends on any date between 1 July and 30 November, the SAP is in lieu of the income year ending on the preceding 30 June – this is a 'late' balance date.
- Where a SAP ends on any date between 1 December and 31 May, the period adopted is in lieu of the income year ending on the succeeding 30 June – this is an 'early' balance date.
For more on early and late balancing, and how and when an entity transitions to a SAP, see PS LA 2007/21.
What tax return form to use
Prepare your tax return on the form for the year in lieu of which the accounting period has been adopted. For example:
- if you adopted a SAP ending 31 December 2025 you're an early balancer
- your transitional period is in lieu of the following income year ending 30 June, being the year ended 30 June 2026, and
- you should prepare your tax return on the Company tax return 2026 form.
We try to release tax time stationery as early as possible. However, if the relevant form has not been produced by the date you wish to lodge, you must use the most recently available tax return form, whether lodging electronically or by paper.
If you are transitioning to a SAP, you must lodge a paper form if you are:
- not lodging the entity's first tax return
- lodging before we release next year's tax time stationery.
For more information, see:
Franking period
Your transitional period will affect your franking period.
For a corporate tax entity that is not a private company, the franking period depends on the length of its income year. The franking period is different for an early or late balancing corporate tax entity that has adopted a SAP.
Lodging additional information for early balancers
Tax return labels may change when new stationery is released.
If you're an early balancer and lodged using the most recent tax return form, you may need to lodge an amendment if label changes are relevant to your circumstances.
We expect to publish draft details of tax return label changes each year in December. Where further changes are required due to law changes not currently known or anticipated, we will update the tax return label changes and provide further advice.
Tax return label changes
To help early balancers, each year we provide information on label changes we expect in the new tax time stationery to be released at the end of May.
While tax returns can be lodged from 1 January, our processing for the new labels won't take place before our system is deployed in June 2026.
Company tax return 2026
For a list of all changes to the Company tax return 2026, refer to the Company tax return 2026 instructions – What's new for companies?
In 2026, there are no label changes to the company tax return.
Reportable tax position schedule 2026
You should consider if the Reportable tax position schedule applies.
The Reportable tax position schedule 2026 updates will be published early in 2026. Before publishing, taxpayers should refer to the Reportable tax position schedule 2025 for lodgment.