Tax time phone load planner

Say it's 7.40 on a Thursday in late October. Two of you have been on the phones since nine and the lodgment pile hasn't moved. Tax time always feels busier. But how much busier? This planner turns your own numbers into a plan. Enter your calls on a normal day, your calls on a flat-out day, how long a call usually takes and how many people can pick up. Tick the busy windows you know, like the run to 31 October or BAS weeks. You'll see which weeks need cover, how many extra calls they bring and how much phone time each person is looking at. The dates come from the ATO.

Calls on a normal business day (calls)

Calls on a flat-out day (calls)

Average minutes per call (minutes)

People who can answer the phone (people)

Your state

Financial year

Busy windows Run-up to 31 October Standard quarterly BAS dates (5 business days up to and including each date) Agent BAS dates (5 business days up to and including each date) A custom date range

Fill in your numbers, pick your state and tick at least one busy window to see the plan.

How this works

Build the set of busy business days from the windows you tick, counting a day once where windows overlap. The run-up to 31 October ends on the last business day on or before it: in 2026 that is Friday 30 October. Each BAS window is the 5 business days up to and including the due date, after a weekend date moves to the next weekday. Business days skip weekends and your state's full-day public holidays. Part-day holidays (such as the evening of Christmas Eve) and holidays kept only in some areas are counted as business days and listed in the result.

Calls on busy days = flat-out calls times busy days. Extra calls = (flat-out minus normal) times busy days. Phone time on a flat-out day = flat-out calls times minutes a call, in total and divided by the people who can answer. Each week of the year (weeks start Monday) adds flat-out calls for its busy days and normal calls for its other business days.

Sources: ATO, due dates for lodging and paying your BAS; ATO, registered agent lodgment program, activity statements; ATO, due dates by month; Fair Work, 2026 public holidays; Fair Work, 2027 public holidays.

Frequently asked questions

Where do I get my normal and flat-out call numbers?

Your phone system's call log is the best place. Take a quiet fortnight and your busiest fortnight from last year and work out the daily average for each.

Which BAS dates does it use?

The ATO's standard quarterly dates (28 October, 28 February, 28 April and 28 July), plus the registered agent lodgment program dates if you tick them: 25 August 2026, 25 November 2026 and 26 May 2027.

Does it count public holidays?

Yes. Pick your state and the planner skips its public holidays when it counts business days, using the Fair Work and state government lists.

General information only, not tax, legal or financial advice.