There are several factors that may affect the lodgement due dates for companies and super funds:
- Lodgment and compliance history: If one or more prior year tax returns weren’t lodged on time or if the entity was prosecuted for non-lodgment, the lodgment due date is 31 October, with the payment due date on 1 December.
- Income: For entities with total income exceeding $2 million in the prior year, the lodgment and payment due dates are 31 March, unless an earlier date is mandated by the ATO.
- Entities that may not need to lodge: This includes subsidiary members of a consolidated group (consolidated for the full year), not-for-profit entities required to lodge an income tax return and have not been allocated an earlier lodgment due date, new registrants (excluding large and medium taxpayers, head companies of consolidated groups, and SMSFs), and all remaining entities that are tax agent clients. Both lodgment and payment are due by 15 May.
Australia has a self-assessment system of taxation. Accordingly, the self-assessment system operates on the basis that returns as lodged are generally accepted by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and assessments are issued accordingly. Companies and funds are subject to a full self-assessment system and do not receive assessments. Instead, the Commissioner is taken to have made an assessment and the return itself is deemed to be a notice of the assessment made on the day the return is lodged.
Given that companies do not receive a Notice of assessment, unlike individuals, the due date for the payment is essentially the due date of the lodgment, as outlined above. For further details, refer to ATO website QC 34562.