Australian Tax Calendar 2025-26

What Are the Key Tax Dates for FY2025-26?

The FY2025-26 Australian tax calendar contains over 20 critical deadlines spanning individual returns, business activity statements, PAYG instalments, and superannuation guarantee payments. The financial year starts on 1 July 2025 and ends on 30 June 2026, with the single most important date for individuals being 31 October 2025 — the deadline for self-lodged tax returns for the prior year (FY2024-25).

Employers face quarterly obligations for BAS lodgment, STP finalisation, and super guarantee contributions. Missing any of these dates triggers automatic penalties from the ATO, interest charges on unpaid amounts, and potential loss of tax deductibility for late super payments. Use our Tax Return Calculator to estimate your refund or liability before the lodgment deadline.

What Does the Full Tax Calendar Look Like Month by Month?

The Australian tax calendar spreads 24 key deadlines across the 12-month financial year, with the busiest months being July, October, January, and April due to overlapping quarterly obligations.

Each month carries at least one obligation for employers operating a business with employees. Individual taxpayers face fewer deadlines but carry heavier penalties for missed lodgments. The table below consolidates every major ATO deadline into a single month-by-month reference for the 2025-26 financial year.

What Are the Individual Tax Return Deadlines?

Self-lodged individual tax returns for FY2024-25 are due by 31 October 2025. Returns lodged through a registered tax agent receive an automatic extension to 15 May 2026, provided the taxpayer is registered with that agent before 31 October.

Approximately 14.3 million individual tax returns are lodged in Australia each financial year. The ATO processes most electronically lodged returns within 2 weeks, while paper returns take up to 10 weeks. Taxpayers who owe a debt from their prior-year return must pay by the original due date (31 October) regardless of whether a tax agent lodges later.

Key individual deadlines include:

• 1 July 2025 — earliest date to lodge your FY2024-25 return via myTax
• 14 July 2025 — most employers finalise income statements (previously called payment summaries) in myGov
• 31 October 2025 — deadline for self-prepared returns
• 15 May 2026 — deadline for tax-agent-prepared returns
• 5 June 2026 — final date to amend a FY2022-23 return (2-year amendment period expires)

Income tax brackets for FY2025-26 apply new thresholds with the Stage 3 tax cuts already in effect. Check the current rates on our Income Tax Brackets page, or use the Tax Return Calculator to estimate your refund.

What Are the Employer and Business Tax Deadlines?

Employers and businesses face quarterly BAS lodgments, STP finalisation by 14 July, and super guarantee payments within 28 days of each quarter end. Businesses with GST turnover above $20 million lodge BAS monthly rather than quarterly.

Business Activity Statement (BAS) Deadlines

Quarterly BAS covers GST, PAYG withholding, and PAYG instalments. The ATO pre-fills BAS data from STP reports, reducing manual entry for employers who report payroll through compliant software.

Single Touch Payroll (STP) Finalisation

STP finalisation declarations are due by 14 July each year. Employers with 20 or more employees have reported via STP Phase 2 since 1 January 2022. Closely held payees (directors, family members) receive a quarterly STP reporting concession, with finalisation also due 14 July. Late STP finalisation prevents employees from accessing their income statement in myGov, delaying their tax return lodgment.

Businesses calculating employer costs — including super, payroll tax, and workers compensation — benefit from our Employer Cost Calculator to estimate total employment expenses.

What Happens If You Lodge Late?

The ATO charges a "Failure to Lodge" (FTL) penalty of one penalty unit ($330 for FY2025-26) for each 28-day period the return remains outstanding, up to a maximum of 5 penalty units ($1,650) for individuals.

Penalty unit values are indexed annually. The current penalty unit is $330 (effective 1 July 2025). Companies and large entities face penalties calculated at higher multiples. The ATO issues a formal notice before applying penalties, giving taxpayers 21 days to lodge or respond.

Late BAS lodgment carries the same FTL penalty structure. Late super guarantee payments attract the "Super Guarantee Charge" (SGC), which includes the original super amount, an interest charge of 10% per annum, and an administration fee of $20 per employee per quarter. The SGC is not tax-deductible, unlike on-time SG payments. Learn more about superannuation obligations in our Superannuation Guide.

How Do You Lodge Your Tax Return?

Individual tax returns are lodged online through myTax (via myGov), through a registered tax agent, or by paper form — with myTax being the fastest method, processing returns in approximately 2 weeks.

Step-by-Step: Lodging via myTax

1. Create or log in to your myGov account at my.gov.au and link the ATO service. You need a Tax File Number (TFN), your bank account details, and identity documents to link for the first time.
2. Wait for your income statement to appear as "Tax ready" — most employers finalise these by 14 July. Pre-fill data includes salary, interest income, dividends, private health insurance, and government payments.
3. Review pre-filled information — check that salary, employer super contributions, bank interest, and dividend income match your records. Add any missing income from investments, rental properties, or freelance work.
4. Claim deductions — enter work-related expenses (uniforms, tools, home office, travel), self-education expenses, charitable donations, and income protection insurance premiums. The ATO's $300 instant write-off for work-related expenses (no receipts required) has been replaced with full substantiation requirements.
5. Enter tax offsets — the Low Income Tax Offset (LITO) is applied automatically. Other offsets like the "Zone Tax Offset" or spouse offset require manual entry.
6. Review your estimated refund or tax payable — myTax calculates your position based on PAYG withholding already deducted by your employer throughout the year. Use our Tax Return Calculator to cross-check.
7. Submit your return — once lodged electronically, most refunds arrive within 2 weeks. Debts must be paid by the original due date to avoid interest (the General Interest Charge rate is 11.36% per annum for Q1 FY2025-26).

