For most Australian businesses the quarterly BAS due dates are 28 October, 28 February, 28 April and 28 July. Two things change those dates. Lodging online adds two weeks to three of the four quarters, and lodging through a registered BAS or tax agent adds about four weeks. The December quarter is the exception: it already carries an eight-week window and gets no further concession from either route. This article sets out every BAS due date for 2026-27, who each one applies to, and where the extra time comes from.
What are the quarterly BAS due dates?
If your GST turnover is under $20 million and the ATO has not told you to report monthly, you lodge quarterly. The quarterly BAS due dates are the 28th of the month following the end of each quarter, with one exception: the December quarter runs to 28 February rather than 28 January, because of the holiday period.
| Quarter | Period covered | Standard due date | If you lodge online |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarter 1 | July, August, September | 28 October | 11 November |
| Quarter 2 | October, November, December | 28 February | 28 February (no concession) |
| Quarter 3 | January, February, March | 28 April | 12 May |
| Quarter 4 | April, May, June | 28 July | 11 August |
These BAS due dates are fixed year to year, so the same calendar applies in 2026-27 as in any other year. What changes is the day of the week each date falls on, and that matters because of the weekend rule covered further down.
The next quarterly deadline
Quarter 1 of 2026-27 covers July to September 2026. It is due 28 October 2026 if you lodge on paper, 11 November 2026 if you lodge online, and 25 November 2026 if a registered agent lodges it for you.
Do you get extra time for lodging your BAS online?
Yes, for three of the four quarters. The ATO’s two-week lodgment concession moves the BAS due dates for quarters 1, 3 and 4 out by a fortnight, to 11 November, 12 May and 11 August. It applies to both lodgement and payment, not just lodgement.
Quarter 2 is excluded. In the ATO’s words, “quarter 2 activity statement lodgers already have 8 weeks to lodge”, so the December quarter stays at 28 February whether you lodge online or on paper.
The concession is not something you apply for. According to the ATO, “you don’t need to apply for the concession. If you qualify, the due date on your activity statement will automatically be updated.” A business qualifies if it receives and lodges its activity statements online, is not a monthly GST payer, is not a large business client with a substituted accounting period, and sits under all three of these thresholds:
- annual income under $10 million
- GST turnover under $20 million
- annual withholding under $1 million
The full conditions are set out on the ATO’s two week lodgment concession page.
How much extra time does a registered BAS agent get?
More than the online concession, and the difference is roughly two additional weeks. Registered tax and BAS agents lodge under the ATO’s lodgment program, which sets concessional dates for statements lodged electronically on a client’s behalf. For 2026-27 the agent BAS due dates are:
| Quarter | Standard due date | Agent concessional date |
|---|---|---|
| Quarter 4, 2025-26 | 28 July 2026 | 25 August 2026 |
| Quarter 1, 2026-27 | 28 October 2026 | 25 November 2026 |
| Quarter 2, 2026-27 | 28 February 2027 | Not applicable |
| Quarter 3, 2026-27 | 28 April 2027 | 26 May 2027 |
| Quarter 4, 2026-27 | 28 July 2027 | 25 August 2027 |
Two points are worth being clear about. The agent concession applies to statements the agent lodges electronically, not to statements the business lodges itself while an agent happens to be engaged. And the December quarter again receives no concession, so 28 February 2027 is the date regardless of who lodges.
The dates above come from the ATO’s BAS agent lodgment program 2026-27, last updated 1 July 2026.
When is a monthly BAS due?
Monthly BAS due dates work differently to quarterly ones. A monthly activity statement is due on the 21st day of the month following the end of the taxable period. September’s monthly BAS is due 21 October, October’s is due 21 November, and so on.
Standard monthly statements receive no electronic lodgement concession. The one exception in the agent lodgment program is the December monthly activity statement, which carries a concessional date of 21 February.
Monthly reporting is mandatory where GST turnover is $20 million or more. Below that threshold a business reports quarterly unless the ATO has directed otherwise, and a business that is voluntarily registered for GST (turnover under $75,000, or under $150,000 for not-for-profit bodies) may be eligible to report annually instead.
Monthly and quarterly are not always the same cycle
A business can report GST quarterly while still lodging monthly activity statements for PAYG withholding. Where that applies, two separate sets of BAS due dates run in parallel across the year.
When is the annual GST return due?
For businesses eligible to report GST annually, the annual GST return is due 31 October where the business is required to lodge an income tax return, and 28 February following the annual tax period where it is not.
