Tax & BAS for tradies · Brendale, Brisbane North
Ledgerline does BAS, tax returns and Xero for sparkies, chippies, plumbers and every sole trader in between. Fixed quarterly fees, plain English, and an accountant who did a sparky apprenticeship before he did his CPA.
Illustrative photo
Tip: the GST in any GST-inclusive price is 1/11 of it.
What we do
Most of our clients are one-ute businesses: a sparky, a tiler, a landscaper with a trailer. We keep the paperwork small, the fees fixed and the answers in plain English.
Illustrative photoSend us your Xero login or your invoices and receipts. We reconcile, check the GST codes, lodge on time and text you what to pay and when.
From $190 a quarter
Illustrative photoYour business schedule, ute, tools and phone all claimed properly, with a straight answer on what you owe before we lodge.
From $385
Illustrative photoTam sets up your bank rules, invoice templates and receipt app so the books mostly do themselves between jobs.
Bookkeeping + BAS from $260 a monthTwo, three, five years of unlodged returns or BAS. We catch you up, talk to the ATO for you and set up a payment plan if needed.
Single Touch Payroll, super, withholding and the employee-or-contractor question, set up right from the first pay run.
ABN, GST registration, business name and whether sole trader or company suits you. One chat, a clear checklist.
Sample “from” packages for this made-up business. Real prices would be the business’s own.
Free tradie tax calculators
Five quick calculators using 2025–26 rates. They’re estimates, not advice, but they’ll tell you roughly where you stand. Every one can send its numbers straight to Josh.
Roughly what will this quarter’s BAS cost you? Use GST-inclusive totals.
Your BAS, roughly
| GST on sales (1A) | $3,500 |
| Less GST credits on purchases (1B) | –$900 |
| Net GST | $2,600 |
| PAYG withheld (W2) | $0 |
| PAYG instalment (T7) | $1,800 |
| Estimated amount to pay | $4,400 |
Assumes you’re registered for GST, all sales are taxable (no GST-free or input-taxed sales), and purchases include GST. GST = 1/11 of GST-inclusive amounts. 2025–26 rates, check ato.gov.au.
For sole traders. Enter your expected profit for the year (income minus business expenses).
Estimated for the year
| Taxable income | $85,000 |
| Income tax (resident rates) | $16,288 |
| Less low income tax offset | –$0 |
| Less small business offset (approx) | –$0 |
| Medicare levy (2%) | $1,700 |
| Less withheld and instalments paid | –$0 |
| Put aside about | $000 |
That’s about $0 for the year, or 0% of your profit.
Australian resident, full year, 2025–26 rates: nil to $18,200, 16% to $45,000, 30% to $135,000, 37% to $190,000, 45% above. Low income tax offset up to $700. Small business income tax offset 8% of the tax on business income, capped at $1,000. Medicare levy 2% (not reduced for low incomes; no surcharge, HELP or other offsets). Check ato.gov.au.
The simple way to claim a car for work, if it isn’t a ute that counts as a work vehicle, or you haven’t kept a logbook.
Your claim, roughly
| Kilometres entered | 3,200 km |
| Kilometres you can claim (max 5,000) | 3,200 km |
| Rate | 88c |
| Deduction | $2,816 |
Over 5,000 km? The cents per km method stops at 5,000 km. A 12-week logbook could get you more. Ask Josh.
Cents per km covers all running costs, including fuel, rego, insurance and depreciation, so you can’t claim those as well. You need to be able to show how you worked out the kms (a diary is fine). Utes that carry a tonne or more or seat 9+ people follow different rules. 2025–26 rates, check ato.gov.au.
How much super guarantee to budget for, at 12% of ordinary time earnings.
Super guarantee, roughly
| Rate | 12% |
| Super per pay (all workers) | $93.60 |
| Per quarter (13 weeks) | $1,216.80 |
| Per year | $4,867 |
Super guarantee is 12% of ordinary time earnings from 1 July 2025. Payday Super starts 1 July 2026, meaning super is paid with each pay rather than quarterly. It applies to most employees, including apprentices and under-18s working over 30 hours a week. Check ato.gov.au and the ATO SG calculator.
If you do admin from home, the fixed rate method gives you 70c for every hour you work there.
Home office claim, roughly
| Hours for the year | 230 hrs |
| Rate | 70c per hour |
| Deduction | $161 |
The fixed rate covers electricity, gas, phone, internet and stationery. You need a record of the actual hours (a diary, timesheet or calendar), and you can separately claim the decline in value of things like a laptop or desk. 2025–26 rates, check ato.gov.au.
General information only, not financial or tax advice. Your situation might be different, which is exactly what Josh is for.
Common claims, by trade
Tap your trade. These are the things we most often see missed at tax time. Only the business share counts, and you need records.
Typical examples only, not a full list. Private costs aren’t deductible, and how you claim bigger items (depreciation, the instant asset write-off) depends on the rules that year. See the ATO’s record keeping for business.
How it works
No need to take a morning off. Most clients never come into the office.
Tell Josh your trade and what’s worrying you. He replies the same working day.
Xero access, or snap your receipts. We send a checklist so nothing’s missed.
Reconcile, claim everything you’re entitled to, and flag anything odd.
What you owe or get back, when it’s due, and what to set aside for next quarter.
Key dates 2026–27
Common due dates for quarterly BAS and tax. If you lodge through us, you often get more time.
If a date falls on a weekend or public holiday, it moves to the next business day. Monthly BAS and some businesses have different dates: see the ATO’s due dates by month.
Tax appointment checklist
Tick what you’ve got, then send the list so Josh knows what’s coming and what’s missing.
0 of 0 ready
Forms & resources
Straight to the right page on ato.gov.au, asic.gov.au and business.gov.au, so you’re not wading through search results.
No links match that. Try “BAS”, “ABN” or “super”, or just text Josh.
Illustrative photoAbout Ledgerline
Josh Keller did his electrical apprenticeship out of Caboolture, then studied commerce at night after watching too many mates get stung by tax bills they didn’t see coming. He started Ledgerline in 2014 with a simple idea: tradies should know what they owe before it’s due.
Twelve years on, it’s a small Brendale office with Josh and bookkeeper Tam, looking after sole traders and small crews across Brisbane’s north and Moreton Bay.
What tradies say
4.9★★★★★ 140 Google reviews
Sample reviews
Josh got three years of my BAS back on track without once making me feel like an idiot. Now it’s one text a quarter and done.
Finally an accountant who knows what a wet saw is. I use the set-aside calculator every Friday.
Moved from a big firm. Tam actually picks up the phone and fixed my Xero bank rules in a day.
Put on my first apprentice with no clue about super or STP. Twenty minutes with Josh and it was all set up.
The evening video call after work was a lifesaver. Tax return done and I knew the number before he lodged.
FAQ
Still stuck? Text Josh. That’s what the button’s for.
Get in touch
Tell us your trade and what you need help with. No obligation, no hard sell.
Brendale QLD 4500 · parking out front for utes and trailers