If you’re a Brisbane business owner who pays contractors, the 28 August 2026 TPAR deadline is your chance to get this financial year’s reporting right and set your business up for an easier lodgement next year. This guide explains exactly what you must report for the 2025/26 financial year, who needs to lodge, what records to gather, which mistakes commonly cause problems, how to lodge, and what you can put in place now so next year’s 28 August 2027 lodgement is much easier to manage. For businesses that rely on contractors, getting this right now can save time, stress, and unnecessary follow-up later.

Are You Required to Lodge a TPAR?

The first question is whether your business actually needs to lodge. TPAR applies to businesses that operate in eligible service categories and pay contractors during the financial year. The main industries covered include:

• • building and construction
  • cleaning
  • courier and road freight
  • information technology
  • security, investigation and surveillance.

If your business falls into one of those categories and you paid contractors for services during 2025/26, a TPAR may be required. There is no minimum dollar threshold, so even a single contractor payment can trigger the reporting obligation.

What Counts as a Contractor?

For TPAR purposes, a contractor is generally an individual or entity that you engaged under a contract arrangement to provide services, rather than an employee paid through payroll. That means sole traders, companies, trusts, and partnerships can all fall within scope if they were paid for services in an eligible industry. Employees are not reported in a TPAR, even if they carry out similar work, because those payments are handled through payroll and PAYG withholding instead.

If your business uses a mix of employees and contractors, it is worth reviewing each arrangement carefully so nothing is misclassified.

What About Mixed-Activity Businesses?

Brisbane’s construction and subcontracting sectors are particularly active, and many businesses here operate across categories. A cleaning company that also sells products, or a building business that occasionally consults, may be unsure which payments to report.

The key point is that TPAR applies to the reportable part of the business activity, not every payment a business makes in every context. If you engage subcontractors to deliver services in one of the eligible industries, those payments are generally reportable even if the business also has other revenue streams outside TPAR. Many Brisbane businesses are caught out by assuming that a side activity or an occasional subcontracting arrangement falls outside the rules, when in fact it may still need to be reported.

What Information Do You Need to Report?

When you prepare the report, the ATO wants contractor details that allow it to match payments accurately. For each contractor, you need to report:

• • Full name (individual) or entity name (company, trust, or partnership)
  • Address
  • ABN
  • Total amount paid (gross, including GST)
  • Total GST included in those payments

A Note on GST

Report the gross amount paid, not the net. A common mistake is entering the GST-exclusive figure. Your accounting records should show the full amount invoiced and paid, including any GST component. If the report is built from GST-exclusive figures, it will not match what the ATO expects.

What If a Contractor Did Not Provide an ABN?

The ABN issue is another area that can cause trouble. If a contractor did not quote an ABN, withholding rules may apply and your business may have been required to withhold tax from the payment and remit it to the ATO. That contractor still needs to be reported in the TPAR, even if the ABN was missing. In practice, this is where a lot of small businesses run into problems, because a payment may have been made quickly without the right documentation being collected first. If that happened, speak to your accountant before lodging, as this may require a separate correction rather than simply a TPAR entry.

TPAR Lodgement Due Date and How to Lodge

The TPAR lodgement due date is 28 August 2026. This applies to all businesses required to report for the 2025/26 financial year.

There are two main ways to complete your TPAR lodgement:

Through your accounting software. Most Australian accounting platforms, including Xero, MYOB, and QuickBooks, can generate and lodge TPAR reports directly to the ATO. This is the preferred method for most small businesses. If you’re unsure which platform best suits your needs, our Xero vs MYOB vs QuickBooks comparison covers the key differences for small business owners.

• • Xero: Navigate to Accounting, then Reports, then Taxable Payments Annual Report. Check that all contractor payments are coded to the correct account and that ABNs are recorded against each contact.
  • MYOB: Use the Taxable Payments Annual Report under the Reports menu. Confirm that suppliers are tagged as contractors and that ABN fields are complete.
  • QuickBooks: Run the Taxable Contractor Payments report. Review contractor profiles to confirm ABN and address details are current.

Through the ATO Business Portal or myGovID. If you prefer to lodge directly, you can submit your TPAR through the ATO’s online services. You’ll need a myGovID linked to your ABN.

Through your accountant or registered tax agent. If you’d rather have someone else handle the lodgement, your accountant can lodge on your behalf. Given the 28 August TPAR lodgement due date, it’s worth reaching out well in advance to give them time to review your records.

Pre-Lodgement Checklist

Before you lodge, it helps to do a full records check. A full review against your bank statements, accounts payable records, and supplier files is often the easiest way to catch anything that might otherwise be missed. If your software is set up properly, it should help generate the report, but software is only as good as the information entered into it, so human review still matters.

