The BAS Form Explained: Which One You Get and How Lenders Read It
Which BAS form the ATO sends you, what the main labels mean, how and when to lodge, and how lenders read your lodged BAS when you apply.
Business Owners Hub
BAS Form · Labels and Due Dates · Lender Evidence
The ATO sends each business the BAS form that matches its registrations. Here is how to read the version you get, what the main labels report, when it is due, and what a lender does with it once you apply for finance.
Quick Answer
A BAS form is the activity statement the ATO issues so a business can report GST and, where registered, PAYG withholding and PAYG instalments; the version you get depends on your registrations, and lenders read lodged statements as proof of turnover. The BAS labels, due dates and lodging options are below, along with how lenders use your BAS when you apply for working capital loans.
Also called: business activity statement form, BAS statement, activity statement. "Activity statement" is the ATO's umbrella term, which also covers instalment notices, so not every activity statement is a full BAS.
What is a BAS form, and who lodges one?
A BAS form is the business activity statement the ATO issues so you can report GST, along with PAYG withholding and PAYG instalments where you are registered for them. Any business registered for GST lodges one under its ABN, whether it trades as a sole trader, a partnership, a trust or a company.
The definition, and why the statement exists at all, sit in our BAS glossary entry. This insight covers the form itself: which version lands in front of you, what its main labels mean, how and when to lodge it, and what happens to it once a lender asks for a copy.
That last part matters more than most owners expect. A lodged BAS is one of the few documents a lender can check against the ATO's own record, so it often carries more weight in a self-employed application than a profit and loss statement prepared for the purpose. If finance is why you are reading, the working capital loans guide explains where BAS fits in a full application, and our working capital loans page covers facilities that assess on lodged BAS and bank statements.
Which BAS form will you get?
You get the BAS form that matches the tax roles your business is registered for, so the labels on your form are the reliable guide to what it asks. Read it by the labels it carries:
- GST labels. If you are registered for GST, the form carries the GST section.
- W labels. If you withhold tax from wages, the form carries the PAYG withholding section.
- An instalment label. If you pay PAYG instalments, the form carries the instalment section or option.
The reporting cycle changes with the business too. A business above the ATO's turnover level for monthly reporting reports GST every month rather than every quarter. A business registered for GST voluntarily may be able to report GST annually instead. A business that pays PAYG instalments but is not registered for GST may receive an instalment notice rather than a full BAS.
Most small businesses also use the ATO's Simpler BAS reporting method, which keeps the GST side of the form to three labels: G1, 1A and 1B. When your registrations change, the form changes with them. Take on your first employee and register for PAYG withholding, and the next statement you receive carries the W labels as well.
What do the main labels on a BAS form mean?
The main labels split into three groups: GST (G1, 1A and 1B), PAYG withholding (W1 and W2) and PAYG instalments (T7). Each label reports one number to the ATO, and each of those numbers tells a lender something different from what it tells the ATO.
| Label | What the ATO says it reports | What a lender reads from it |
|---|---|---|
| G1 | "Total sales" for the period, reported including any GST | Your turnover, checked against deposits on your business bank statements |
| 1A | "GST on sales" | Whether the GST you charged is consistent with the sales at G1 |
| 1B | "GST on purchases" | Whether your costs fit the business you describe; 1A less 1B is roughly the GST bill a lender expects to see paid |
| W1 | "total gross payments from which you are usually required to withhold amounts" | The size of your wage bill, set against payroll debits on your statements |
| W2 | "the total amount you withheld" | Tax you hold for the ATO; unpaid withholding shows up as a debt on your ATO statement |
| T7 | The PAYG instalment amount for the period | A rough signal of prior-year business income; a varied instalment can prompt a question |
Sources: Australian Taxation Office, GST and PAYG withholding label descriptions, last updated 1 May 2025. Read 7 October 2026. The lender column is general practice and varies by lender.
What belongs at each label for your business, including which sales are GST-free and whether to vary an instalment, is a question for your accountant or registered BAS agent. This post explains what the labels are for, not what to put in them.
How do you lodge a BAS?
You can lodge a BAS yourself or have an agent lodge it for you, and the ATO accepts five channels:
- Online services for business. The ATO's own portal, where the form appears ready to complete once it is issued.
- Accounting software. Software that is enabled for Standard Business Reporting gives "secure online lodgment directly from financial, accounting or payroll software", in the ATO's words.
- A registered tax or BAS agent. The ATO says an agent "can lodge, vary, and pay on your behalf".
- Paper. A paper form completed and mailed to the ATO.
- Phone. For nil statements only, where there is nothing to report for the period.
So yes, plenty of owners do their own BAS, particularly on Simpler BAS where the GST side is three labels. The trade-off is time and the due date: lodging through an agent can buy extra time on most quarters, which the next section covers.
When is your BAS due?
A quarterly BAS is due on the 28th of the month after the quarter ends, except the October to December quarter, which is due on 28 February. A monthly BAS is due, in the ATO's words, on "the 21st day of the month following the end of the reporting period". The dates below come from the ATO's page on due dates for lodging and paying your BAS.
| Quarter | Period | Due date (ATO) | With a registered agent (ATO concession) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarter 1 | 1 July to 30 September | 28 October | Extra time may apply; ask your agent for the exact date |
| Quarter 2 | 1 October to 31 December | 28 February | No further concession; this date already carries an extension |
| Quarter 3 | 1 January to 31 March | 28 April | Extra time may apply; ask your agent for the exact date |
| Quarter 4 | 1 April to 30 June | 28 July | Extra time may apply; ask your agent for the exact date |
Sources: Australian Taxation Office, Due dates for lodging and paying your BAS, last updated 17 September 2026. Read 7 October 2026.
