Filling Out a GST Registration Form

When you initially register your business or at any time after that, you have the option of registering for the goods and services tax (GST) either online, over the phone, or through your registered tax or BAS agent. Registration in this manner is referred to as "standard GST."

Even if you have more than one business, you only need to register for the GST once.

On the following page

See also

Cancelling your registration for the GST tax.

When to register

If you are not currently registered for GST, you should check your status each month to determine whether you have exceeded the threshold or are likely to do so. In the event that your GST turnover exceeds the relevant threshold within 21 days, you are required to register.

You must register for GST:

• when your company has a GST turnover (gross income from all businesses minus GST) of ,000 or more – for more information on how to calculate your GST turnover, see Working out your GST turnover.
• when you are beginning a new business and project that your annual revenue will be equal to or greater than the GST threshold within the first year of operation
• if you already own a business and have reached the minimum amount required to pay GST
• if your non-profit organization has a GST turnover of more than $150,000 annually, you are required to register for GST.
• when you provide taxi or limousine travel for passengers (including ride-sourcing), regardless of your GST turnover – this applies to owner drivers as well as those who lease or rent a taxi or limousine.
• if you want to make a claim for fuel tax credits on behalf of your company or organization

If your company falls into one of these other categories, you are required to pay GST, but you are not required to register for it. If you choose to register, you will typically be required to maintain your registration for a period of at least one year.

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How to sign up for it

You are required to already possess an Australian business number (ABN) before you can register for the standard GST. You have the option of obtaining an ABN simultaneously with the registration of your business name or at a later time.

After obtaining an ABN, the next step is to register for the GST:

We will provide you with written notification of the specifics of your GST registration, including the date that your registration becomes active, as well as the specifics of your ABN, if you have not already received them.

See also

In the event that you do not register

If you are required to register for GST but choose not to, you may be subject to paying GST on sales that have occurred after the date on which you were required to register for GST. This is something that could occur regardless of whether or not you included the GST in the price of those sales.

You might additionally be responsible for paying penalties and interest.

See also

• Failure to comply with any additional tax obligations

The practice of retroactively registering for the GST

You have the option to submit a request to retroactively register for GST. The number of years that can be backdated on a GST registration is capped at four for tax periods that begin on or after July 1, 2012. This indicates the following, barring any instances of fraud or evasion:

• We are unable to retroactively apply your GST registration further than four years.
• You are exempt from the requirement to have registered by that date.

See also

• Backdating the application for the GST

Calculating your turnover for the purposes of GST

Your total business income (not just your profit), minus the following, is your GST turnover.

• Include GST in the sales you make to your customers.
• sales that do not involve payment and are exempt from taxation
• sales that are unrelated to an enterprise that you manage.
• input-taxed sales you make
• transactions that have nothing to do with Australia

GST revenue minimum threshold

You have met the requirements to meet the GST turnover threshold if either:

• if your current GST turnover – which includes your turnover for the current month as well as the 11 months prior – totals ,000 or more ($150,000 or more for non-profit organizations), then you are required to register for GST.
• It is anticipated that your GST turnover, which is your total turnover for the current month and the following 11 months, will be at least ,000 (or $150,000 or more for organizations that are not-for-profit).

It's possible that using accounting software for your company to keep track of your sales and expenses will make this process simpler.

When calculating your anticipated GST turnover, do not include the following:

• proceeds from the sale of an asset owned by your company, such as money received from the sale of a capital asset
• any sale that you make, or are likely to make, solely as a consequence of discontinuing the operation of a business, or significantly and irreversibly scaling back the size or scope of a business, is exempt from capital gains tax.

Even if your current GST turnover is at or above the threshold for GST turnover, you are not required to register for GST if your projected GST turnover will be less than the threshold. This holds true even if your current GST turnover is at or above the threshold.

See also

• Statements of business activity (also known as BAS)
• GST
• GST definitions

Non-residents are subject to the GST.

If you are not a resident of the country, you may be subject to different identification requirements than residents.

Depending on the nature of your company's operations, you may be required to register for either of the following:

• registration under the standard GST rate is for businesses that
  • have a valid ABN.
  • produce goods that have some connection to Australia
  • issue tax invoices
  • want to claim credits for the GST
• registration for the GST has been simplified; now you
  • Offer your services and digital wares to customers in Australia who are located outside of Australia.
  • Low value goods are defined as those with a value of A$1,000 or less that are imported into Australia.

Next step

• Registration for the Australian Goods and Services Tax (GST) by non-residents

The GST organizations and branches

For the purposes of the GST, a single group may be formed by related entities.

A separate GST registration for a branch may be submitted by a business if doing so is appropriate for the organization's management and accounting system.

Your revenue is calculated by adding your own sales to those of the other members of the GST group if you are a member of that group. It does not include any transactions that took place between members of the group.

See also