BAS or Business Activity Statement needs to be lodged by every business that is registered for GST. In case you are delayed or overdue on your BAS lodgement, then hiding in the bush will not solve the matter. There are ATO payment plans that can help you in dealing with these debts. The ATO offers these plans to ensure the success of the small business – so get in touch with them early on to organise or negotiate a payment plan. At Auditax Accountants, we can do this on your behalf. Let us move ahead and see how you can manage your ATO payment plan for delayed or overdue BAS lodgement. 

Tips and tricks for managing the debt relating to delayed BAS lodgement 

 

Below tips and tricks that can help you out in managing the ATO payment plan debt for BAS delayed lodging with ATO: 

  1. Ensure that you pay your first instalment of the payment plan on time. How you set yourself up for the first payment will impact the whole process! 
  2. You can opt for an auto-debit facility from your bank account on a recurring basis so that you do not miss any future payments. 
  3. It is always better to pay a little bit ahead of time. For this, you can schedule your auto-debit through net banking a few days before the due date. Because sometimes funds take time for clearance due to bank holidays or system issues. If you do this, you will always be able to pay on time and payment will not be delayed. 
  4. This time you have got the leverage from ATO and your BAS lodgement is covered under the ATO payment plan, but for the next BAS lodgement, you will have to pay in full at the due date. If in case you want your next BAS lodgement to be included in your existing ATO payment plan, you will have to lodge it few days before the due date and contact ATO for adding the BAS lodgement to the payment plan immediately. 
  5. Do not default on the ATO payment plan unless absolutely impossible because if you default on payment more than three times, then ATO will start the process of asking for information on the financial soundness of your business i.e., whether you would be able to pay in the future or not. Also, it will impact your business’ credit rating and in rare situations, ATO can even ‘garnishee’ i.e., access funds from your account without asking for permission’ your account. 

We would recommend that you deal with the delayed BAS lodgement issue as soon as it is possible. These plans are specifically created by the ATO to help the small businesses, so do not think you are alone, it happens now and then with every small business. The main thing is how you come out shining from the situation which you can definitely do if you follow the above tips and tricks.