G1 — Total sales¶

G1 – Total sales is the first sales label on your BAS. It is the total of all the sales your business made during the period. This normally includes the GST that is part of those sales.

The BAS is the business activity statement — the form you send to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to report GST and other amounts. GST is the goods and services tax, a 10% tax added to most sales.

In one line

G1 is the total of all the sales you made for the period — and it normally includes the GST that is part of those sales.

Why this matters¶

G1 is where your BAS starts. If G1 is wrong, the numbers built from it can be wrong too. Getting G1 right — and correctly showing whether it includes GST — means the rest of your statement rests on a solid base.

What you will learn¶

What the G1 total sales label is
Why G1 normally includes GST, and how you show that
What most small businesses report under Simpler BAS

Understanding the concept¶

G1 is the total of all the sales your business made in the period. The ATO says this figure should capture every kind of sale you made, not just the ones you charged GST on. That means G1 includes:

Taxable sales — sales you charged GST on.
GST-free sales — sales where no GST is charged (for example most basic food).
Input-taxed sales — sales where no GST is charged and you generally cannot claim GST credits on the related purchases (for example some residential rent).

Because most sales include GST, the G1 figure you report normally includes GST too. On the BAS there is a small box under G1 where you mark Yes or No to say whether the G1 amount includes GST. The ATO notes that G1 is the only label where you choose between a GST-inclusive and a GST-exclusive amount, so this box matters — mark it to match the figure you entered.

For accountants & bookkeepers

Under Simpler BAS, the ATO requires small businesses (GST turnover under $10 million) to report only G1, 1A and 1B on each activity statement. The remaining G-labels (G2, G3, G10, G11 and the calculation-worksheet labels) belong to the full reporting method, used by larger businesses or those who choose the calculation worksheet. G1 remains GST-inclusive or GST-exclusive at the taxpayer's election, flagged by the box beneath it; every other label follows fixed rules.

Example¶

Priya runs a small cafe. Over the quarter she sold $44,000 of coffees and hot meals (these are taxable, so they include GST), plus $6,000 of plain bread and milk (basic food, which is GST-free). At G1 she reports the total of everything she sold — $50,000 — because G1 captures both her taxable sales and her GST-free sales. She marks the box under G1 to show that the amount includes GST, since her taxable sales are GST-inclusive.

Common mistakes¶

Putting only taxable sales at G1 — G1 is all sales, including GST-free and input-taxed ones.
Forgetting the Yes/No box — if the figure includes GST, the box must say so.
Mixing methods — entering a GST-exclusive figure but marking the box as GST-inclusive (or the reverse).

How this works in myaccountant¶

In the app — myaccountant adds up your categorised sales for the period and fills the G1 total sales label for you, so you do not add it up by hand. Because your sales are recorded with their GST, the G1 figure and its GST-inclusive setting are prepared from your own records before you review the BAS.

Key points¶

G1 is the total of all the sales you made for the period.
G1 normally includes the GST that is part of those sales.
A Yes/No box under G1 shows whether the amount includes GST.
G1 covers taxable, GST-free and input-taxed sales.
Under Simpler BAS, most small businesses report only G1, 1A and 1B.
The full list of G-labels applies to full reporting, covered later.

Learn next¶

General information only — not tax, super or financial advice.

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