The tax lodgement deadline – October 31st – is fast approaching. But who does it apply to? And what happens after you lodge your tax return?
Great questions! First thing’s first: If you’re a sole trader who doesn’t have a registered tax agent (like Hnry), or you have an outstanding tax return from a previous financial year, the 31 October lodgement deadline likely applies to you.
This means you (or your tax agent) need to complete and lodge your tax return before this date, or you may end up with a failure to lodge on time penalty. Yikes!
If you then have any remaining tax to pay after you lodge, you’ll need to pay it within a certain time period. Beyond this, any outstanding balance will start accruing interest that compounds daily.
When it comes to tax returns, the ATO doesn’t mess around!
All about the 31 October deadline
As we said earlier, the 31st of October lodgement deadline is for people who either:
- don’t use a registered tax agent, or
- have outstanding tax returns from previous financial years.
(Just so we’re crystal clear, “outstanding” here means overdue, not amazing or incredible. The ATO doesn’t hand out gold stars for tax-form brilliance, unfortunately.)
This deadline applied to the tax return for the financial year that’s just finished – eg. the tax return for the financial year ending 30 June 2025 would be due 31 October 2025.
If you do have a tax agent or accountant who lodges for you (like Hnry!), your deadline is likely extended to 15 May the following year – so for the finanical year ending 30 June 2025, the deadline would be 15 May 2026.
Penalty fees and interest
Just like the deadlines are fairly straightforward, so too are the penalties (unfortunately).
Failure to lodge by the due date
If you fail to lodge your tax return by the 31st October deadline, the ATO will warn you either by phone or in writing.
Then, if they decide to apply the aptly named failure to lodge on time (FTL) penalty, they’ll write to you again and tell you:
- the reason for the penalty
- the penalty amount
- the due date for the penalty (at least 14 days after they give notice).
The FTL amount will depend on how long overdue your tax return is. For small businesses, the fee is calculated as one “penalty unit” every 28 days. As of 7 November 2024, the “penalty unit” amount is $330. Partial penalty units may be included.
Basically, the sooner you get your tax return sorted, the better!
💡 If you decide to get yourself a tax agent, remember to engage them before the 31st of October so you’re eligible for the tax-agent lodgement deadline of 15th May (so long as you don’t have any outstanding tax returns). Otherwise, you’ll be stuck with the October deadline and your lodgement may still be considered overdue! 🙋♀️ Thinking about joining Hnry? We can sort your overdue returns for a one-off fee.
Failure to pay any outstanding tax bills by the due date
Once you’ve lodged your tax return, you should know whether or not you have any outstanding tax left to pay. If you do owe money, the due date and amount payable will be laid out in a Notice of Assessment issued by the ATO once they’ve processed your return.
If you miss the due date set out by the Notice of Assessment, the balance you owe will begin accruing something called General Interest Charge (GIC). The GIC rate is set quarterly, is calculated on the amount outstanding, and compounds on a daily basis – so definitely something you want to avoid!
Make it simple by using Hnry
Hi! We’re Hnry – an award-winning tax service and app for sole traders.
For just 1% +GST of your self-employed income, capped at $1,500 +GST a year, we’ll automatically complete and lodge your tax returns whenever they’re due. No fees, no penalties, and definitely no interest!
Plus if you have outstanding tax returns, we can lodge them for you for an extra fee. Easy!
The real magic, though, is that we sort all your tax bits and bobs as you earn. We automatically calculate and deduct all:
- Income tax
- GST (if applicable)
- Medicare Levy
- Student loan repayments (if applicable)
- Superannuation contributions (optional)
… meaning everything that hits your bank account is yours to spend. All you have to do is focus on the fun stuff – like the actual job.
Being a sole trader is hard enough. Hnry has your back. Sign up today, and never miss another tax deadline again!
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