Goods and services tax (GST) is a tax of 10% on most goods, services and other items sold or consumed in Australia. If your business is registered for GST, you have to collect this extra money (one-eleventh of the sale price) from your customers. You pay this to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) when it’s due.
Check if your business needs to register for GST
You must register for GST if:
- your business has a GST turnover of $75,000 or more
- your non-profit organisation has a GST turnover of $150,000 or more
- you provide taxi or limousine travel (including ride-sourcing services like Uber, GoCatch, Didi or OLA) regardless of your GST turnover
- you want to claim fuel tax credits for your business, regardless of your GST turnover
If you’re a non-resident there are special rules that may apply to you.
Otherwise, registration for GST is optional.
Register for GST (and other taxes)
If you already have an Australian business number (ABN), register for GST online through the Business Registration Service. You can use the same form to register for other taxes at the same time.
Don’t have an ABN yet? You can register for GST at the same time you register for an ABN.
If you’ve started a new business, you should register if you expect your GST turnover to reach $75,000 in the first year.
You have to register for GST within 21 days of becoming aware that your GST turnover will go over the threshold. It's a good idea to check each month to make sure you're not likely to go over the limit.
If your GST turnover is below the $75,000 threshold, you may choose to register. But if you do, regardless of your turnover, you must:
- include GST in the price of most goods and services you sell
- claim GST credits for most business purchases you make
- lodge activity statements to report your total sales, GST on sales and GST credits
GST turnover is your business income (excluding certain sales), not your profit.
Say you run an online clothing store. If you sell $80,000 worth of clothes in a year, you’d have to register for GST. This is because your GST turnover is over the $75,000 threshold – even if you only make $40,000 in profit.
You might be able to claim GST money back from the ATO.
If you’re registered for GST, you can generally claim back any GST included in the price of things you've bought for your business. These are GST credits.
If, for any tax period, your GST credits are higher than the amount of GST your business has to pay the ATO, you could get a refund.
Find out more on the ATO web page claiming GST credits.