Australian Businesses are required to lodge Activity Statements to report on their tax obligations. Depending on the Business type and circumstances, a Business may report a number of different taxes in their Activity Statement, including:

• Goods and Services Tax (GST)
• Pay As You Go Withholding (PAYG-W)
• Pay As You Go Instalment (PAYG-I)
• Fringe Benefits Tax Instalment (FBT-I)
• Wine Equalisation Tax (WET)
• Luxury Car Tax (LCT)
• Fuel Tax Credits (FTC)

Activity Statements must be lodged on time the values reported to the ATO should be accurate. Therefore, before lodging an Activity Statement, you should fully review and reconcile your Accounts and Ledgers in your Accounting System. Once reconciled, you will use this information to lodge the Activity Statement via Online Services for Business.

This guide shows how to lodge an Activity Statement electronically via Online Services for Business, where three tax liabilities are reported (GST, PAYG-W and PAYG-I) to the ATO. 

Lodgement Dates

Most small Businesses are required to lodge Activity Statements quarterly. However, some Businesses may need to report their Pay as You Go Withholding on a monthly basis by lodging an Instalment Activity Statement. Finally, larger Businesses may be required to lodge Activity Statements monthly. 

The lodgement date for all monthly Activity Statements is always the 21st of the following month. The lodgement dates for Quarterly Statements instead vary depending on how the Activity Statement is lodged.

Lodge an Activity Statement via Online Services for Business

1. Once you have reconciled your ledger and printed your Activity Statement report(s) in your Accounting System, log into online services for Business at: https://onlineservices.ato.gov.au/business/
2. Log into the portal using MyGovID
   
   è  Online Services for Business
   
   
   
   
3. Click on Prepare > next to the Activity Statement you wish to lodge
   
   è  The Prepare Activity Statement screen opens
   
   
   
   
4. Check that the Activity Statement Period and reporting method matches with the Activity Statement report(s) you have prepared from your Accounting System
5. Click on [Edit] next to Goods and services tax (GST)
   
   è  The Goods and services tax (GST) screen opens
   
   
   
6. Enter the GST values for the period from your Accounting System's Activity Statement/GST Report
7. Click on [Save and continue]
   
   è  Online Services returns to the Prepare Activity Statement screen
   
   
   
   
8. Click on [Edit] next to PAYG tax withheld
   
   è  The PAYG tax withheld screen opens
   
   
   
   
9. Enter the Salaries, wages and tax withheld values for the period from your Accounting System's Activity Statement/Payroll Report
10. Click on [Save and continue]
    
    è  Online Services returns to the Prepare Activity Statement screen
    
    
    
    
11. Ensure the amount owing to ATO on the screen matches your Activity Statement Report from your Accounting System
12. Select the declaration box and click on [Lodge]
    
    è  The Confirmation screen opens
    
    
    
13. Click on [Print-friendly version]
    
    è  The Activity Statement opens in a Print-friendly format
    
    
    
14. Click on Print and Print or Save the Activity Statement as PDF