Use this checklist before you submit to confirm everything is in order:

• • Identify all contractors paid during the 2025/26 financial year
  • Confirm each contractor’s ABN, full name or entity name, and address
  • Check that reported amounts are gross (GST-inclusive)
  • Confirm payments are for services, not solely for materials
  • Identify any contractors who did not provide an ABN and seek advice if you did not withhold at the required rate
  • Cross-check your records against bank statements or accounts payable to make sure no contractor has been missed
  • Confirm your software is set up correctly to generate the report before the TPAR lodgement due date

Common TPAR Lodgement Mistakes to Avoid

Reporting net instead of gross amounts. The ATO requires the gross amount paid, including GST. If you report the net figure, your lodgement will be inaccurate.

Missing irregular or one-off contractors. A contractor you used only once still needs to be reported if the payment was for services in an eligible industry. Review your full year of transactions, not just regular suppliers.

Confusing employees with contractors. Payments to employees go through payroll, not TPAR. If you’re unsure how a working arrangement should be classified, seek advice before lodging. Misclassifying workers is one of several payroll mistakes your business can’t afford to make.

Reporting payments for materials only. If you paid a subcontractor purely for materials and no labour component was involved, that payment is not reportable. Payments for a mix of labour and materials should be reported in full.

Leaving out contractors with missing ABNs. These payments still need to be included. Report what identifying information you hold and flag the missing ABN.

What Happens If You Miss the Deadline?

If you miss the 28 August 2026 deadline, the ATO can apply penalties for failing to lodge on time. The longer the delay, the greater the exposure, so the best response is to lodge as soon as possible.

If you later discover that you made an error or left out a contractor, you can amend the report through the same lodgement method you used originally. There is no need to wait for the ATO to contact you before correcting the mistake. In fact, prompt correction is usually the best approach because it shows that you are taking your reporting obligations seriously.

What Happens After You Lodge?

Once lodged, the ATO will confirm receipt through the Business Portal or your accounting software. Keep a copy of the submitted report and all supporting invoices and payment records for at least five years.

The ATO uses TPAR information to cross-match contractor income against tax returns and other reporting data, so accurate records matter not only for your own compliance but also for the contractors you have paid. If your business operates in a higher-risk industry such as building and construction, accurate reporting becomes even more important because the ATO pays close attention to contractor payment data in these sectors. Good records make future lodgements easier and reduce the chance of unnecessary queries.

TPAR Non-Lodgement Advice: When You Don’t Need to Lodge

If your business is in an eligible industry but you did not make any payments to contractors during 2025/26, you may need to submit a TPAR non-lodgement advice to inform the ATO you are not required to report.

This applies if the ATO expects a TPAR from your business based on your industry registration or prior lodgements, but you have nothing to report. Submitting TPAR non-lodgement advice prevents unnecessary follow-up from the ATO and keeps your record clear. You can submit this through the ATO’s online services or through your accountant.

If you’re unsure whether TPAR non-lodgement advice applies to your situation, speak to your accountant before the 28 August deadline.

Get Your TPAR Lodgement Right Before 28 August

The 28 August TPAR lodgement due date doesn’t leave a lot of room for last-minute scrambling. If your records are complete, lodging through your accounting software or the ATO portal is straightforward. If anything is unclear, particularly around contractor classifications, missing ABNs, or amended lodgements, it’s worth getting advice before you submit rather than after.

At Rhythm Financial, we help Brisbane business owners work through exactly these situations. Whether you’d like us to review your records and lodge on your behalf, or you simply want a second opinion before you submit, we’re happy to talk it through. Reach out to our team to get started.

Frequently Asked Questions

I only used one contractor for a small job. Do I still need to lodge?

Yes. There is no minimum number of contractors or minimum payment amount. A single payment for services in an eligible industry is reportable.

What if my contractor invoiced me in the previous financial year but I paid in 2025/26?

Report based on when the payment was made, not when it was invoiced.

My business operates across two eligible industries. Do I report all contractor payments?

Yes. All payments to contractors for services within eligible industries are reportable, regardless of which category they fall under.

Can I lodge a TPAR non-lodgement advice if I had no contractor payments?

Yes. If you operate in an eligible industry but made no contractor payments during 2024/25, submitting TPAR non-lodgement advice notifies the ATO and avoids unnecessary follow-up.

What if I already lodged but need to correct something?

You can submit an amended TPAR. Use the same lodgement method you used originally and replace the incorrect information with the corrected figures.