Business Activity Statements (BAS) can be confusing and we understand people make mistakes. We are here to help and offer the expertise to make the process easier for you.

Below are some examples of what to look out for:

  1. Not all expenses attract GST

Common expenses that do not attract GST are:

  • Bank fees (however merchant fees do attract GST)
  • Government charges, taxes, levies, stamp duties (including the one on your motor vehicle registration)
  • Salaries, wages and superannuation payments
  • Loan repayments
  • Interest expenses
  • Unprocessed foods

It should also be noted that not all of those expenses are reportable as expenses in your BAS.

  1. Double dipping

You can claim GST credits in the period you made a capital acquisition, but don’t claim it again with your loan repayments afterwards. Those are essentially just transfers between accounts.

  1. Private expenses

Certain expenses may need to be apportioned if you use them for business purposes but also privately, such as your mobile phone expenses, home office running costs or motor vehicle expenditures. Other cash outflows may be considered fully private in nature and have no place in your BAS at all, like speeding fines, personal loan principal and interest and drawings.

We suggest to strictly separate between business and private expenses. It is advisable and for certain entities required to open a separate bank account for business dealings.

  1. Capital sales

Remember to report and charge GST on the sale of business assets. Mistakes can catch you out cold if you haven’t accounted for the GST.

  1. Supplier is not registered for GST

We suggest to always check ABN lookup to verify if a supplier is registered for GST.

If a supplier is not registered for GST, they cannot charge GST. It is understood GST credits can only be claimed if they have been charged.

Be aware:

If a supplier does not quote their ABN you can still trade with them but need to withhold part of the payment as ‘No ABN withholding’ and forward the withheld amount to the ATO as part of your BAS.

For more information about our BAS and GST services, read more here