Revisions versus amendments¶

Two words come up a lot when people fix a past mistake, and they are easy to mix up: revise and amend. They sound similar, but they point at two completely different forms.

In plain terms, you revise an Activity Statement — that is the form you use to report GST, PAYG withholding and instalments. You amend an income tax return. This lesson clears up which word goes with which form, so you ask for the right thing.

In one line

You revise an Activity Statement to fix a past BAS; you amend an income tax return. They are different forms and go through different channels.

Why this matters¶

If you ask for the wrong one, you can waste time chasing the wrong form or channel. Knowing that "revise" belongs to your Activity Statement and "amend" belongs to your income tax return means you start in the right place and get the mistake fixed sooner.

What you will learn¶

The difference between revising an Activity Statement and amending an income tax return
Which word applies to a mistake you have found
That the two go through different channels

Understanding the concept¶

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) uses two different words on purpose, because they are two different jobs.

Revise — this is for an Activity Statement. An Activity Statement (often called a BAS) is where you report things like GST, PAYG withholding, and PAYG instalments for a period. If the figures you already lodged were wrong, you revise that statement — you go back and lodge a corrected version of it.

Amend — this is for an income tax return. Your income tax return is a separate, once-a-year form about your income and deductions. If something on it was wrong after the ATO has assessed it, you amend it. That is a different form and a different request.

The simple test is: which form had the mistake? If the wrong figure was on an Activity Statement, you revise. If it was on an income tax return, you amend.

Because they are different forms, they also go through different channels. A revision is done through your Activity Statement, while an amendment to an income tax return is requested through the income tax return process. Fixing one does not fix the other, so if a mistake affected both, each is handled on its own.

For accountants & bookkeepers

A revised Activity Statement is itself treated by the ATO as an application to amend the relevant assessment for that period, so "revise" and "amend" are not as far apart mechanically as the everyday words suggest — but for clients the useful line is simply the form involved: the Activity Statement is revised, the income tax return is amended, and each is lodged through its own channel.

Example¶

Sam runs a courier business and does his own bookkeeping. He finds two problems from last year. First, he over-reported GST on a past quarter's BAS. Second, he realises he forgot to claim a work deduction on his income tax return.

These need two different fixes. For the GST figure, Sam revises the Activity Statement for that quarter — same form, corrected numbers. For the missed deduction, he amends his income tax return through the income tax return channel. One mistake, one word each. Sam almost asked to "amend the BAS", but once he remembered that Activity Statements are revised, he asked for the right thing straight away.

Common mistakes¶

Saying "amend my BAS" — an Activity Statement is revised, not amended.
Assuming fixing the Activity Statement also fixes the income tax return, or the reverse.
Trying to fix an income tax return mistake by lodging another Activity Statement.

How this works in myaccountant¶

In the app — myaccountant handles your Activity Statements, so when you need to fix GST, PAYG withholding or instalment figures for a past period, you open the statement you already lodged and revise it. Income tax returns are a separate form that sits outside the Activity Statement area, so an income tax amendment is handled through that separate channel rather than here.

Key points¶

You revise an Activity Statement; you amend an income tax return.
The test is which form had the mistake.
Revisions and amendments go through different channels.
An Activity Statement covers GST, PAYG withholding and instalments.
Fixing one form does not automatically fix the other.
Using the right word helps you start in the right place.

Learn next¶

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

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