GST threshold: do you need to register for GST?
You generally have to register for GST once your GST turnover reaches $75,000. That's your business income before expenses, less any GST included in it, checked over the last 12 months and the next 12 (not by financial year).
Enter what your business made over the last 12 months and what you expect over the next 12. Your answer updates as you type.
Nothing you type here is stored or sent anywhere.
How the two 12-month tests work
If your next 12 months are likely to reach $75,000, you must register, whatever your last 12 months were.
If only your last 12 months reach it, you must register unless the ATO is satisfied your next 12 will be under $75,000. If you can't work out an estimate, you must register.
Taxi, limousine and ride-sourcing drivers must register whatever their turnover, unless they drive as an employee.
Checked against ATO guidance on . View sources.
What counts as GST turnover
Your total business income from all your businesses. GST-free sales count, including exports. The ATO lists these to leave out:
- Income not connected with a business you run, such as wages from a job or selling your own car privately.
- Input-taxed sales, such as renting or selling existing residential premises, and financial supplies.
- Sales not connected with Australia.
- Sales to associates that aren't for payment and aren't taxable.
- Any GST included in your sales.
For the next 12 months, also leave out sales of capital assets (stock you sell isn't one) and sales made only because you're closing your business or substantially and permanently reducing its size. They still count in the last 12 months.
For the next 12 months, the ATO accepts a business plan, budget or other reasonable estimate.
If you need to register
Register within 21 days of being required to. Ride-sourcing drivers are the exception: the ATO says to be registered before your first trip. You need an ABN first. Then register online through ATO online services in myGov or Online services for business, by phoning the ATO's Business enquiries line, or through a registered tax or BAS agent.
Registering when you don't have to
If you're not required to register, you can still choose to. If you do, you generally must stay registered for at least 12 months.
Registered, you pay GST on your taxable sales and report it on a BAS, and you can claim GST credits. Not registered and not required to be, you do neither. Which suits you depends on your business.
Questions about the GST threshold
Is the $75,000 per financial year?
No. It's measured over rolling 12-month periods: this month and the previous 11, and this month and the next 11. The ATO says to check each month while you're not registered. For non-profit organisations, the threshold is $150,000.
Does my wage from a job count?
No. GST turnover counts business income. The ATO's definition of an enterprise leaves out work done as an employee, so your wages aren't included. If you run more than one business, add their income together: you only register once.
Will a one-off sale make me register?
Not if it's a sale of a capital asset or a sale made only because you're closing your business or substantially and permanently reducing its size, because those are left out of the next 12 months. In one ATO example, a retiring grazier whose turnover is usually about $35,000 makes an $80,000 clearing sale and isn't required to register.
Can I cancel my registration later?
If you're no longer required to be registered (your GST turnover is under the threshold), you can choose to cancel, unless you're a taxi, limousine or ride-sourcing driver. Once you've cancelled, you can no longer claim GST credits.
Watch your turnover in Bilbee
Not registered for GST? Bilbee's dashboard shows what you've invoiced over the previous 11 months and this month so far, less any GST and credit notes, against the $75,000 threshold. It also estimates the next 12 months from invoices dated in that period, active recurring invoices and accepted quotes, and warns you there when either figure reaches $60,000. It's on every plan, including Free.
It only counts invoices you make in Bilbee, so add any business income from elsewhere, including from before you started using it. It also counts every invoice that isn't voided, drafts included, so it can't leave out the sales the ATO excludes. Treat it as a guide, not your GST turnover.
Bilbee doesn't register you. Once you've registered, switch GST registration on in Settings.
Sources
Checked . The ATO updates these pages, so check the source before you rely on a detail. This page is general information, not tax advice.