Ye gads! My BAS is late!

It's a week past the BAS deadline and the form is still sitting on the kitchen counter... uncompleted!

What are you going to do?!!

Don't do what many tax payers do and stick your head in the sand. It won't go away!

The BAS has to be done, but don't make the situation worse or more expensive. The first thing that you need to do is contact the ATO and let them know that you are running late. If you make the first move, generally the ATO is fairly considerate and they will probably give you an extension of two weeks without hitting you with fines.

Make sure that you get it in within that time. Whether it's sitting at the kitchen table with a calculator and receipts completing the form yourself or getting a BAS provider or Accountant to do the BAS for you, the form must be lodged.

If this is an issue that tends to occur each quarter, consider nominating the GST instalment option. That way the actual calculation of the GST is not required until the lodgement of your tax return.

One common reason that I hear in regard to not lodging a BAS is that the return is complete but the client didn't have the money to pay it. My advice is always the same. Lodge the return, even if you don't have the money.

By not lodging you attract $110 fines every 28 days up to a maximum of $550... and this is an expense you can not claim against your business income. Even if you are charged interest in regard to the outstanding amount it will most probably be far less than the fines... and the interest is tax deductible!

If you find yourself in this situation, lodge the return and then contact the ATO to organise a payment arrangement. As I said before, if the ATO don't have to do the chasing then they are very reasonable in working with you to payoff the amount.

Keep in mind that from 1 July 2007 the compulsory income threshhold for BAS registration has risen from $50,000 to $75,000. So if your revenue (what you receive before any expenses) is less than $75,000 you may want to consider deregistering for GST.

Contact your Accountant or Tax Agent to discuss whether you may benefit from this.