BAS due dates in Australia: the calendar every business owner should know
Jamee White, CPA5 min readNobody enjoys BAS season, and the due dates have a habit of sneaking up every single quarter. For quarterly lodgers, the standard dates are 28 October, 28 February, 28 April and 28 July. Monthly BAS is generally due on the 21st of the following month. Lodge through a registered BAS or tax agent and you'll usually get extra time on most quarters. Here's the full picture, plus the system that makes the dates irrelevant because you're simply never late.
Standard quarterly BAS due dates
| Quarter | Period | Standard due date |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | July to September | 28 October |
| Q2 | October to December | 28 February |
| Q3 | January to March | 28 April |
| Q4 | April to June | 28 July |
When a due date falls on a weekend or public holiday, you can lodge and pay on the next business day. Q2 already carries a built-in extension over the summer break, which is why it stretches out to 28 February.
The agent lodgement advantage
Businesses that lodge through a registered BAS or tax agent generally get concessional due dates, typically an extra four weeks on most quarters under the ATO's lodgement program. The exact concession depends on the quarter and your circumstances, so treat your agent's compliance calendar as the source of truth, not this article. The bigger benefit isn't even the extra time. It's that lodgement stops depending on your memory.
Monthly BAS and IAS
Businesses with GST turnover of $20 million or more must lodge monthly, and some smaller businesses choose it anyway for the cash flow discipline. Monthly activity statements are generally due on the 21st of the following month. Employers withholding PAYG also lodge IAS in the months between quarterly BAS lodgements.
Why businesses lodge late (hint: it's rarely the date)
- Bank feeds haven't been reconciled, so the GST figures can't be trusted
- Payroll and super don't match the ledger, so someone has to investigate before lodging
- Receipts and bills are missing, so coding turns into guesswork
- Nobody owns the deadline: the owner assumes the bookkeeper has it, the bookkeeper assumes the accountant does
Every one of those is a process problem dressed up as a calendar problem. A file reconciled weekly is always just days from a lodgeable BAS, and that turns the due date into a non-event.
How NextEra keeps it boring
NextEra clients run on a documented compliance calendar: reconciliations weekly, payroll checked every run, BAS prepared and reviewed ahead of the concession date, then lodged by a registered agent. You see the whole year of dates upfront, and you're told the moment each obligation is done.
Quick answers
28 October for July to September, 28 February for October to December, 28 April for January to March, and 28 July for April to June. Weekend and public holiday due dates roll to the next business day.
This article is general information for Australian businesses, current at the published date. It is not financial, tax or legal advice. Speak to a registered agent or adviser about your circumstances before acting.
Jamee White, CPA
Founder of NextEra Bookkeeping. Jamee leads a team supporting established Australian businesses with strategic bookkeeping, reporting, payroll and Xero, and is a multiple national awards finalist across bookkeeping and finance.