Using a Registered Tax Agent

Registered tax agents charge between $100 and $400 for a standard individual return, depending on complexity. Agent-lodged returns receive an extended deadline of 15 May 2026 for FY2024-25 returns, provided the taxpayer registers with the agent before 31 October 2025. The agent fee is tax-deductible in the following financial year.

What Are the Key Dates for PAYG Instalments?

PAYG instalment due dates align with BAS quarters, falling on 28 October, 28 February, 28 April, and 28 July for quarterly payers. Annual PAYG instalment payers lodge by 21 October.

The ATO issues PAYG instalment notices to individuals and businesses earning investment income, business income, or other non-salary income exceeding the threshold. The ATO calculates the instalment amount based on your most recent tax return and applies a GDP-adjusted instalment rate (currently around 6%-8% depending on income level).

Taxpayers who vary their PAYG instalment amount must lodge a variation on their BAS before the relevant due date. Underpaying by more than 15% of the actual liability triggers a shortfall interest charge. The ATO publishes the PAYG instalment rate each February. For details on how PAYG withholding applies to employee wages, see the PAYG Withholding Tables page.

When Are Super Guarantee Payments Due?

Employers must pay the 12% SG within 28 days of the end of each quarter. If the due date falls on a weekend or public holiday, payment must be received by the ATO by the next business day.

The superannuation guarantee rate is 12% of ordinary time earnings for FY2025-26. The rate is legislated to remain at 12% from 1 July 2025 onward. Employers pay SG on employees earning $450 or more per month (this threshold was effectively removed from 1 July 2022, meaning SG applies from the first dollar). The maximum super contribution base is $65,070 per quarter for FY2025-26, capping the SG obligation at $7,808.40 per quarter per employee.

Late SG payments result in the "Super Guarantee Charge" (SGC), which adds a 10% nominal interest component and a $20 administration fee per employee per quarter. The SGC is calculated on salary and wages (not ordinary time earnings), increasing the base amount. Critically, the SGC is not tax-deductible. Employers must self-report late payments using the SGC statement form.

What Should You Do Before End of Financial Year?

The end-of-financial-year deadline of 30 June 2026 is the last day to take actions that reduce your taxable income for FY2025-26, including making concessional super contributions, prepaying deductible expenses, and realising capital losses.

• Review your deductions and receipts — the ATO requires written evidence for all work-related claims
• Make concessional super contributions up to the $30,000 annual cap before 30 June (employer SG counts toward this cap)
• Prepay deductible expenses for up to 12 months in advance: insurance premiums, professional subscriptions, income protection
• Check your private health insurance status for "Medicare Levy Surcharge" purposes — singles earning above $93,000 and families above $186,000 without hospital cover pay a surcharge of 1% to 1.5%
• Bring forward capital losses by selling underperforming investments before 30 June to offset capital gains
• Make charitable donations — tax-deductible if the recipient has DGR (Deductible Gift Recipient) status
• Consider salary sacrifice arrangements starting from 1 July — see our Salary Sacrifice Guide for details

What Tax Changes Apply in FY2025-26?

FY2025-26 carries forward the Stage 3 tax cuts implemented on 1 July 2024, with no new income tax rate changes legislated for this year. The SG rate holds at 12%, and the Medicare levy remains at 2% of taxable income.

Key indexation changes for FY2025-26 include:

• Concessional super contributions cap — indexed to $30,000 (up from $27,500 in FY2023-24)
• Non-concessional contributions cap — $120,000 per year
• Maximum super contribution base — $65,070 per quarter
• HELP/HECS repayment thresholds — minimum repayment threshold indexed upward to approximately $54,435
• Medicare Levy Surcharge thresholds — $93,000 for singles, $186,000 for families
• Penalty unit value — $330 per unit

For a complete breakdown of how your take-home pay is affected by current tax rates, use the Australian Pay Calculator on the homepage.

Related Resources

Explore these guides and calculators for related Australian tax and payroll topics:

• Tax Return Calculator — estimate your FY2024-25 refund or tax payable based on your income, deductions, and offsets
• Income Tax Brackets 2025-26 — full breakdown of marginal tax rates, thresholds, and worked examples at common salary levels
• Superannuation Guide — employer SG obligations, concessional contribution caps, and Division 293 tax explained
• Tax Refund Guide — how refunds are calculated, processing times, and common reasons for ATO adjustments
• HECS-HELP Repayment Guide — repayment thresholds, rates, and how HELP debt affects your take-home pay
• PAYG Withholding Tables — weekly, fortnightly, and monthly withholding amounts for employers and payroll processing

Frequently Asked Questions