It can sometimes be awkward to manage your business’s tax responsibilities over the holiday period, not least because the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and Office of State Revenue (OSR) contact centres and online services have reduced availability or close during the peak Christmas and New Year period.
For 2025, the ATO are scheduled to close from noon AEDT on Wednesday, 24 December 2025, and re-open at 8:30 am AEDT on Friday, 2 January 2026, but there will be reduced ATO staff availability, and professional assistance over a traditionally much longer holiday period, so planning ahead for the dates below always helps.
New Year resolutions are often personal, but what about your business? As you look to the year ahead, consider setting goals for the business to achieve and being mindful of the business’ cashflow along the way. If you require help with your goal setting, or cash flow management, please contact your usual Exant Advisor.
While it’s important for business owners and managers to take a break themselves, they do need to remain focussed on key dates in the new year, which we outline below.
| Due Dates | Lodgement or Payment |
|---|---|
| 14 January 2026 | Lodgement AND payment of: > December 2025 monthly Payroll Tax Return (monthly lodgers) > .July – December 2025 Payroll Tax Return (half-yearly lodgers) |
| 21 January 2026 | Lodgement AND payment of: > December Quarter 2025 PAYG Instalment Activity Statement for head companies of consolidated group. > December 2025 monthly Business Activity Statements (except business with less than $10 M turnover who also report GST monthly and lodge electronically. |
| 28 January 2026 | Payment of the December Quarter Superannuation Guarantee Contribution to super funds. Note: missing this payment deadline results in employers being liable for the non-deductible Superannuation Guarantee Charge and having to prepare and lodge a Superannuation Guarantee Charge Statement by 28 February. |
| 31 January 2026 | > Lodge tax returns for taxable medium and large taxpayers (> $10 M turnover), including consolidated groups. > Lodgement of the Tax File Number (TFN) report for closely held trusts for any beneficiary who quoted their TFN to the trustee in the 2025/2026 financial year. |
| 7 February 2026 | Lodgement AND payment of January 2026 monthly Payroll Tax Return (monthly lodgers) |
| 21 February 2026 | Lodgement AND Payment of the following: > January 2026 monthly Business Activity Statements > December 2025 monthly Business Activity Statements for business clients with less than $10 million turnover who report GST monthly and lodge electronically. |
| 28 February 2026 | > Lodgement and payment of the December 2025 Quarter Business Activity Statements and Instalment Notices (if the instalment is to be varied). > Lodge Tax Returns for non-taxable medium and large taxpayers (> $10 M turnover) including non-taxable consolidated groups but excluding individuals. |
If you require any assistance with managing your tax lodgements and payments, please contact your usual Exant Advisor, the Author or our tax specialist Jamie Towers via the form below or on 07 3218 3900.
Author: Dean Rallison