Large businesses and other reporting entities must provide a payment times report twice a year, one for each reporting period.
The 2 reporting periods
Payment times reports are due every 6 months of a reporting entity’s income year. There are 2 reporting periods covering the:
- first 6 months of the entity's income year
- second 6 months of the entity's income year.
Reporting window
All reporting entities have a 3-month period after the end of a reporting period to submit their payment times report for the reporting period. This is the reporting window.
Income year
An entity's income year is based on the financial year they use for tax purposes.
This can be:
- a standard income year from 1 July to 30 June
- a non-standard income year such as a calendar year.
The Commissioner of Taxation may allow an entity to use an accounting period that doesn't end on 30 June. That accounting period is the entity’s income year.
If a reporting entity doesn't have to pay income tax, its financial year is its income year for the purposes of reporting.
Examples
Financial and calendar years
If your entity’s income year ended on either 30 June 2021 or 31 December 2021, the reporting arrangements would be as follows:
| Reporting period | Report due |
|---|---|
| First: 1 January 2021 to 30 June 2021 | Any time between 1 July 2021 and 30 September 2021 |
| Second: 1 July 2021 to 31 December 2021 | Any time between 1 January 2022 and 31 March 2022 |
| Third: 1 January 2022 to 30 June 2022 | Any time between 1 July 2022 and 30 September 2022 |
Non-standard end of financial year
If your entity’s income year ended on a non-standard date in the first half of 2021, your reporting arrangements would have commenced at the start of your income year. For example, if your income year ended 28 February 2021, the reporting arrangements would be as follows:
| Reporting period | Report due |
|---|---|
| First: 1 March 2021 to 31 August 2021 | Any time between 1 September 2021 and 30 November 2021 |
| Second: 1 September 2021 to 28 February 2022 | Any time between 1 March 2022 and 31 May 2022 |
| Third: 1 March 2022 to 31 August 2022 | Any time between 1 September 2022 and 30 November 2022 |
If your entity’s income year ended on a non-standard date in the second half of 2021, your reporting arrangements would have commenced halfway through your income year. For example, if your income year ended on 31 October 2021, the reporting arrangements would be as follows:
| Reporting period | Report due |
|---|---|
| First: 1 May 2021 to 31 October 2021 | Any time between 1 November 2021 and 31 January 2021 |
| Second: 1 November 2021 to 30 April 2022 | Any time between 1 May 2022 and 31 July 2022 |
| Third: 1 May 2022 to 31 October 2022 | Any time between 1 November 2022 and 31 January 2023 |
Record keeping after a reporting period
Reporting entities must keep information used to prepare a payment times report for at least 7 years after the end of the reporting period.