Yesterday, the deadline for your tax return passed. If you missed it, this is what you need to know

Tax Return Deadlines & Penalties

Running a business is busy enough without the ATO knocking on your door — and missing lodgement deadlines can cost you.

Lodgement deadlines

If you lodge your own return, the usual deadline is 31 October. If you use a registered tax or BAS agent you may have later dates — but only if you’re on their client list by 31 October.

Australian Taxation Office

Penalties for late lodgement (Failure to Lodge — FTL)

The ATO calculates FTL as 1 penalty unit for each 28-day period (or part of one) the return is overdue, with a higher multiplier for medium/large entities. For small entities the penalty is capped at 5 penalty units.

Australian Taxation Office

A Commonwealth penalty unit is $330 for infringements on/after 7 Nov 2024, so the maximum FTL for a small entity is 5 × $330 = $1,650.

Interest on unpaid tax

Interest (the General Interest Charge — GIC) is also applied to overdue tax amounts; it’s been high recently (around ~11% p.a. by quarter). Don’t forget interest can be as painful as penalties.

Australian Taxation Office

What to do if you’re behind

Don’t ignore it. Contact your bookkeeper or tax agent, or contact the ATO — they’re far more likely to be helpful if you reach out before they start enforcement. You can also discuss payment plans and, in some circumstances, penalty remission.

At Harbourlight Ledgers we keep your lodgements shipshape so tax time doesn’t catch you off guard.