GST Registration Threshold: The $75,000 Rule

In Australia you must register for GST once your business's GST turnover reaches $75,000 in a rolling 12-month period — or as soon as you expect it to. Below that, registration is optional. There are two important exceptions: non-profits have a higher $150,000 threshold, and taxi and rideshare drivers must register from their very first dollar. This guide explains how the threshold is actually measured and what changes on your invoices once you cross it.

What the $75,000 threshold actually means

The headline figure is simple: $75,000 in GST turnover. But the word that trips people up is "turnover". GST turnover is your gross business income — your total sales excluding GST itself — not your profit. So a sole trader with $80,000 in sales and $50,000 in expenses has a GST turnover of $80,000 and must register, even though their profit is only $30,000.

A few things GST turnover excludes: GST you've charged, sales that aren't connected with Australia, and input-taxed sales such as residential rent. What's left is the number you measure against $75,000.

The rolling 12-month test: current and projected

This is the part most people get wrong. The threshold isn't measured per financial year — it's a rolling 12-month window, and the ATO says you meet it if either of two measures reaches $75,000:

• Current GST turnover — your turnover for the current month plus the previous 11 months.
• Projected GST turnover — your turnover for the current month plus the next 11 months.

The projected test is why you can be required to register before you've actually earned $75,000. If you sign a contract in July that you reasonably expect will push your next 12 months over the threshold, you have to register — you don't wait until the money lands. Once you're required to register, you have 21 days to do it.

A quick example

Say you're a freelancer earning about $6,000 a month. By month twelve your current turnover is roughly $72,000 — still under. But if you land a new retainer that lifts you to $8,000 a month, your projected turnover for the next 12 months is around $96,000. That projection crosses $75,000, so you must register now, even though your past 12 months were under the line.

The exceptions to the threshold

Taxi and rideshare: register from day one

If you provide taxi travel or ride-sourcing — driving a taxi, or ridesharing for a platform like Uber, DiDi or Ola — you must register for GST regardless of turnover. There's no $75,000 grace period. Even if you drive part-time and earn a few thousand dollars a year, you need an ABN, GST registration, and you charge GST on every fare. This catches a lot of new drivers by surprise.

Non-profit organisations: $150,000

Registered non-profit organisations have a higher registration threshold of $150,000 in GST turnover. Below that, registration is optional.

Voluntary registration: should you register early?

Even if you're under $75,000, you can choose to register voluntarily. Whether it's worth it depends on your situation.

Reasons to register early:

• You can claim GST credits on your business purchases — useful if you're buying equipment, stock or tools.
• It can look more established to larger clients who expect to deal with GST-registered suppliers.
• You avoid a sudden 10% price jump later — registering early means you build GST into your pricing from the start rather than surprising customers when you cross the threshold.

Reasons to wait:

• You take on the admin of lodging business activity statements (BAS), usually quarterly.
• If you sell mostly to consumers who can't claim GST back, adding 10% either raises your prices or eats into your margin.
• More record-keeping and, often, more accountant time.

If most of your customers are GST-registered businesses, early registration is often a net positive. If you sell to the public and you're comfortably under the threshold, waiting can keep your prices competitive.

What changes on your invoices once you register

Registering for GST changes your invoicing in a few concrete ways:

• You add 10% GST to your taxable sales.
• Your document becomes a tax invoice. For sales of $82.50 or more (including GST), you must issue a valid tax invoice showing your ABN, the GST amount (or a statement that the total includes GST), and the other required details.
• You can claim GST credits on your own business purchases.
• You lodge a BAS and pay the net GST to the ATO.

Working out how much GST to add — or how much is already baked into a GST-inclusive price — is easy to get wrong by hand. Our GST calculator adds or removes the 10% for you in a second. For the full list of what a compliant tax invoice must show, see our guide on tax invoice requirements in Australia, and once you're ready to bill, the tax invoice generator handles the layout and the GST line automatically.

This article is general information, not financial or tax advice. Thresholds and rules can change and your circumstances are unique — check the ATO and business.gov.au, or speak to a registered tax agent, before acting.

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