Accounting and tax for small to medium companies

Who we look after

A company is a separate legal entity, so its members generally have limited liability for its debts, but it costs more to set up and run and comes with a longer list of obligations to the ATO and ASIC. We work with owner-managed Pty Ltd companies at every stage, from the year they are registered to the point where they employ staff, buy equipment and plan for growth.

Principal David Ross founded the firm in 2003 and has a background in banking and mortgage finance. Chau Tran CPA looks after financial statements, business activity statements and company tax returns, and Angela Ross keeps the books for many small businesses in MYOB, QuickBooks and Xero. Our in-house solicitor, Geoff Versace, handles matters such as business leasing and debt collection, and mortgage broker Greg Kearns can help with loans for fit-outs and commercial vehicles. Ross Accounting Pty Ltd is a registered tax agent with the Tax Practitioners Board, registration number 21430015, which you can check on the TPB public register.

• Owners setting up a new company, or moving an existing business into one: see company formations
• Companies that need their books, BAS and payroll kept up to date: see bookkeeping, BAS and GST and payroll
• Directors who need year-end accounts and the company tax return: see financial statements and company tax returns
• Companies with an ATO debt or a director penalty notice: see managing tax debt

A company's compliance year at a glance

Most of a company's obligations repeat on a fixed cycle. The table sets out the main ones for a small to medium company with a 30 June year end. Agent dates can differ from the ATO's standard dates, so we confirm the exact dates for each client.

The ATO says that lodging a quarterly BAS online may give an extra 2 weeks, and that a registered tax or BAS agent may get more time, but not for the October to December quarter, because its 28 February date already includes an extra month. Our BAS due dates guide and the tax calendar list every date.

ASIC: annual review, solvency and keeping details current

ASIC sends every company an annual statement soon after the anniversary of its registration. To stay registered, the company must pay the annual review fee, check the details on the statement and fix anything that is wrong, and have its directors pass a solvency resolution.

• Annual review fee: from 1 July 2026 ASIC charges $342 for a proprietary company and $70 for a special purpose proprietary company. The fee is usually due 2 months after the annual review date.
• Late fees: from 1 July 2026, ASIC charges $102 if the annual review fee or an update is up to 1 month late, and $428 if it is more than 1 month late.
• Solvency resolution: within 2 months of the annual review date (unless the company has lodged a financial report with ASIC in the past 12 months), a majority of directors must decide, on good evidence, whether the company can pay its debts as they fall due. A positive resolution is simply kept on file. A negative resolution, or none at all, must be notified to ASIC within 7 days on Form 485.
• Changes during the year: new addresses, officeholders, shares or members must be updated with ASIC within 28 days of the change, without waiting for the annual review.
• Director ID: ASIC requires each director to have applied for a director ID before a company is registered.

A company that is no longer needed still receives the annual review fee until it is closed. Our guides to registering a company and director IDs explain the set-up steps.

Company tax: rates and return due dates

The ATO sets two company tax rates. A company that is a base rate entity pays 25%, and every other company pays 30%. The ATO's table shows these rates for "2021–22 and future years", which covers 2026–27, although it has not published a table specific to 2026–27. A company is a base rate entity for a year if its aggregated turnover for that same year is below the $50 million threshold and no more than 80% of its assessable income is passive income, such as rent, interest, dividends and net capital gains. Our company tax rates guide covers the test in detail.

Returns being prepared now are for 2025–26. Under the ATO's registered agent lodgment program for 30 June balancing companies:

• 31 October 2026 (pay by 1 December 2026): companies with one or more earlier returns still outstanding at 30 June 2026.
• 31 January 2027 (pay by 1 December 2026): large and medium taxpayers whose 2025 return was taxable.
• 31 March 2027: companies with total income of more than $2 million in 2024–25.
• 15 May 2027: all remaining tax agent clients, which includes most small companies.
• 5 June 2027: a concession, not a due date. The ATO waives penalties for companies otherwise due on 15 May if both the prior and current year are non-taxable or a refund.

