- What is GST?
- Does your community organisation have to register for GST purposes?
- If your organisation registers for GST, do you always have to pay GST or are there some concessions?
- Which community organisations are eligible for these GST concessions?
- is required to pay GST to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) if it makes a 'taxable supply' - for example, if it sells something (goods or services) that satisfies specific criteria, and
- can claim ‘input tax credits’ (effectively a GST refund) from the ATO for the amount of GST included in the price of goods and services it purchases
Note
We recommend that your organisation seek advice on its GST obligations. Apply for free legal help.
More information
For more information on how to calculate your organisation’s annual turnover, see the ATO webpage for not-for-profit organisations and the ATO webpage on registering for GST.
- be liable to pay GST to the ATO where it makes any ‘taxable’ supplies (even if it has not yet registered for GST), and
- once registered for GST, be able to claim ‘input tax credits’ from the ATO for the amount of GST included in the price of qualifying acquisitions of goods and services (requiring certain requirements be met)
More information
For more information see the ATO webpage on registering for GST.
- the supply is made for consideration
- the supply is made in the course or furtherance of an enterprise the supplier carries on
- the supply is connected with the indirect tax zone (ie. Australia, but excluding certain external territories and offshore areas), and
- the supplier is registered or required to be registered for GST
Caution
Your organisation will have to satisfy specific requirements that apply to each transaction to rely on these concessions. You should carefully review the ATO’s information on GST concessions and seek advice from an accountant or lawyer.
- not-for-profit organisations that are registered with the ACNC and have been endorsed by the ATO for charity tax concessions, and
- not-for-profit organisations that have been endorsed by the ATO as deductible gift recipients (DGR)
More information
For more information on charity tax concessions, read the ACNC's fact sheet on applying for charity tax concessions.
For more information on DGRs, go to our resources on DGR endorsement.