Business loans when your accountant is behind

You’ve found the equipment, or the stock deal, or the premises. The lender is keen. Then comes the request for last year’s tax return, and you realise your accountant still hasn’t finished it. You’ve chased twice. The business is fine. The paperwork is stuck in someone else’s in-tray.

It’s one of the most common hold-ups in small business lending, and one of the most fixable. The first job is working out what kind of “behind” you’re dealing with.

Behind schedule, or actually overdue?

These sound similar and are treated very differently by lenders.

Not due yet. Registered tax agents lodge under the ATO’s agent lodgement program, which gives many clients later due dates than the standard 31 October that applies to people lodging themselves. Some returns for the 2026 financial year won’t be due until well into 2027. If yours sits in that window, your accountant isn’t technically late, and a lender will generally accept your most recent lodged year plus something more current.

Overdue. The program has a catch. According to the ATO, if any return from an earlier year was still outstanding at 30 June 2026, the concession is lost: all the outstanding returns are expected by 31 October 2026, and only catching up on every one of them by that date brings the 2026 return back under the program. With 31 October falling on Saturday this year, that deadline is days away as we write.

Ask your accountant one direct question: “Is my return due yet, and if not, when?” The answer tells you which lenders to talk to.

Your position	How banks tend to react	How non-bank lenders tend to react
Latest return not due yet, prior years lodged	Usually fine with last year’s return plus current figures	Fine
One year overdue, catching up	Often want it lodged first	Will usually assess on bank statements and BAS
Several years overdue	Unlikely until caught up	Possible, especially with property security
Returns overdue and an ATO debt	Unlikely	Case by case; see ATO tax debt loans

What you can pull together without your accountant

Waiting for the accountant doesn’t mean waiting with empty hands. Most of what a non-bank lender needs, you can collect yourself this week.

• Bank statements. Six to twelve months from your business account, downloaded from internet banking or shared through a read-only link.
• Lodged BAS. If your BAS are up to date (often a bookkeeper’s job, separate from the annual return), they show quarterly sales reported to the ATO.
• Your ATO account. Sole traders can log in through myGov; companies use Online services for business. You can usually see lodgement history, your account balance and any payment plan. A lender who can see a clean ATO account worries less about a late return.
• A software P&L. If the books are kept in Xero, MYOB or similar, export a profit and loss for the financial year to date. Reconcile the bank feed first.
• Last year’s return and notice of assessment, if the previous year is lodged.

That bundle is enough for many lenders to make a decision. The without financials page explains how each piece is read.

Need a quick read on whether your bundle will do? Start a one-minute enquiry and we’ll tell you honestly.

Your options while the returns are finished

1. Ask your bank what it will accept. If the latest return isn’t due yet, many banks will work with the previous year plus current management accounts. Bank funding is often the cheapest available, so it’s worth the conversation.
2. A low doc business loan. Assessed on BAS, bank statements and sometimes an accountant’s letter. Built for exactly this gap.
3. Equipment finance for a specific asset, where lenders lean on the item’s value and often need less paperwork for straightforward deals.
4. Property-secured funding, from $20k, if you own property with equity. Income evidence matters far less, and speed can be quick.
5. Bridge now, refinance later. Take a smaller or shorter facility now, then refinance onto cheaper terms once returns are lodged. Our low doc vs full doc comparison shows what that switch can save.

Getting your accountant moving

Accountants are stretched, especially between July and October. A few things help:

• Give them a deadline with a reason. “The lender needs it by the 15th to hold the offer” moves a file up the pile.
• Ask exactly what’s missing. Often it’s you: a bank statement, a loan schedule, receipts for a vehicle. Send it the same day.
• Request something a lender can use now. Even before the return is lodged, they can often prepare draft financials or a short income letter. See what your accountant should send a lender.
• If it’s chronic, plan a move. Under the Tax Practitioners Board’s code, registered agents have to keep client records for at least five years after the work, so your history doesn’t disappear when you change firms. You can check a practitioner’s registration on the Board’s public register.

A scenario

A landscaping company needs $65k for a skid steer, which it must have in place before a council maintenance contract starts. Its 2025 return is lodged. The 2026 return isn’t due yet under the agent program, and the accountant says February. A bank asks to wait.

Instead, the owner sends a non-bank lender the 2025 return and notice of assessment, four lodged BAS for 2025–26, nine months of statements and a Xero P&L. The figures line up and the skid steer is financed as equipment. When the 2026 return lands, the owner talks to the bank about future borrowing with a full set in hand.

Mistakes to avoid

• Pressuring your accountant to rush a return. Errors cost more later, and a lender may compare it with your BAS.
• Signing a lender declaration that says returns are lodged when they aren’t. It will come out.
• Assuming late means overdue. Check the actual due date before you panic, or before you accept a costly offer you don’t need.
• Applying to five lenders while you wait. Every formal application may be recorded as an enquiry on your file.

Books lagging, business moving: let’s get you funded

Opportunities rarely wait for the accountant’s calendar. We regularly help owners whose returns are in the queue find a lender that reads current evidence instead of last year’s paperwork.

The enquiry form takes about a minute. Your credit history isn’t looked at simply because you asked. We work your file ourselves rather than spreading it across dozens of lenders. A person, not an algorithm, reviews it and gives you a call. Tell us plainly which years are lodged and which aren’t, because that detail decides which lender suits you first time.

Get your loan moving while the returns catch up →