Guides · Tax and BAS · 5 min read · Updated 24 September 2026
TPAR explained: who has to lodge it, what to report, and what to keep on every subbie
If you run a building or construction business and you pay contractors, the ATO wants an annual list of who you paid and how much. That list is the Taxable Payments Annual Report, or TPAR. It is not a tax; it is a report. But it has a due date and a penalty, and it is much easier when the records were kept during the year.
Who has to lodge a TPAR
Businesses that provide building and construction services and pay contractors for building and construction services. That covers builders, and it also covers most trades: electrical, plumbing, carpentry, tiling, concreting, roofing, landscaping and more, whenever they pay a subcontractor.
TPAR also applies to businesses in cleaning, courier and road freight, information technology, and security, investigation or surveillance services, where those services make up 10 percent or more of the business's income. If you are unsure, the ATO has a checklist on ato.gov.au.
When it is due
28 August each year, covering payments made in the financial year that ended on 30 June. Lodge through Online services for business, through your tax agent, or through software that supports it.
What you report for each contractor
- Their ABN.
- Their name and address.
- The total you paid them for the year, including GST.
- The GST included in that total.
Payments for materials only are excluded, but if an invoice mixes labour and materials, the whole invoice counts. Payments to employees are not reported on TPAR; they go through PAYG withholding.
What to keep on every subbie
The report is only as good as the invoices behind it. For every subcontractor payment, keep the invoice with their ABN on it, the date, the amount and how you paid. If a subbie does not quote an ABN, you are generally required to withhold tax from the payment at the top rate, so ask for the ABN before the first job, not after.
SmokoBooks has a subcontractors register for exactly this: log each payment against the job with the ABN, the invoice number and whether it counts for TPAR, and the annual totals per contractor build themselves.
What happens if you do not lodge
The ATO can apply a failure-to-lodge penalty, and it uses TPAR data to check that contractors are reporting their income. Lodging late is better than not lodging. If you have nothing to report for a year, you can lodge a nil report or tell the ATO you are not required to lodge.
Common questions
Do I include subbies who are companies?+
Yes. TPAR covers payments to any contractor for building and construction services, whether they are a sole trader, a partnership, a company or a trust.
What if I pay a subbie for labour and materials on one invoice?+
The whole payment is reported. Only invoices that are purely for materials are excluded.
I am a sole trader with no subbies. Do I lodge?+
No. If you did not pay any contractors for building and construction services during the year, you have nothing to report.
General information for Australian sole traders and small trade businesses, not tax or legal advice. Thresholds, rates and due dates change: confirm the current figures on ato.gov.au or with your accountant.