Businesses that are registered for GST, will probably know that they have to submit the Business Activity Statement or BAS. Preparing as well as submitting this is a part of running some small business that has registered for GST. The BAS tends to be a form that is given to the Australian Taxation Office or ATO. It is submitted by business entities so as to report their particular tax obligations. Stuff in this encompasses reportable items such as GST, fringe benefits tax, etc. When one wants to prepare as well as submit the BAS, they can get the help of an accountant, bookkeepers, ATO website, and accounting software. You can for instance consider BAS lodgements at MicroChilli who can create the BAS report for you.
The following is a brief guide to BAS that you should know about:
Who needs to submit a BAS?
You probably do not have to submit this if you are unsure. The reason is that ATO automatically sends businesses their particular BAS at the time that it is required to lodge. This assumes that they are actually registered for some Australian Business Number or ABN along with GST.
BAS due dates
You may be wondering what dates you need to submit the BAS. Submitting a BAS tends to be an ongoing need for businesses when they need to pay business taxes. It is necessary to file BAS moreover taxes are paid quarterly. The benefit of this is that your taxes can be spread throughout the year allowing your cash flow to be more even. The government can even collect revenue sooner. You need to know the due dates present for lodging and also paying your BAS.
When you get a notification stating that you need to lodge a BAS, the due date for lodging along with paying will be present on the form. You need to keep this date in mind as there are penalties when one fails to lodge on time.
How BAS lodgement can be made easier
It is important to have accurate record keeping. This will make life simpler when you need to pay your tax obligations, like BAS. You should keep records of the following to help you out here:
- Every sale, fees, wages, expenses, as well as other business expenses
- Stocktake records plus motor vehicle logbooks, etc.
- Sales along with bank statements
- The right GST accounting methods
- Every tax invoice and any other GST records, particularly for the previous five years
For those who are finding it stressful to track this information, you can employ business accounting software to aid in tracking your sales, wages, expenses, etc.
Submitting a BAS
You can submit a BAS online, by mail, and through some tax or BAS agent. For the mail option, you will need to fill out the form and then mail this to the ATO.
If you want to submit your form through a BAS agent, you will contact the agent so that they can lodge and pay this via an electronic channel for you.
It is possible to get professional help with BAS if you are unsure. Make sure you choose a reputable service that can help you out here.
