Business Activity Statements (BAS): A BAS is a statement that every business must
submit
to the Australian Tax Office (ATO) to report their GST obligations.
Generally, a BAS comprises three components: Goods and Services Tax (GST), Pay As
You Go
(PAYG) withholding, and PAYG installments.
Businesses are typically required to lodge their BAS on a quarterly or annual basis.
Installment Activity Statements (IAS): The IAS is a component of the BAS reporting
framework only. However, for certain large businesses, the ATO mandates more
frequent
reporting, and thus IAS lodgement comes into the picture.
There are two key differences: (a) BAS is lodged on a quarterly or annual basis,
whereas
IAS is lodged monthly; (b) BAS requires reporting on three components, i.e., GST,
PAYG
withholding, and PAYG installments. However, IAS focuses exclusively on PAYG
withholding
and PAYG installments, without including GST.
For entities also lodging quarterly BAS, GST reporting is maintained on a quarterly
schedule,
while PAYG withholdings and installments are reported monthly through IAS.