Understanding GST for Airtaskers

DO I HAVE TO PAY GST?

If you have a GST turnover of $75,000 or more from your Airtasker activities (or if the combined turnover from your Airtasker activities and other business activities is $75,000 or more) – you need to:

• register for GST
• include GST in the price of your taxable sales
• issue tax invoices for your taxable sales and obtain tax invoices for your business purchase
• claim GST credits for GST included in the price of your business purchases
• account for GST on either a cash or non-cash basis and put aside the GST you have collected so you can pay it to the ATO when due
• lodge activity statements to report your sales and purchases, and pay GST to the ATO or receive a GST refund.

If your turnover is less than $75,000, you are not required to register for GST.

How do I report GST?

Once you are registered for GST, you will need to complete a Business Activity Statement (BAS), usually on a quarterly basis. This is where you will report your GST obligations (and also your income tax instalments, see above). You can do all this yourself or you can get a bookkeeper like H&R Block to do it for you.

When does the BAS need to be filed?

See table below. Note that you get longer to lodge if you do it online.

DUE DATES FOR LODGING AND PAYING YOUR BAS

The due date for lodging and paying is displayed on your business activity statement (BAS). If the due date is on a weekend or public holiday, you can lodge your form and pay on the next business day. This table assumes you will lodge and pay quarterly, by far the most common option.

GST BASICS

Goods and Services Tax applies at the rate of 10% on the supply of most goods and services. Once you are registered for GST, you will need to collect GST on every supply you make to customers. In practice, this means that in addition to your fee, you will be charged 10% GST. By way of example, if the charge for a job is $100, you will add $10 GST to this. The total charge to your client will be $110.

You can offset against your taxable supplies any GST which you pay on your items of expenditure (these are called input tax credits). Items where you may be able to claim a tax credit include costs of materials you use to do your job and fuel and servicing costs for your vehicle if you use it to drive for business purposes. The fee which you pay to Airtasker is also a taxable item, so since you are paying GST on that cost, a GST input credit for the fee is available. This is also, of course, an allowable business expense in your income tax return.

Are there other costs to workers that include GST?

Most business expenses paid by Airtasker workers include GST. In most cases, you can claim an input tax credit for the GST included in the price of those expenses. If you make a purchase that is partly for business and partly for private use, you are entitled to a proportionate input tax credit for the business use component.

For example, if you decide to buy a computer for $2,200 (including $200 GST) to keep track of your takings and business purchases, you are entitled to claim a full input tax credit of $200 if the computer is used solely for business purposes. If the computer is used 60% for business purposes and 40% for private purposes, the claim for the input tax credit is reduced to $120 which is 60% of $200.

An input tax credit cannot be claimed if no GST was included in the price of the business acquisition. There is no GST on many Australian taxes, charges, fees and levies including driver's licenses, vehicle registrations, levies on compulsory third party insurance, and traffic infringement fines.

As a rule, you can claim as an input tax credit the GST included in any business expense, excluding expenses of a private or domestic nature. This excludes you from claiming an input tax credit for the GST included in the price of a prepared meal consumed while you are working, for example.

If the GST levied on your fees exceeds the GST credits you claim on your expenses, the difference is payable to the ATO at the end of the quarter. If your credits exceed your taxable supplies, the difference is refundable by the ATO.

For more information, make an appointment at your local H&R Block office. Find an office near you.

Updated: June 2024