Australian Tax Calendar 2026-27

What Are the Key Tax Dates for 2026-27?

The 2026-27 income year runs from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. The most important date for most people this year is 31 October 2026, the deadline to lodge your own 2025-26 tax return. It falls on a weekend this year, so you can lodge on 2 November 2026.

The big change for employers is Payday Super: super is now due each payday instead of each quarter. STP finalisation is still due by 14 July. Use our Tax Return Calculator to estimate your 2025-26 refund before you lodge.

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

The table lists 29 dates from July 2026 to July 2027, including the monthly BAS due on the 21st of each month. Quarterly BAS and PAYG instalments share the same four dates.

If a date falls on a weekend, or on a public holiday for the whole of any state or territory, the ATO lets you lodge and pay on the next business day. That date is shown underneath.

What Are the Individual Tax Return Deadlines?

If you lodge your own 2025-26 return, it is due by 31 October 2026. If you use a registered tax agent and are on their client list by then, most people have until 15 May 2027. Some agent clients are due earlier, so your agent will confirm your date.

The ATO says most returns lodged through myTax are processed in 12 business days and most refunds are issued within 2 weeks. For paper returns, most refunds are issued within 50 business days. If you owe tax, the amount is due by the date on your notice of assessment.

Key dates for the 2025-26 return:

• Late July 2026 — the ATO has pre-filled most employer, bank, health fund and government data
• 31 October 2026 — self-lodgment deadline (lodge by 2 November 2026 because it falls on a weekend). Also due now: agent clients with a prior-year return still outstanding at 30 June 2026
• 31 March 2027 — agent clients whose latest return had a tax liability of $20,000 or more
• 15 May 2027 — most other agent clients (next business day 17 May 2027)
• 5 June 2027 — concession date for 15 May agent returns, if any payment is also made by then

Your 2025-26 return uses the 2025-26 rates, with a 16% second bracket. See the 2026 tax return guide for what changed, or check the rates on our Income Tax Brackets page.

What Are the Employer and Business Tax Deadlines?

Businesses lodge BAS quarterly or monthly, employers finalise STP by 14 July, and since Payday Super started on 1 July 2026, super must reach the fund within 7 business days of every payday. Businesses with GST turnover of $20 million or more must lodge BAS monthly.

Business Activity Statement (BAS) Deadlines for 2026-27

Quarterly BAS covers GST, PAYG withholding and PAYG instalments. If you lodge online, you may get an extra 2 weeks for quarters 1, 3 and 4. Quarter 2 does not get the extra time because its due date already includes a one-month extension. Monthly BAS is due on the 21st of the following month.

If you are voluntarily registered for GST and report annually, your annual GST return is due 31 October 2026.

Single Touch Payroll (STP) Finalisation

Employers must make their STP finalisation declaration by 14 July each year: 14 July 2026 for 2025-26 and 14 July 2027 for 2026-27. Employers with 20 or more employees have until 30 September to finalise closely held payees, such as family members. Until you finalise, your employees’ income statements won’t show as "tax ready".

To estimate the full cost of an employee, including super and payroll tax, use our Employer Cost Calculator.

What Happens If You Lodge Late?

The ATO can charge a failure-to-lodge (FTL) penalty of one penalty unit for every 28 days or part of that the return is overdue, up to 5 penalty units. A penalty unit is $364 from 1 July 2026 (it was $330 from 7 November 2024 to 30 June 2026). A 2025-26 return lodged late after 31 October 2026 uses the new amount, so the most an individual can be charged is $1,820.

The penalty is doubled for medium withholders and multiplied by five for large withholders. The ATO usually writes to you before it applies a penalty. Work out the amount with the late tax return penalty calculator.

Late BAS can attract the same FTL penalty. Unpaid tax also attracts the general interest charge (11.51% a year for October–December 2026; the rate resets every quarter). Late super attracts the Super Guarantee Charge (SGC), explained in the super section below.

How Do You Lodge Your Tax Return?

You can lodge through myTax (via myGov), through a registered tax agent, or on paper. myTax is the fastest: most returns are processed in 12 business days.

Step-by-Step: Lodging via myTax

1. Log in to myGov at my.gov.au and link the ATO. To link for the first time you need your tax file number and identity details.
2. Wait for your income statement to show as "tax ready". Employers must finalise it through STP by 14 July, and the ATO has most other pre-fill data by late July.
3. Check the pre-filled information — salary, bank interest, dividends and government payments. Add any income that is missing, such as rent or freelance work.
4. Claim your deductions — work-related expenses, working from home at 70c per hour for 2025-26, self-education and donations. Keep records for every claim.
5. Check your offsets — the Low Income Tax Offset is applied automatically. Others, such as the zone tax offset, need you to enter details.
6. Review your estimate — myTax shows your refund or amount owing before you submit. Cross-check it with our Tax Return Calculator.
7. Submit — most refunds are issued within 2 weeks. If you owe tax, pay by the due date on your notice of assessment to avoid the general interest charge.