The ATO says tax and BAS agents can get "an extra 2 weeks to lodge and pay your quarterly BAS", except for quarter 2, which already has an extension built in. If a BAS payment falls due while a finance approval is still pending, the short-term options are set out in covering a BAS bill while approval is pending.
Which BAS form mistakes cause trouble later?
The BAS mistakes that cause trouble later are the ones that make your lodged figures disagree with your bank statements or with each other, because that is exactly what a lender checks. From the underwriter's seat, four come up again and again:
- G1 that does not reconcile to deposits. Sales reported on one basis while the bank account shows something else, with no note of loans, transfers between accounts or owner contributions sitting in the deposits.
- GST-free sales coded as taxable. This inflates 1A, means you overpay GST, and makes the ratio between G1 and 1A look odd to anyone reading the form.
- Wages reported at W1 inconsistently. One quarter on a paid basis, the next on an accrued basis, so W1 jumps around while payroll debits stay steady.
- Nil periods left unlodged. A quarter with nothing to report still needs a statement. Skipping it leaves a gap in your lodgement history that a lender will see on the ATO record.
None of these are fatal on their own, and most can be fixed with an amended statement and a short explanation. If several quarters are behind, catching up late BAS lodgements walks through the order to tackle them and the penalties involved.
How do lenders read your lodged BAS?
Lenders read your lodged BAS as the ATO's record of your turnover, then test it against your bank statements and your ATO account. The first figure a lender reads is G1 set against your deposits: if the two tell the same story across recent quarters, number varies by lender, the BAS does most of the work of proving income.
After that, a lender typically checks three things:
- Is lodgement up to date? Many lenders ask for the ATO portal statement as well as the forms, to confirm every period is lodged and to see any balance owing.
- Is the BAS paid, or on a plan? An unpaid BAS balance is a debt. A balance on an ATO payment plan that is being met is read very differently from one that is simply overdue.
- Has anything been amended or lodged late? An amended BAS is a question to answer, not a decline. A short note from your accountant on why a figure changed usually settles it.
What the ATO uses it for
- Working out the GST you owe or are owed
- Collecting the PAYG you withheld from wages
- Collecting instalments towards income tax
- Tracking whether each period is lodged
What a lender uses it for, and flags
- G1 well above or below deposits
- Missing or late quarters
- A BAS balance owing with no plan
- Amended figures with no explanation
For low doc lending, lodged BAS often stands in for tax returns that are not yet done, which is why low doc loans assessed on ATO BAS sit in their own category. The same logic carries into home lending, covered in low doc home loan income evidence. For short-term business funding, our working capital loans page sets out which facilities assess on BAS and bank statements rather than full financials.
What should you do if you cannot pay your BAS by the due date?
If you cannot pay your BAS by the due date, the ATO's advice is to lodge on time anyway and contact it before the due date. Its own words are "It is important to lodge on time" and "contact us before the due date". Lodging keeps your lodgement record clean, which is the part of your ATO history a lender reads first, even while a balance is still owing.
From there, the ATO says you may be able to "enter into a payment plan", and smaller debts can be set up yourself through online services. It also says "A general interest charge (GIC) will apply to any amount not paid by the due date", so the cost of waiting grows each day the balance is unpaid.
Whether to use a payment plan, pay from cash or fund the bill another way depends on the size of the balance, how long it will take to clear and what else is due. These cover the next step:
Your BAS form is set by your registrations, so read it by its labels: G1, 1A and 1B for GST, W1 and W2 for withholding, T7 for instalments. Lodge through Online services, your software, an agent, paper or, for nil periods, by phone, and keep to the ATO due dates. When you apply for finance, lenders treat lodged BAS as the ATO's record of your turnover and check it against your bank statements and ATO account, so a BAS that is lodged, paid or on a plan, and consistent with your deposits, does most of the work of proving income.
Key takeaway: lodge every BAS on time, even nil periods and even when you cannot pay, and make sure G1 can be reconciled to your deposits before a lender asks.Frequently Asked Questions
You can do your own BAS statement: the ATO lets a business lodge through Online services for business, through accounting software that lodges directly, or on a paper form by mail. Many sole traders on Simpler BAS do exactly that. What to report at each label is still worth checking with your accountant or a registered BAS agent, who can also lodge for you and may get extra time on most quarters.
You get your BAS statement form from the ATO, which issues it once your ABN is registered for GST or another BAS role. If you lodge online, the form appears in Online services for business or flows into your accounting software; if you lodge on paper, the ATO mails it to you. Your registered tax or BAS agent can also see and lodge it for you.
To fill out a BAS form you complete only the labels that apply to your registrations, usually G1, 1A and 1B for GST, W1 and W2 for PAYG withholding, and the instalment amount at T7 or the instalment option shown. Your figures should come from your accounting records for the period, and G1 should reconcile to your sales. Which sales are GST-free and whether to vary an instalment are questions for your accountant or BAS agent.
A business needs to submit a BAS statement when it is registered for GST, and the same statement also carries PAYG withholding and PAYG instalments where the business is registered for those. Registration for GST is required once turnover reaches the ATO threshold, and some businesses register voluntarily below it. A nil period still needs a statement, and falling behind is covered in catching up late BAS lodgements.
The different BAS form types are versions the ATO issues to match what each business is registered to report, so the sections on your form depend on your GST, PAYG withholding and PAYG instalment registrations. There are monthly, quarterly and annual reporting cycles, and instalment-only notices for businesses not registered for GST. The BAS glossary entry covers the basics of the statement itself.
FBAA Accredited
