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What is an Activity Statement?

An Activity Statement is a single form you use to report and pay several taxes to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) at the same time. Instead of a separate form for each tax, the ATO brings your obligations together into one statement.

The most common taxes it covers are GST (goods and services tax), PAYG withholding (the tax you take out of your employees' pay), and PAYG instalments (regular pre-payments towards your own income tax). Which of these appear on your statement depends on what your business is set up for.

In one line

An Activity Statement is one ATO form that lets you report and pay several taxes together — most often GST, PAYG withholding and PAYG instalments.

Why this matters

If you run a business, the Activity Statement is likely the form you deal with the ATO through most often. Knowing what it is — one form covering several taxes — takes the mystery out of it. Once you understand that it simply pulls your obligations into a single place, filling it in and paying it becomes far less confusing.

What you will learn

  • What an Activity Statement is
  • The main taxes it can bring together
  • Why the ATO uses one form for several obligations

Understanding the concept

An Activity Statement is best thought of as a cover sheet for several taxes. Each tax has its own section, and you only fill in the sections that apply to your business.

The three you will meet most often are:

  • GST — the 10% tax added to most goods and services. On the statement you report the GST you collected on your sales and the GST you paid on your purchases, and the difference is what you owe or are owed.
  • PAYG withholding — the tax you hold back from your employees' wages and send to the ATO on their behalf. PAYG stands for pay as you go.
  • PAYG instalments — regular amounts you pre-pay towards your own income tax for the year, so you are not left with one large bill at tax time.

You do not choose which sections appear — the ATO decides that based on what your business is registered for, and sends you a statement with the right sections ready to fill in.

For accountants & bookkeepers

"Activity Statement" is the umbrella term. A BAS (business activity statement) is the version that includes GST, usually alongside PAYG withholding and PAYG instalments. An IAS (instalment activity statement) is the version without GST, used to report obligations such as PAYG instalments or PAYG withholding on their own. The ATO pre-sets the labels on each statement from the client's registrations, so the form a client receives reflects their roles, not a choice made at lodgment.

Example

Priya runs a small cafe and is registered for GST. She has two casual staff, and the ATO has also set her up to pre-pay her own income tax during the year.

Each quarter the ATO sends Priya one Activity Statement. On it she reports:

  • the GST she collected on coffee and food sales, less the GST she paid on supplies like beans and milk,
  • the PAYG withholding she took out of her two staff members' wages, and
  • her PAYG instalment towards her own income tax.

Rather than three separate forms and three separate deadlines, Priya deals with all three on the one statement and makes a single payment. That is the whole point of the Activity Statement — it brings her obligations together.

Common mistakes

  • Thinking the Activity Statement is only about GST — it can also cover PAYG withholding, PAYG instalments and other taxes.
  • Assuming every business fills in every section — you only complete the parts that match what you are registered for.
  • Confusing the money you withhold from staff (PAYG withholding) with your own income-tax pre-payments (PAYG instalments) — they are different sections.

How this works in myaccountant

In the app — myaccountant prepares your Activity Statement from the data you have already entered. It works out your GST and PAYG figures for the period, fills in the matching sections, and lets you review the statement before you lodge it to the ATO.

Key points

  • An Activity Statement is one ATO form for reporting and paying several taxes at once.
  • The most common taxes it covers are GST, PAYG withholding and PAYG instalments.
  • You only fill in the sections that apply to your business.
  • The ATO decides which sections appear, based on your registrations.
  • Bringing obligations together means one statement and one payment for the period.

Learn next

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

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