Using a Registered Tax Agent

Most agent clients have until 15 May 2027 to lodge their 2025-26 return, as long as they are on the agent’s client list by 31 October 2026. The agent’s fee is deductible in the year you pay it.

What Are the Key Dates for PAYG Instalments?

Quarterly PAYG instalments for 2026-27 are due on 28 Oct 2026, 28 Feb 2027, 28 Apr 2027, 28 Jul 2027. If you pay one annual instalment and a tax agent lodges your return, your annual instalment is due 21 October 2026. If you lodge your own return, you just lodge it by 31 October 2026.

The ATO puts you into PAYG instalments if you have business or investment income over its thresholds. It works out your instalment amount or rate from your latest tax return. Primary producers and special professionals may pay two instalments instead: 75% by 28 April and the rest by 28 July.

You can vary your instalments on your activity statement before the due date. If you vary them too low, you may be charged the general interest charge on the shortfall. For tax withheld from employees’ wages, see the PAYG Withholding Tables.

When Are Super Guarantee Payments Due?

From 1 July 2026, there are no quarterly super due dates. Under Payday Super, employers must pay 12% super on each payday, and it must be received by the employee’s fund within 7 business days of that payday. For a new employee, or the first payment to a new fund, you have 20 business days.

Super is now worked out on qualifying earnings, and the maximum contribution base is an annual figure: $270,830 for 2026-27, so the most SG owed for one employee this year is $32,499.60. Our Payday Super calculator works out the super and earliest due date for each pay.

The old quarterly system finished with the April–June 2026 quarter:

Late super attracts the Super Guarantee Charge (SGC). For earnings paid from 1 July 2026, the SGC is made up of the shortfall, notional earnings at the general interest charge rate compounded daily, an administrative uplift of up to 60% (reduced if you make a voluntary disclosure quickly and have no recent ATO assessment), and a choice loading where it applies. The new SGC is tax-deductible, and you no longer lodge an SGC statement: the ATO assesses the charge and sends a notice. For earnings paid up to 30 June 2026 the old rules still apply: 10% nominal interest, a $20 per employee per quarter administration fee, and no deduction. Learn more in our Superannuation Guide.

What Should You Do Before the End of the Financial Year?

30 June 2027 is the last day to take actions that reduce your taxable income for 2026-27, such as concessional super contributions, prepaying deductible expenses and realising capital losses.

• Keep records for every work-related deduction you plan to claim
• Check your concessional super contributions against the $32,500 annual cap. Employer super counts toward it, and under Payday Super more of it may land in 2026-27 than usual
• Prepay deductible expenses for up to 12 months ahead, such as income protection insurance or professional subscriptions
• Check your private hospital cover for the Medicare levy surcharge. For 2026-27 the thresholds are $105,000 for singles and $210,000 for families, with a surcharge of 1% to 1.5% above them
• Consider selling investments that have fallen in value to offset capital gains
• Make donations to deductible gift recipients (DGRs) before 30 June
• Plan salary sacrifice for the new year from 1 July — see our Salary Sacrifice Calculator

What Tax Changes Apply in 2026-27?

The biggest changes on 1 July 2026 are a lower second tax rate and Payday Super. The SG rate stays at 12% and the Medicare levy at 2%.

• Second tax bracket — 15% on income from $18,201 to $45,000, down from 16%
• Payday Super — super is due within 7 business days of each payday, on qualifying earnings
• Maximum super contribution base — $270,830 a year (previously a quarterly figure)
• Concessional contributions cap — $32,500; non-concessional cap $130,000
• Study loan repayment threshold — $69,528 of repayment income
• Medicare levy surcharge thresholds — $105,000 for singles, $210,000 for families
• Penalty unit — $364, up from $330
• Car expenses — 91c per km for 2026-27, up from 88c

See all of them on our 2026-27 tax changes page, or the pay and tax changes calendar for the 1 December 2026 and 1 July 2027 dates, or see your take-home pay at current rates with the Pay Calculator.

Related Resources

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

• Tax Return Calculator — estimate your 2025-26 refund or tax payable on the 2025-26 rates
• Tax Return 2026 Guide — deadlines, refund times and what changed for the 2025-26 return
• Payday Super — how super on payday works and when each payment is due
• Income Tax Brackets — marginal tax rates, thresholds and worked examples
• Superannuation Guide — employer SG obligations, contribution caps and Division 293 tax
• Tax Refund Guide — how refunds are worked out and common reasons for ATO adjustments
• PAYG Withholding Tables — weekly, fortnightly and monthly withholding amounts

Frequently Asked Questions