What is a TPAR
The Taxable Payments Annual Report (TPAR) is an annual report to the ATO of the payments your business made to contractors during the financial year. It exists so the ATO can match the income contractors report against what they were actually paid. If your business is in an affected industry and you pay subcontractors, you almost certainly have to lodge one.
Who has to lodge a TPAR
You must lodge if your business provides one or more of these services and pays contractors to help deliver them:
| Industry | Typical examples |
|---|---|
| Building and construction | Plumbers, electricians, builders, carpenters, concreters, tilers, roofers, painters, landscapers |
| Cleaning services | Commercial and domestic cleaning paid to subcontractors |
| Courier and road freight | Delivery and transport subcontractors |
| Information technology (IT) | Contract developers, support and consultants |
| Security, investigation or surveillance | Guards, patrols, monitoring subcontractors |
For building and construction, the test is whether 50% or more of your business income or activity is from those services. If you only occasionally pay a contractor and construction is not your main business, check your position, but for a working tradie the answer is usually yes.
What you have to report
For each contractor you report their ABN, name, address, the gross amount paid for the year (including GST), and the GST included. You do not report payments to employees (those go through STP), payments for materials only, or payments where no ABN was quoted and you withheld tax. Good bookkeeping through the year, with contractors coded consistently in Xero, means the TPAR is a report you can run rather than a reconstruction job in August.
Due date and penalties
The TPAR is due 28 August each year for the financial year that just ended (so the year to 30 June is due by 28 August). Late lodgement can attract failure-to-lodge penalties, and the ATO actively data-matches TPAR information, so a missing or wrong report is one of the easier things for them to notice.
How to lodge it right
- Collect ABNs up front. Get every contractor's ABN before you pay them and check it on ABN Lookup.
- Code contractors consistently in Xero so payments are easy to total at year end.
- Separate materials from labour where a contractor bills both, so you report the right figure.
- Lodge through your accounting software, the ATO portal, or your BAS agent. Preparing and lodging a TPAR is within a registered BAS service provider's scope, so this is something we handle for trade clients.
If you want the TPAR off your plate, see our trades bookkeeping page or book a free call.
General information only, current as at October 2026, not tax or financial advice. Confirm your specific obligations with your registered tax agent or the ATO.