Starting a business is exciting. Registering for taxes is usually somewhat less exciting. And GST has a habit of creating questions surprisingly early in the life of a business. Do I need to register now? Can I wait until my sales reach $75,000? Is the $75,000 based on sales or profit? What if I am only running a small business from home? What if I drive for Uber on weekends? Fortunately, the...
Taxable vs GST-Free vs Input-Taxed Supplies: What’s the Difference?
Australian GST would be much easier if everything had 10% GST. Sell something for $100. Add $10 GST. Collect $110. Job done. Unfortunately, the GST law had other plans. Some sales are taxable. Some are GST-free. And some are input-taxed. The last two are particularly good at confusing beginners. After all, GST-free and input-taxed sales both have something rather attractive in common: You...
Australian GST Explained: A Complete Beginner’s Guide
GST is one of those taxes that sounds more complicated than it really is. You make a sale. You collect some GST. You buy something for the business. You may pay some GST. At the end of the reporting period, you work out the difference. Sometimes you pay the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). Sometimes the ATO owes you. That is GST in its simplest form. Of course, tax law rarely allows anything to...