What happens if a BAS due date falls on a weekend or public holiday?
The date moves to the next business day. The ATO’s position is that “if the due date is on a weekend or public holiday, you have until the next business day to lodge and pay.”
This is why the printed BAS due dates are worth checking against a calendar each quarter rather than assumed. 28 October 2026 falls on a Wednesday, so quarter 1 is unaffected. Other years the same date lands on a Saturday and the real deadline is the following Monday.
What happens if a BAS is lodged late?
The ATO applies a failure to lodge on time penalty, calculated as one penalty unit for every 28 days or part thereof that the document is overdue, capped at five penalty units. A penalty unit is $364 for infringements occurring on or after 1 July 2026, so the maximum base penalty for a small entity is five units.
The base amount is multiplied for larger entities: by two for medium withholders and by five for large withholders. Interest can also accrue separately on an unpaid balance, which is a different charge from the lodgement penalty.
In practice the ATO does not always apply the penalty for a first or isolated late lodgement, and it publishes the full policy on its failure to lodge on time penalty page. A business that cannot lodge or pay by the due date can contact the ATO before the date passes to discuss options.
It is also worth knowing that lodging and paying are two separate obligations. A statement lodged on time with the payment still outstanding attracts interest on the unpaid amount, but not the failure to lodge penalty. The ATO sets out the available channels on its how to lodge your BAS page.
What makes the deadline easy or hard to hit
The BAS due dates themselves are rarely the problem. The problem is the state of the file on the day the deadline arrives. A quarter that has been coded and reconciled as it went takes an afternoon to review and lodge. A quarter that has not takes a fortnight of chasing receipts, matching bank lines and working out what the unidentified deposits were, and that fortnight generally starts about ten days before the due date.
The businesses that never think about BAS deadlines are the ones where the bank feed is reconciled weekly, supplier bills are entered as they arrive rather than at quarter end, and payroll has been finalised each cycle. At that point the statement is a report, not a project.
Books reconciled before the deadline, not after it
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Frequently asked questions
When is the next BAS due?
For quarterly lodgers, the next BAS covers July to September 2026 and is due 28 October 2026. If you lodge online you have until 11 November 2026, and if a registered BAS or tax agent lodges electronically on your behalf the date is 25 November 2026. Monthly lodgers have a statement due on the 21st of each month.
Why is the December quarter BAS due in February rather than January?
The December quarter carries an eight-week lodgement window instead of the usual four, which pushes the due date to 28 February. The ATO’s stated reason for excluding quarter 2 from the two-week online concession is that these lodgers already have eight weeks. No further extension is available for that quarter, from either online lodgement or a registered agent.
Do I really get two extra weeks for lodging my BAS online?
For quarters 1, 3 and 4, yes, and the concession covers payment as well as lodgement. You need to receive and lodge your activity statements online, not be a monthly GST payer, and sit under $10 million annual income, $20 million GST turnover and $1 million annual withholding. It applies automatically, so the extended date appears on the statement itself.
Is a BAS agent’s due date later than mine?
Usually by about two weeks beyond the online concession. For 2026-27 the agent dates are 25 August 2026, 25 November 2026, 26 May 2027 and 25 August 2027, with no concession for the December quarter. The concession applies to statements the agent lodges electronically, not to statements you lodge yourself.
What is the penalty for lodging a BAS late?
One penalty unit for every 28 days or part thereof that the statement is overdue, up to a maximum of five units. A penalty unit is $364 for infringements on or after 1 July 2026. The base amount is doubled for medium withholders and multiplied by five for large withholders. Interest on an unpaid amount is charged separately.
Do I have to lodge a BAS if I had no sales that quarter?
Yes. The ATO’s position is that “even if you have nothing to report for the period, you still need to lodge your BAS as ‘nil’ by the due date.” A nil statement can be lodged online, or through the ATO’s automated phone service on 13 72 26, which is available 24 hours a day and needs your TFN or ABN plus the BAS document ID. Phone lodgement is not available for an annual GST return or where you report GST by instalments. Not lodging at all is what triggers the failure to lodge penalty.
This article is general information about Australian bookkeeping and reporting obligations, current as at 31 August 2026. It is not tax, financial or legal advice. FreeMyCloud is not a registered tax agent and does not prepare or lodge tax returns. Rates, thresholds and dates change. Confirm your own position with your registered tax or BAS agent, or with the ATO.
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