Key tax dates this financial year

How to use this calendar

The timeline above shows the standard ATO due dates for people and businesses that balance on 30 June and lodge for themselves. Your own due date can differ: it depends on whether you use a registered tax agent, how you lodge, your lodgement history and, for businesses, your size and reporting cycle.

The ATO shows the due date on each business activity statement, and a registered agent can see each client's dates in the ATO's online services for agents. Where those differ from the dates on this page, the date the ATO has given you is the one that applies.

The dates on this page are general information for the 2026–27 financial year. Ask us to confirm the dates that apply to you.

Individual tax return dates

If you prepare and lodge your own 2025–26 tax return (for example through myTax), it is due by 31 October 2026. In 2026, 31 October is a Saturday, so applying the ATO's next business day rule (explained below) the return can be lodged on Monday 2 November 2026.

The ATO makes pre-fill data available from 1 July, with most of it finalised by the end of July. Some items, such as trust and partnership distributions, arrive later, so a return lodged early in July may be missing information.

Clients of a registered tax agent can usually lodge later under the agent's lodgement program. The ATO says people using an agent for the first time, or changing agents, need to contact the agent before 31 October to be included. The ATO's published program dates for individuals and trusts for 2025–26 returns are below.

Separate earlier dates apply to large and medium trusts with annual total income over $10 million. See our tax return deadlines guide for late lodgement and prior year returns.

When tax owing on a return must be paid

For individuals and trusts on the 15 May 2027 lodgement date, the ATO uses staggered payment dates based on when the return is lodged:

• lodged up to and including 12 February 2027: payment due 21 March 2027
• lodged from 13 February to 12 March 2027: payment due 21 April 2027
• lodged from 13 March 2027: payment due 5 June 2027.

For other lodgement dates, tax is generally payable on the later of 21 days after the lodgement due date or the date the notice of assessment is taken to be received (7 business days after it issues). If a return is lodged late, the tax is payable 21 days after the original due date. The payment date on your notice of assessment is the one to follow. If paying in full is difficult, our ATO payment plans guide explains the options.

BAS due dates for 2026–27

Most small businesses report GST quarterly. A quarterly BAS is due on the 28th day of the month after the quarter ends, except the October to December quarter, which is due on 28 February because it already includes a one-month extension. The same dates apply to quarterly PAYG instalment notices.

A registered tax or BAS agent who lodges electronically can usually lodge eligible quarterly statements about four weeks later, as shown in the ATO's lodgement program for 2026–27. Businesses that lodge online themselves may also qualify for an extra two weeks. Neither extension applies to the October to December quarter.

Monthly BAS is due on the 21st day of the following month (a July BAS is due on 21 August). For 2026–27, the ATO requires monthly reporting when GST turnover is $20 million or more, or when it has directed a business to report monthly; below $20 million it is optional. Under the 2026–27 lodgement program, an agent can lodge the December monthly BAS by 21 February for business clients with annual turnover up to $10 million that report GST monthly and lodge electronically (businesses registered for deferred GST are excluded).

Annual GST returns, for businesses voluntarily registered for GST with GST turnover under $75,000 ($150,000 for not-for-profits) as published by the ATO for 2026–27, are generally due on 31 October, or 28 February if no tax return is required. Different dates can apply when a registered agent lodges. Our BAS due dates guide and BAS and GST service cover this in more detail.

Super guarantee and Payday Super

Payday Super started on 1 July 2026. For qualifying earnings paid from that date, an employee's super guarantee contribution is on time only if the fund receives it, with the details needed to allocate it, within 7 business days after payday. The first contribution for a new employee, or to a new fund for an existing employee, has 20 business days. The super guarantee rate for 2026–27 is unchanged at 12%, now calculated on qualifying earnings.

The old quarterly system finished with the April to June 2026 quarter, whose contributions were due by 28 July 2026. Contributions that arrive late attract the super guarantee charge, which from 1 July 2026 the ATO assesses itself rather than employers lodging a statement.

Because contributions now follow your pay cycle, there is no longer a single quarterly super date to diarise. Clearing houses and payroll software need enough processing time to get money to funds within the 7 business days. See our Payday Super guide and payroll service.

Single Touch Payroll finalisation: 14 July

Employers report wages, PAYG withholding and super through Single Touch Payroll (STP) on or before each payday. After the year ends, they must make a finalisation declaration for each employee by 14 July. For the 2026–27 year, that is 14 July 2027.

Finalisation is what tells the ATO that an employee's figures are complete. Once it is done, the employee's income statement shows as "tax ready" in ATO online services and pre-fills into their tax return. Employees who lodge before their income statement is tax ready risk using incomplete figures. Employers who cannot finalise on time can apply for a deferral. Our Single Touch Payroll guide has more.

End of financial year: 30 June 2027

The 2026–27 financial year ends on 30 June 2027, the last day of the income year for anyone who balances on 30 June. Most year-end tax planning generally has to be done before that date rather than after it.

In the weeks after 30 June, the following steps usually fall into place:

• 1 July 2027: the 2027–28 financial year begins and ATO pre-fill data starts to appear
• 14 July 2027: employers finalise STP data for 2026–27
• 28 July 2027: quarterly BAS for April to June 2027 is due (the later agent date of 25 August 2027 is still to be confirmed by the ATO)
• 31 October 2027: the usual due date for 2026–27 tax returns lodged without an agent (the ATO confirms each year's dates on its website).

Our tax planning service can review your position in the lead-up to 30 June.

Weekends and public holidays

When a due date for lodging or paying falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the ATO lets you lodge and pay on the next business day. For this rule, a public holiday is one that applies across a whole state or territory, and it counts for taxpayers everywhere in Australia, even where the holiday is not observed.

Two 2026–27 examples: the 31 October 2026 tax return date falls on a Saturday, so the next business day is Monday 2 November 2026. The 28 February 2027 BAS date is a Sunday, and the ATO's 2027 holiday table lists Monday 1 March 2027 as Labour Day in Western Australia, so the first business day is Tuesday 2 March 2027.

Payday Super counts business days the same way: a state or territory wide public holiday anywhere in Australia is not a business day.

The tax agent lodgement program

The ATO gives registered agents a program of concessional due dates so they can lodge their clients' returns progressively over the year. For the current program, that period runs to 30 June 2027. The ATO describes its published list as a guide only, and a client's dates can change if their circumstances do, for example after a prior year amendment.

The ATO advises individuals who are new to a tax agent, or switching agents, to get in touch with the agent before 31 October so they can be included in the agent's program. Clients with prior year returns outstanding at 30 June 2026, or whose latest return showed a tax liability of $20,000 or more, are given earlier dates for 2025–26 returns.

Ross Accounting Pty Ltd is a registered tax agent with the Tax Practitioners Board (registration number 21430015). If you would like us to look after your dates, see becoming a client or contact us.

Frequently asked questions

General information only, not personal advice. Tax rules change and your circumstances matter, so talk to us before acting. See our disclaimer.