Getting your Activity Statement¶

An Activity Statement is the form you use to report and pay certain amounts to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) — most commonly your GST and the tax you have withheld from wages. When you lodge from accounting software, you don't start with a blank form. Your software first asks the ATO for your current statement, and it comes back already set up for your business.

That means the right boxes (called labels) and the right dates are already in place before you type a single figure. Some numbers may even be filled in for you.

In one line

Your software fetches your Activity Statement from the ATO first, so it arrives set up with the right labels and period — and some figures may already be filled in.

Why this matters¶

A blank tax form is easy to get wrong — you might report the wrong period, or fill in a box that doesn't apply to your business. Because your software gets the statement from the ATO first, it already matches what the ATO expects from you. That saves you time and cuts down on mistakes before you even begin.

What you will learn¶

That your software fetches your statement from the ATO before you fill it in
Why the statement arrives with the right labels and reporting period
That some figures, like PAYG withholding, may already be filled in

Understanding the concept¶

Every business reports slightly different things. One might report GST every three months. Another might also report the tax it withholds from employee wages. The ATO knows what your business is registered for, and it prepares your statement to match.

When you go to lodge, your software quietly asks the ATO: what does this business need to report right now? The ATO sends back your statement, already carrying:

The right labels — only the boxes that apply to your business appear.
The right reporting period — the exact dates the statement covers.

On top of that, some figures may already be filled in. This is called pre-fill. The ATO explains that if you report wages through your payroll software during the period, it can pre-fill your PAYG withholding figures — the total wages you paid and the tax you withheld from them. You still check them, but you don't have to add them up by hand.

For accountants & bookkeepers

The ATO can pre-fill the W1 (total gross payments) and W2 (amounts withheld) labels from Single Touch Payroll reports lodged and processed for the period, up to the day the statement is retrieved. Labels W3 and W4 are out of scope for that pre-fill and are still completed manually. Pre-filled figures should always be reviewed against the books before lodging.

Example¶

Jordan runs a small landscaping business and lodges his own statements from his accounting software. When it's time to lodge, he clicks to start his statement. Instead of a blank page, it opens already showing the GST boxes and the wage-tax boxes his business needs — for the exact three-month period he has to report. The wages he paid his one apprentice, and the tax he withheld from those wages, are already filled in, because he'd been paying through payroll all quarter. Jordan just checks the figures match his records, completes the rest, and lodges. No adding up totals from scratch.

Common mistakes¶

Assuming you must type every figure yourself — some may already be filled in for you.
Ignoring the pre-filled figures instead of checking them against your own records.
Worrying you picked the wrong period — the period comes from the ATO, already set.

How this works in myaccountant¶

In the app — when you open your Activity Statement, myaccountant asks the ATO for your current statement and brings it back set up with the right labels and reporting period for your business. Where the ATO has figures ready, such as your PAYG withholding, they appear already filled in so you can check them rather than key them in.

Key points¶

Your software fetches your Activity Statement from the ATO before you fill it in.
It arrives with only the labels that apply to your business.
It arrives set to the correct reporting period.
Some figures, like PAYG withholding, may already be filled in for you.
You should always check pre-filled figures against your own records.
Starting from a prepared statement saves time and reduces errors.

Learn next¶

General information only — not tax, super or financial advice.

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