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The close-down sequence
| Step | What it involves | The trap skipped |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Final payroll events | Last pays, Single Touch Payroll finalisation, super paid, termination payments coded correctly | Unpaid final super means super guarantee charge and personal director penalty exposure surviving the closure |
| 2. Final BAS and cancel GST | Lodge to the cessation date and cancel the registration within 21 days, including the increasing adjustment for assets kept | The adjustment nobody budgets for, plus nil BAS obligations that otherwise run forever |
| 3. Final income tax returns | Marked final, with closing-year items done properly: trading stock disposals, balancing adjustments on written-off assets, and the fate of carried losses | Assets taken personally are deemed disposals at market value - taxable, even with no buyer |
| 4. Extract the money the right way | Sole traders already hold it. Companies face the retained profits question: small surpluses via final franked dividends, larger ones often via a members voluntary liquidation where distributions can carry franking and capital components | Deregistering a company with meaningful retained profits or assets is the expensive shortcut, and assets of a deregistered company vest in ASIC |
| 5. Cancel the registrations | ABN, PAYG withholding, fuel tax credits, then ASIC voluntary deregistration if solvent with assets under $1,000 and no liabilities, or the liquidation path | The shell that keeps costing ASIC fees and lodgments |
The taxes the exit itself triggers
Ceasing to hold assets is a capital gains event covering goodwill, premises and equipment, which is where the small business CGT concessions do their best work: even a closure that is a sale to nobody can stack toward zero. It is also where the sell versus close comparison deserves one honest look, because a business worth closing is sometimes worth more sold.
Frequently asked questions
How do I close a business with the ATO?
Do I pay tax on business assets I keep personally?
Should I deregister my company or liquidate it?
What happens if I just abandon the company?
Can the small business CGT concessions apply on closure?
General information only - not personal tax, financial or legal advice. Consider your own circumstances or speak to a registered tax agent. Remission of penalties or interest and payment plans are decisions of the ATO and outcomes can't be guaranteed.