Benefits of Filing Company Tax Return

A Tax return is a statement, showing all the particulars of Income and Expenses done by the company. It is a self-assessment sheet submitted to the Australian government providing all the particulars about the profits earned and losses suffered during the year. It provides for the exact calculation of tax payable by the Assessee.
 

The accounting period for a company/corporate is generally 1st July to 30th June every year, except in some cases when it could be 1st January to 31st December owing to some special permissions. The company tax return is to be filed with the ATO on the 15th day of the seventh month from the end of the financial year i.e. 30th June or 31st December as the case may be. 

Apart from tax calculation for the government, filing a tax return on time has the following advantages for the company.
 
Avoiding Penalties
 

Levy of penalties can be considered as one of the most significant matters while filing a tax return. If the return is filed on time, no penalties are imposed over the assessee. But if the return is delayed for any reason, the ATO may lodge FTL i.e. Failure to Lodge penalty which gets increased in every 28 days. The middle and large business houses suffers the penalty to be multiplied with 2 and 5 respectively.

Claiming a Refund 
 

There are some deductions available on income earned by the assessee which are refunded by ATO only if the tax return is filed within the stipulated time frame. Refunds can be in the form of extra tax submitted to ATO or some deductions or losses to be carry forwarded to next year.

Loss of Interest on Tax Refund
 

The government pays interest on tax refunded by them. The interest is paid to the assessee only if the company tax return is filed on time and tax is paid within the time allowed. It includes the fact that at least 85% of the tax for the year needs to be paid before the due date. 

Special Points About Tax Due Dates:

1. The due dates for payment of tax as per the tax return vary from assessee to assessee and as per the time when the return was submitted.
2. If the due date to file the return falls on a public holiday, Saturday or Sunday, payment for the tax can be made on the next business day without attracting any penalties.
3. The financial year includes the period from 1st July to 30 the June, but if the return is filed by the assessee himself, the due date is 31st October.
   

Tax by the company is paid by the companies on the profit earned by them in the financial year. Accounting for calculation of profit is done by following GAAP i.e. Globally Accepted Accounting Procedures.
 

Tax for the individual assessee is paid on a progressive basis on the other hand tax for a company is paid on a flat rate system. Currently, the tax rate for a corporate is 30% for all the companies (tax rate is 25% for small businesses and companies whose turnover is less than $2 million in the previous year). Dividend to the shareholders is calculated only after tax for the year has been paid.