Big BAS bill, no property? Funding a tax bill the sensible way

Why does the BAS bill catch good businesses out?

Because the money that pays it has usually already been spent. GST collected on sales sits in the business account alongside everything else, so it gets used for wages, stock and rent. PAYG withheld from wages does the same. When the quarter ends, the bill arrives for money that feels like it belongs to the business but doesn’t.

Growth makes it worse. A strong quarter means more GST collected and often more staff, so the bill is biggest just when cash is most stretched by buying stock and paying extra wages.

When is BAS due?

The ATO’s quarterly BAS due dates are:

Quarter	Due date
July to September	28 October
October to December	28 February
January to March	28 April
April to June	28 July

Monthly BAS, which applies when GST turnover reaches $20 million or the ATO directs it, is due on the 21st of the following month. If you use a registered tax or BAS agent, different dates may apply.

What are your options if the cash isn’t there?

First, lodge on time. The ATO’s guidance is to lodge even if you can’t pay and to contact it early. That single step keeps more options open with the ATO and with lenders.

Then compare:

Option	How it works	Watch out for
ATO payment plan	Pay the balance in instalments; balances up to $200,000 can often be arranged online	Interest charges continue, and from 1 July 2025 they’re not tax-deductible
Line of credit	Draw what’s needed to pay the ATO, repay as cash comes in	Fees on the limit; draw discipline
Short unsecured loan	A lump sum sized on turnover pays the ATO in full	Repayment frequency and total cost
Invoice finance	Advance against invoices owed to you	Only suits B2B invoicing businesses

A line of credit often suits a business whose BAS is only occasionally tight. A short loan suits a one-off large bill. A payment plan suits a modest balance the business can clear from normal cash flow. Our page on ATO debt covers what lenders think of each.

If you’d like to compare the real cost of each option for your bill, start a short enquiry and a specialist will lay them out.

How does unsecured funding for a BAS bill get assessed?

Much like any unsecured facility: turnover, conduct, time trading and existing debts. Specific to tax bills, lenders also want to see:

• that the BAS has been lodged;
• the ATO statement showing the balance;
• whether this is a one-off or a pattern;
• how future BAS bills will be managed.

That last point matters. A business that borrows every quarter to pay BAS is running short of margin, not just timing. Lenders will ask what’s changing.

How do you make sure it doesn’t happen again?

The fix is boring and effective: move tax money out of reach each week.

1. Open a separate “tax” account.
2. Each week, transfer the GST collected and PAYG withheld, plus any PAYG instalment share.
3. Don’t touch it until BAS is due.

Our guide to a weekly BAS set-aside plan walks through the calculation. Combined with a small line of credit for genuine timing gaps, it removes most BAS stress.

What about super and payday super?

From 1 July 2026, payday super requires employers to pay super so that it’s received by the fund within 7 business days after payday, according to the ATO. That spreads super across the quarter instead of lumping it, which helps some businesses and squeezes others. If you’re hiring, our page on funding a new hire covers the cash-flow side.

A worked example (illustrative)

A small builder with a leased yard has a quarterly BAS of about $46,000, driven by a strong run of jobs. The account holds $18,000 after wages, and a large progress payment of $70,000 is due in five weeks.

Options: an ATO payment plan over a few months, or a short draw on a line of credit repaid when the progress payment lands. Given the certain payment date, a five-week draw may cost less than months of ATO interest. The numbers decide; this is illustrative only.

What should you have ready when you enquire about a tax bill?

Tax-related requests move faster when the facts are clear from the start:

• the lodged BAS, or the figure you’re about to lodge;
• a current ATO statement showing any existing balance or payment plan;
• your business bank statements for recent months;
• known incoming payments and their dates, such as progress claims or large invoices;
• your plan for next quarter, such as a set-aside account.

With those in hand, a specialist can compare a payment plan, a line of credit and a short loan on real numbers rather than guesses, and tell you honestly which is likely to cost less.

Tax bill landed? Let’s find the least painful way through.

A BAS bill shouldn’t need property to solve. Tell us the amount and what’s coming in. Your credit file stays untouched while we talk, we don’t broadcast your enquiry to a list of lenders, and a real person compares the options with you, including the ones that don’t involve us.

Please give accurate figures for the BAS amount, your turnover and any existing ATO plan on the form. It lets us get the match right straight away. See if you qualify.