I am working as a consultant, registered with an ABN, and whenever I invoice a client I include GST and then report it on my BAS. But I am unclear about the GST reporting/status of some other work I have just started. I am doing some work for/through a US-headquartered firm (with an Australian presence) who arrange for consultants/experts to do short-term work (sometimes just an hour phone call) for (mostly) Australian clients. We agreed on an hourly rate (in USD) and I advise the number of hours I have worked, and get paid accordingly. I have tried to engage them on the GST status of my work but they have not been helpful. I have no idea of how the firm bills the client (but they are a big firm and so I assume are filing appropriately). So I am earning income, but am uncertain what to report on my quarterly BAS (and subsequently my annual return) on this income where the GST status is unclear. Should I report 1/11th of what I am earning as GST (and treat the 10/11th as my income), even though I am not actually invoicing for GST? Or something else? Thank you.
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From our legal data base the Goods and Services Tax Ruling GSTR 2019/1 this will help you to self-assess your position with GST and if you are required to charge or can establish if it’s going to be GST-free.
If you're not able to make a determination once you have looked at the ruling you can reach out to our Tailored technical assistance area ensuring you provide detailed information, like what the US company does, the nature of the service you provide and what you mean by Australian presence. You can do this without mentioning business names.
On your BAS, ALL income generated under your business will be reported on the BAS even if it is GST-free.
You can find the Complete your BAS page on our website, it’s a great guide on what to put where including GST-free sales.
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From our legal data base the Goods and Services Tax Ruling GSTR 2019/1 this will help you to self-assess your position with GST and if you are required to charge or can establish if it’s going to be GST-free.
If you're not able to make a determination once you have looked at the ruling you can reach out to our Tailored technical assistance area ensuring you provide detailed information, like what the US company does, the nature of the service you provide and what you mean by Australian presence. You can do this without mentioning business names.
On your BAS, ALL income generated under your business will be reported on the BAS even if it is GST-free.
You can find the Complete your BAS page on our website, it’s a great guide on what to put where including GST-free sales.
Thank you very much for your response.
The services I have provided in this new work appear to be subject to GST--I am clearly based in Australia. But my problem is that I haven't explicitly invoiced for that GST. I just reported the number of hours I worked and the firm paid me the agreed rate, with no reference to GST.
When I fill in my BAS, I will be reporting some income where I have clearly invoiced for the GST, and some where I haven't. But Field 1A requires me to report the GST paid on sales, and says that GST should be total taxable sales divided by 11.
So it seems that I should be treating/reporting the amount I have been paid in this new work as including 1/11th in GST, even though I didn't explicitly charge for it. I'd appreciate any feedback as to whether that is obviously wrong.
Thanks again.
Hi @TRConsultant,
Remember when you invoice your client it's up to you to determine if you need to charge GST on top of your fee.
If the error can't be corrected with the client then you'd need to report and pay the GST from your own pocket.
A similar question has been asked on this forum, check out the answer.
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