2024-25 Key Dates for Common Lodgements

Employer Obligations

Single Touch Payroll

Single Touch Payroll (STP) finalisation declarations need to be lodged to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) by 14 July each year for all arm’s length or unrelated employees.

If you have a mix of closely-held and unrelated employees, lodgement of your STP finalisation event will be due by 30 September and for employers who only have closely-held employees, then your STP finalisation will be due when their individual tax return is due.

Once this declaration is lodged, your employees will be able to access their respective income statements through the ATO online services linked to myGov.

If you are not yet using STP, you will need to provide all employees with a payment summary by 14 July.

Superannuation

Employers must pay minimum superannuation guarantee (SG) on time in order to avoid the super guarantee charge. This applies from the day your employees start and as of 1 July 2024 will be equal to 11.5% of wages paid to eligible employees.

Payments for super guarantee are due quarterly, 28 days after the end of the previous financial quarter. Please refer to the table below for the payment due dates.

When a SG payment due date falls on a weekend or public holiday, your contribution must be received by the super funds on or before the next business day.

You can also make payments more frequently than quarterly (i.e. fortnightly or monthly) but please ensure that you pay your total super guarantee contribution for the quarter by the due date.

If you have missed or made late super payments, you will need to pay the superannuation guarantee charge (SGC) which is not tax deductible.

Superannuation Guarantee Charge Statement

Employers are liable for the additional super guarantee charge (SGC) when super guarantee is not paid by the due date. This charge and associated SGC statement are due to the ATO within 1 calendar month after the super guarantee due date. Please refer to the table below for the payment and lodgement due dates.

If super guarantee charge statements are not lodged on time, employers may be exposed to heavy penalties of up to 200% of the super guarantee charge.

Activity Statements

Monthly Lodgements

Businesses with an annual GST turnover of at least $20 million must report and pay GST monthly by lodging a business activity statement (BAS) via ATO online services for businesses.

If you’re an employer with pay as you go (PAYG) withholding amounts between $25,001 and $1 million a year, you will also need to report and pay your employee’s tax withholding amounts monthly via an instalment activity statement (IAS).

The due date for your monthly BAS or IAS is the 21st day of the month following the end of the taxable period. Please refer to the table below for the payment and lodgement due dates.

Quarterly Lodgements

For businesses with an annual GST turnover of less than $20 million, you must lodge a BAS to report and pay GST quarterly.

Employers with PAYG withholding amounts below $25,000 in a year, must report and pay the associated tax quarterly via an IAS.

A quarterly BAS or IAS is due for lodgement and payment on the 28th day of the month following the end of the quarter. Businesses that lodge business activity statements through a tax agent may access a concessional date approximately one month after the original due date.

Please refer to the table below for the payment and lodgement due dates.

Taxable Payments Annual Report

A taxable payments annual report (TPAR) is due for businesses in the industries of: building and construction, cleaning, courier services, information technology and security that pay contractors.

A TPAR is required to report payments made to contractors during the prior financial year and is due for lodgement to the ATO by 28 August each year.

Income Tax

If you use a tax agent to prepare your tax returns, you will generally have until 15 May to lodge and pay any associated income tax for the prior financial year ended 30 June.

In certain circumstances, some entities may be required to lodge an income tax return earlier as indicated below:

Tips For Meeting Your Due Dates

Please find below some tips on how to meet your deadlines and avoid the dreaded ATO phone call following up on late lodgements or payments, or letters containing expensive penalties.

1. Establish a recurring event or task for every obligation in your digital calendar, with a reminder set for a week before the due date to provide time to finalise any outstanding matters.
2. Set time aside to add the due dates relevant to your business in a physical calendar that you often view. If you’re unsure what’s due, just ask us at BLG and we can review your situation.
3. If you have a bookkeeper, ask if they’re able to assist with any obligations such as lodgement of Activity Statements or request a reminder of when your lodgements are coming up.

Please get in touch with our team for support with any outstanding obligations and advice if you’re feeling overwhelmed by impending deadlines. We would love to meet with you to review your situation and provide advice on how to move forward for greater success.

BLG Business Advisers are Wollongong Accountants who service all over Australia and are available to assist you so please talk with us.

*This information is relevant at the time of publishing and is subject to change*