Last reviewed: 7 August 2026. Bookmark this page — it is updated as legislation moves.
Most compliance calendars list lodgement dates. This one lists the dates that change what your business pays, with the dollar impact and what to do about each.
Already in effect
1 July 2025 — GIC no longer deductible
The general interest charge and shortfall interest charge stopped being tax-deductible. At around 10.96% p.a. compounding daily, non-deductibility makes ATO debt equivalent to roughly 14.6% pre-tax for a company at the 25% rate.
Action: compare any ATO balance against commercial finance. Most owners have never run this.
→ The real cost of ATO tax debt
1 July 2025 — Superannuation Guarantee reached 12%
The final step of the legislated schedule. No further increases are scheduled.
1 July 2026 — the big one
Four changes landed on the same day.
Award rates +4.75%, National Minimum Wage +5.97%
NMW to $26.44/hr ($1,004.90 per 38-hour week) — above $1,000 a week for the first time. Affects around 21.1% of the Australian workforce. Applies from the first full pay period on or after 1 July, not from 1 July itself.
True cost is roughly 19% above the headline once super, payroll tax and workers comp are layered on.
→ What +4.75% actually costs you
Payday Super commenced
Superannuation must now reach each employee’s fund within seven business days of payday, replacing the quarterly cycle. The rate did not change — the timing did.
Average SME additional working capital requirement: over $124,000. 68% of businesses had made no preparation.
Action: confirm contributions are arriving within seven business days, not merely being initiated.
→ The $124,000 working capital hole
ATO Small Business Superannuation Clearing House closed
Closed 30 June 2026. If you used it, you needed to migrate to a commercial clearing house or your payroll provider’s facility.
Action: if you have not verified a successful payment since the closure, do it today.
Electricity — Default Market Offer fell
Small business received the largest cut of any customer class — up to 14%. NSW and SE QLD standing offers down up to 7.2%; SA up 1.4%.
Action: most businesses sit on a standing offer and will never see this. Check your rate.
→ Small business electricity prices fell up to 14%
3 August 2026 — full fuel excise restored
Excise reverted to the full indexed rate of 53.7c per litre on petrol and diesel.
| Period | Rate |
|---|---|
| Before 1 Apr 2026 | 52.6c/L |
| 1 Apr – 30 Jun 2026 | 20.6c/L |
| 1 Jul – 2 Aug 2026 | 36.6c/L |
| From 3 Aug 2026 | 53.7c/L |
A 17.1c/L step-up from July, and above the pre-crisis baseline — excise is indexed, so there is no “back to normal” to wait for. The heavy vehicle road user charge relief also ended.
Action: recalculate cost per kilometre and check whether contracts permit pass-through.
→ What the 3 August increase costs your fleet · Fuel calculator
Recurring FY27 dates
BAS lodgement — quarterly
| Quarter | Period | Due (self-lodge) |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Jul – Sep 2026 | 28 October 2026 |
| Q2 | Oct – Dec 2026 | 28 February 2027 |
| Q3 | Jan – Mar 2027 | 28 April 2027 |
| Q4 | Apr – Jun 2027 | 28 July 2027 |
Lodging through a registered agent generally extends these. Lodge even if you cannot pay — lodgement and payment are separate obligations, and non-lodgement is what converts a cash problem into personal director liability.
Superannuation — now every pay run
Quarterly deadlines no longer apply. Seven business days from each payday.
Other fixed dates
| Date | Obligation |
|---|---|
| 31 October 2026 | Individual tax return due (self-lodge) |
| 31 March 2027 | FBT year ends |
| 21 May 2027 | FBT return due |
| 30 June 2027 | Financial year ends — final date for deductible purchases |
| Annual, varies by state | Payroll tax reconciliation |
Watch list — not yet settled
Instant asset write-off
The $20,000 permanent threshold for businesses under $10m turnover was announced in the 2026-27 Budget on 12 May 2026.
As at last review it was announced but not confirmed as legislated. The standing legislated default is $1,000.
This matters commercially. If you are timing an equipment purchase on the assumption of a $20,000 threshold, verify the current position with the ATO or your accountant before committing. The gap between $20,000 and $1,000 is the difference between an immediate deduction and years of depreciation.
→ What is actually law
Payroll tax thresholds
| State | Threshold | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | $1,200,000 | 5.45% |
| VIC | $1,000,000 (phases out $3m–$5m) | 4.85% (2.425% regional) |
| QLD | $1,300,000 | 4.75%–4.95% |
Grouping provisions catch people out — related entities are aggregated, so businesses that believe they are under the threshold frequently are not.
→ Thresholds by state
What this calendar is actually for
Compliance dates are not just obligations. They are the only moments in the year when a cost increase arrives with a published, verifiable, externally-caused reason attached.
That makes them the easiest price conversations you will ever have. A customer can look up the Fair Work decision. They can check the excise rate. It is not your margin ambition — it is a regulated change applying across your entire industry at once.
Businesses that reprice alongside the compliance calendar never experience these as shocks. Businesses that absorb them for three years and then attempt one large correction lose customers.
Total business costs are up 24.6% since March 2020. If your prices have not moved in step, the gap is sitting in your margin.
Where to go next
- The Profit Lever Hierarchy — what to do with the pressure
- How to Raise Prices Without Losing Customers
- Business Cash Flow in Australia
- How to Cut Business Costs in Australia
Sources: Fair Work Commission; Australian Taxation Office; Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts; Australian Energy Regulator; state revenue offices; NSW Small Business Commissioner. Reviewed 7 August 2026. Dates and rates change — this page is general information, not advice. Confirm your obligations with your accountant.