PAYG Instalment Due Dates 2026–27

PAYG instalments prepay your income tax through the year. The dates look simple — but your real deadline depends on whether the ATO sends you an activity statement or an instalment notice, and on how often you report GST. Get that wrong and you can be a week late while thinking you're two weeks early.

Quarterly PAYG instalment due dates 2026–27

* Typical agent lodgment program dates for activity statements — your agent confirms your exact date, and instalment notices (forms R, S and T) are not eligible for agent lodgment program dates at all. † 28 February 2027 is a Sunday and Monday 1 March 2027 is Labour Day in Western Australia — a whole-of-state public holiday, which under the ATO's rule pushes the date for taxpayers in every state — so the due date is Tuesday 2 March 2027. Q2 gets no further concession because its due date already includes a one-month extension. ‡ The ATO lists this date as to be confirmed when the 2027–28 lodgment program is developed.

The instalment notice trap

If PAYG instalments are your only reporting obligation — common for sole traders with investment income, retirees and people the ATO has just entered into the system — you don't get an activity statement. You get an instalment notice.

That matters, because the ATO's own terms and conditions for the 2-week online lodgment concession exclude:

• quarterly instalment notices — forms BAS R (quarterly PAYG instalment notice), BAS S and BAS T
• monthly GST payers who have quarterly PAYG instalments
• monthly activity statements
• quarterly PAYG instalments for head companies of consolidated groups

So if you're holding an instalment notice, your date is the 28th with no extension. Assuming you get the same extra fortnight your friend with a BAS gets is a good way to cop general interest charge.

The two exclusions that bite hardest go the other way. If you report GST monthly but pay PAYG instalments quarterly, your instalment rides on a monthly activity statement — so it's due the 21st, and your Q1 instalment is due 21 October 2026, a week earlier than the headline quarterly date. Head companies of consolidated groups are also on the 21st. Neither group gets the concession, and neither is on the 28th.

One upside for notice holders: if you're paying the amount printed on the notice, you don't need to lodge anything at all. Just pay by the due date.

Monthly PAYG instalment due dates 2026–27

Monthly instalments are due on or before the 21st day of the following month. If you're a deferred BAS payer, it's the 28th. You generally only pay monthly if your instalment income is $20 million or more (or $100 million or more if you report GST quarterly or annually) — and you can't choose to pay monthly, or object to it.

* Shifted to the next business day. The ATO treats a day as a public holiday if it is one for the whole of any state or territory, so WA's King's Birthday (28 Sep 2026), Boxing Day observed (28 Dec 2026), WA Labour Day (1 Mar 2027) and Easter Monday (29 Mar 2027) move the date for everyone.

Annual PAYG instalment due dates

The annual instalment catches people out because the answer changes depending on who lodges your return.

* 31 October 2026 is a Saturday, so the next business day applies. † 31 October 2027 is a Sunday; the ATO has not yet published its 2027–28 public holiday table, so confirm this date closer to the time. Pay the annual instalment before your return is lodged so the ATO credits it against the right assessment. If your agent lodges your return before 21 October, still pay the amount on the notice by 21 October — don't lodge the notice or vary it.

To pay annually rather than quarterly you must confirm your choice by the 28th day of the month after the end of your first instalment quarter (or the next 28 February where December is the last month of that quarter). Eligibility is narrow — at the end of your first instalment quarter, all of the following must apply: your most recent estimated (notional) tax was under $8,000; you haven't lodged your first instalment quarter; you're either not required to register for GST or you're voluntarily registered and remit GST annually; and you're not a company that is part of an instalment group, a head company of a consolidated group, or a participant in a GST joint venture.

Varying an instalment — and the 85% rule

You can vary your instalment if the ATO's figure doesn't match your year. The timing is strict: lodge the variation on or before the day the instalment is due, and before you lodge that year's tax return. The varied amount then applies to the remaining instalments for the income year.

The risk is varying down too far. When your return comes in, the ATO compares your actual instalments to the total tax payable on your instalment income. If your varied instalments come to less than 85% of that total, you can be charged general interest charge on the difference — on top of the shortfall — and penalties may apply.

Two things that soften it: the ATO says it won't apply penalties or charge interest on variations where you took reasonable care to estimate your end-of-year liability, meaning a genuine attempt a reasonable person would recognise; and GIC can be remitted in some circumstances. Still, if you're unsure, don't vary — overpaid instalments are refunded after you lodge.

Paying late — what the general interest charge costs

The ATO applies general interest charge (GIC) when an amount stays unpaid after its due date. GIC is set quarterly and compounds daily.

GIC incurred in income years starting on or after 1 July 2025 is no longer tax deductible. That change quietly made late payment materially more expensive — a business that used to claim the interest back at its marginal rate now wears the full cost, which makes an ATO debt dearer than most business overdrafts. If you can't pay, lodge anyway and talk to the ATO about a payment arrangement before the due date.

Why your instalment amount changed: the 5% GDP uplift

If you pay the instalment amount the ATO calculates, that figure comes from your last tax return, uplifted for expected income growth. The GDP adjustment for the 2026–27 income year is 5%, applying to instalments for quarters starting on or after 1 April 2026. It doesn't apply if you work out your own instalments using the rate method, or if you pay annually.

Who has to pay PAYG instalments?

The ATO enters you into the system automatically based on your last return. Instalment income means gross business and investment income, excluding GST and capital gains.

• Individuals (including sole traders) and trusts — entered when all three apply: instalment income of $4,000 or more, tax payable on your latest notice of assessment of $1,000 or more, and estimated (notional) tax of $500 or more.
• Companies and super funds — entered when any one applies: instalment income of $2 million or more, estimated (notional) tax of $500 or more, or being the head company of a consolidated group.

Related deadlines

• BAS due dates 2026–27 — if your instalment sits on an activity statement, this is your date
• Every key ATO and ASIC date for 2026–27
• Payday super deadline calculator — super now has to reach the fund within 7 business days of payday
• TPAR due date — 28 August

FAQ

Sources: ATO — PAYG instalments (due dates, annual and monthly rules, variation and the 85% test, entry thresholds, 5% GDP adjustment); ATO — Two week lodgment concession terms and conditions (exclusion of BAS R/S/T instalment notices); ATO — Lodgment and payment dates on weekends or public holidays (whole-of-state holiday rule and dated table); ATO — Agent lodgment program, activity statements; ATO — General interest charge rates. Verified 21 August 2026.