Do you find keeping up with your tax deadlines stressful and kind of a burden? There’s probably not a business owner out there that would disagree with you.
It can be difficult to keep up to date with what you need to do and when you need to have it done by – and it rocks around so quickly.
You, like most business owners, probably have a billion other things to do in your daily life, so keeping your tax deadlines top of mind is probably not going happen.
Don’t fret – this convenient infographic can help! If you save this little beauty, it might make those pesky dates a lot easier to stay on top of.
We do have to warn you that the ATO only release dates a quarter in advance, so some deadlines dates are tentative, but the dates we’ve listed will give you a basic guideline of what you’re aiming for.
And with 2015 fast approaching, forewarned is forearmed. Making sure you’ve you’re reconciled, lodged and/or paid by the due dates, means most likely avoiding horrible late lodgment penalties. If you aren’t sure of what penalties yo
u can face, the following will give you an idea:
• If you lodge 1-28 days past the deadline you can face a $170 penalty. That’s right, even just being a day late can cop you a fine
• 29-56 days late and you’re facing a $340 penalty
• 57-84 days and the late lodgment penalty rises to $510
• 85-112 days late and the penalty is $680
• And finally is you’re late by 113 or more days, you could face a late lodgment penalty of $850
Those penalties don’t sound very pleasant (and certainly not in the lead up to spending season…um we mean Christmas), and unfortunately the Australian Tax Office may even charge interest on any amount that is owed to them after 31st October at a rate of 11.86% (as of this year, it could change next year).
But don’t worry, if you stick to the guideline dates given in this handy infographic (which we’ll update from time to time as those dates become set in stone), you’ll avoid such nasties.
If you are struggling to keep up with the lodgment deadlines, then depending on your tax history, you may be granted an extension to help you out. But just keep in mind that to be able to qualify for an extension you must have your details, including your tax file number, registered with a tax agent. Oh, and did we mention, the ATO aren’t really thrilled about granting extensions like they use to be. Consider yourself warned.
So take a look at the infographic, save it somewhere useful, or print it out and stick it on your wall, and hopefully you will feel a little relief from not needing to memorise all those important tax dates.
Of course if you’re drowning in paper that makes looking after your tax affairs difficult, we can help with that. You can give us a call on 1300 00 1333 (AU) or 0508 00 1333 (NZ).