For certain Australian companies, BAS or BAS Statements is essential. BAS is a form that Australian companies should submit to the ATO or Australian Taxation Office in order to report their tax obligations. However, not every industry needs to deal with the lodging of a BAS. A BAS agent in Perth can provide several insights related to the entire procedure. To learn more about BAS statements, keep reading the article till the end.
What Do You Mean By BAS?
If your company is registered for Good and Services Tax or GST, you will have to lodge a BAS statement monthly, quarterly and annually. These statements help inform the government regarding the total amount of money you have collected and the amount you have paid out.
What Are the BAS Requirements?
When determining the businesses that need to lodge BAS Statements, the requirement behind this is quite straightforward. You must consider lodging a BAS if your company is registered for GST. Lodging the BAS allows your company to pay and report your GST, followed by various other tax obligations. On the other hand, if your company is not registered for Good and Services Tax, you do not need to lodge a BAS.
Once you register for an ABN or Australian Business Number, the ATO automatically sends you the form when it’s finally the time to lodge. In this way, you will always get a heads up beforehand.
What Falls Under a Business Activity Statement?
Certain obligations can be categorized under BAS, such as:
- Goods and services tax (GST)
- Pay as you go (PAYG) tax withheld
- Pay as you go (PAYG) income tax installment
- Luxury car tax (LCT)
- Fringe benefits tax (FBT) installment
- Fuel tax credits
- Wine equalization tax (WET)
What Is Included in a BAS?
There are certain things that you must consider including in your BAS form, such as:
- Reporting period
- The document ID
- Australian Business Number
- Your signature
These details are specifically important for your future purpose. If you ever feel the need to get in touch with ATO, you will have to provide your document ID and ABN with an approach to identify your business.
What Are the Steps to Prepare Your BAS?
Preparation of BAS involve the following measures:
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Up-To-Date
You need to ensure that the MYOB accounting software is updated, bank reconciliations are done, and all the bank feeds are allocated and imported.
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Print the MYOB Report
Consider printing off your MYOB reports during the end of the month or the week and focusing on preparing the BAS. You will get an estimate of the amount that you would have to pay should your Business Activity statement be due right now.
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Track Your Bank Balance
You need to have a certain amount in your bank account to cover the process. You can also use this account in order to set the employee obligations aside, like a superannuation guarantee.
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Profit and Loss Statement
After printing the BAS reports, consider printing a Profit and Loss Statement. This will give you an estimation of the amount of money you have made in the week.
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Increased Confidence
If you stay organized, capture information on a regular basis and set aside an amount by developing monthly and weekly reports, it will help you to focus more on your numbers. It will assist you in increasing your confidence and will prepare you for dealing with more obligations, including those associated with ATO.
What Are the Ways to Lodge a BAS?
Several ways can help you to lodge a BAS. These ways include SBR-enabled software, Business portals etc. You can opt to hire high-quality BAS tax agent services in order to lodge the business activity statements. These professional experts will pay the taxes on behalf of you through an electronic mode of payment that will be suitable for you. By getting in toucan with a tax agent, you can expect the following things such as:
- The agent will efficiently take care of everything and allow you to lodge the BAS tax return on time.
- These agents will view through the various activity statements that are delivered to your inbox.
What Are the Benefits of Lodging BAS on Time?
If you choose to lodge your BAS on time, you will be blessed with several benefits such as:
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You Can See the Progress of Your Business
If you lodge the BAS at the right time every quarter, you will get a snapshot related to the financial position of your business. It will allow you to potentially track your company’s optimum performance and overall growth from quarter to quarter. You can take proper guidance from a tax agent in Perth.
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You Can Eliminate Late Penalties
If you, unfortunately, lodge the BAS after the due date, you can get subjected to a lodge penalty or a failure from the ATO. The fine comes with varying amounts, and if you have a poor lodgement history, the overall fine might end up increasing.
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Good Lodgement History
If you feel the urge to organize a payment arrangement, a good lodgement history will be a boon for you under such scenarios. Convenient lodging of the BAS will always ensure maintaining a good lodgement history.
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Enough Time to Organize a Payment Arrangement
Some business industries suffer from certain temporary problems where they get exposed to a short-term downturn and unforeseen personal scenarios that lead to debt. In such cases, the ATO assists the small scale industries going through financial issues by offering them certain payment arrangements under a given circumstance.
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Focus on Operating Your Business
If you lodge your BAS on time, it will allow you to pay attention to the important aspects of your business. However, even if a situation does not allow you to pay on time, you need to lodge the BAS to avoid penalties.
The Bottom Line
These are some important insights you need to know about lodging a BAS. The professionals can help you in BAS tax return and timely lodging of your Business Activity Statement.