Keeping earlier returns up to date matters: a company with any return still outstanding at 30 June 2026 has its 2025–26 return due on 31 October 2026.

Employees and Payday Super

From 1 July 2026, employers pay super guarantee for each payday instead of each quarter. The rate is still 12%, but it is now worked out on qualifying earnings, which bring together ordinary time earnings, all commissions, salary sacrifice contributions and other amounts that were previously treated as salary or wages for super. The ATO says contributions must be received by the fund within 7 business days after payday, unless a longer period applies, such as for a new employee.

If super arrives late, the ATO now assesses the super guarantee charge itself, with interest compounding daily at the general interest charge rate plus an administrative uplift amount. Unlike the old charge, it is tax deductible, and penalties are 25% or 50% of the unpaid charge depending on any prior penalties. The Small Business Superannuation Clearing House is no longer available from 1 July 2026, so employers who used it need another way to pay.

Payroll is reported to the ATO through Single Touch Payroll each payday, and from 1 July 2026 that report includes both qualifying earnings and the super liability. Our guides to Payday Super and Single Touch Payroll go into more detail.

Directors can be personally liable

A company protects its shareholders from the company's debts, but directors carry their own responsibilities. Under the ATO's director penalty rules, a current or former director can become personally liable for the company's unpaid PAYG withholding, GST and super guarantee charge. The ATO must first issue a director penalty notice, and it can start recovery 21 days after that.

How a director can get out of the penalty depends on reporting. If unpaid PAYG withholding or GST was reported within 3 months of its due date, the penalty can generally be remitted within the 21 days by paying the debt, or by appointing an administrator or a small business restructuring practitioner, or by starting to wind up the company. If it was reported later, or not at all, paying the debt in full is the only way out. New directors have 30 days from appointment to deal with amounts that fell due before they joined.

If the company is behind, an ATO payment plan may help. Our ATO payment plans guide explains how they work.

Lodging BAS and payroll reports on time keeps more options open for directors, even when the company cannot pay straight away.

Taking money out of the company: Division 7A

The money a company earns belongs to the company, even when the owner is the only director and shareholder. The ATO lists salary and wages, director's fees and dividends as the ways to access company money, all taxed to the person who receives them. Loans, payments and private use of company assets by shareholders or their associates can fall under Division 7A. A loan can be deemed a dividend if it is not fully repaid before the company's lodgment day (the earlier of its return due date and the date it actually lodges), unless an exclusion applies, such as a complying loan agreement.

A complying loan must charge interest of at least the benchmark rate, which the ATO has set at 8.77% for the income year ending 30 June 2027 (2026–27), up from 8.37% for the year ending 30 June 2026. We review shareholder loan accounts each year as part of the accounts. Our Division 7A guide covers the loan terms and minimum repayments.

Records, equipment and planning ahead

The ATO's general rule is that business records are kept for 5 years, and it points out that ASIC requires companies to keep records for 7 years. Good bookkeeping through the year makes the year-end accounts faster and gives directors a clear view of solvency. Our business record keeping guide sets out what to keep.

For equipment, the ATO confirms that the $20,000 instant asset write-off is now permanent from 1 July 2026 and is law. Companies with aggregated turnover under $10 million that use simplified depreciation can immediately deduct the business-use share of each eligible asset costing less than $20,000, in the income year it is first used or installed ready for use. The limit is tested against the asset's total cost, not the business-use share: in an ATO example for 2025–26, a $40,000 ute used 40% for business does not qualify, even though its business share is only $16,000. See our instant asset write-off guide.

Before 30 June each year we can sit down with directors to look at the expected result, the timing of purchases, how profits will be paid out and any finance needed. That is general planning, and the right approach depends on the company's figures, so contact us or see our tax advice and planning service.

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.