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GST turnover

GST turnover is a measure of your business income. The ATO uses it to work out whether you must register for GST (goods and services tax) and which reporting options you can use. It is not the same as your profit.

The important thing to know is that GST turnover is your gross business income — the total of your sales — before you take out any costs.

In one line

GST turnover is your gross business income (not your profit), used to work out whether you must register for GST.

Why this matters

Whether you must register for GST comes down to this one number. If you get it wrong, you might register when you did not need to, or miss registering when you should have. Knowing what counts — and what does not — helps you check where your business stands.

What you will learn

  • What GST turnover is and what it leaves out
  • The difference between current and projected GST turnover
  • The registration turnover threshold

Understanding the concept

The ATO explains that your GST turnover is your gross business income, not your profit. So you look at your total sales, not what is left after paying your bills.

When you work out your GST turnover, you leave out some things. The ATO says to exclude:

  • any GST included in the sales you make to customers
  • input-taxed sales (sales where you do not charge GST and generally cannot claim GST credits, such as most residential rent and many financial supplies)
  • sales that are not connected with a business you run

So GST turnover is the value of the ordinary sales your business makes, with GST itself and those excluded items taken out.

The ATO looks at your turnover in two ways:

  • Current GST turnover — the value of the sales you make in the current month and the previous 11 months.
  • Projected GST turnover — the value of the sales you make in the current month and the next 11 months.

You compare both figures against the registration turnover threshold. The ATO sets this at $75,000 for most businesses, and $150,000 for not-for-profit organisations. If either your current or your projected GST turnover reaches the threshold, you generally must register for GST.

For accountants & bookkeepers

The ATO's guidance is that GST turnover excludes GST itself, input-taxed supplies, supplies not for consideration that are not taxable, supplies not connected with an enterprise you carry on, and supplies not connected with Australia. Current turnover spans the current month plus the previous 11 months; projected turnover spans the current month plus the next 11 months. A business may not have to register even where current turnover meets the threshold, if projected turnover will stay below it — the ATO's own worked guidance covers this. Point clients to the ATO for their situation rather than applying the threshold mechanically.

Example

Priya runs a small online homewares shop. Over the current month and the previous 11 months, her sales added up to about $68,000. That is her current GST turnover, and it is under the $75,000 threshold.

Then Priya lands a large ongoing wholesale order. Looking ahead over the current month and the next 11 months, she now expects sales of around $90,000. That is her projected GST turnover, and it is above the threshold.

Because her projected turnover reaches $75,000, Priya generally must register for GST — even though her past 12 months came in under the threshold. She looks at her total sales to work this out, not her profit after buying stock and paying for postage.

Common mistakes

  • Using profit instead of gross income — turnover is your total sales, not what is left after costs.
  • Only checking the past 12 months and forgetting the ATO also looks at the projected next 12 months.
  • Counting input-taxed sales (such as residential rent) in the figure — these are left out.
  • Including the GST part of your prices — GST turnover excludes GST itself.

How this works in myaccountant

In the app — myaccountant tracks the sales you record, so you can see your business income building up over the year. This helps you keep an eye on where your turnover sits relative to the GST registration threshold, so registering for GST is not a surprise.

Key points

  • GST turnover is your gross business income, not your profit.
  • It excludes GST itself, input-taxed sales, and sales not connected with your business.
  • Current GST turnover looks back over the current month and previous 11 months.
  • Projected GST turnover looks forward over the current month and next 11 months.
  • The registration turnover threshold is $75,000 ($150,000 for not-for-profits).
  • If either figure reaches the threshold, you generally must register for GST.

Learn next

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

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