GST registration: the $75,000 threshold, the non-profit threshold and the taxi exception

The registration triggers

An enterprise must register for GST when its GST turnover reaches $75,000 or more, or $150,000 or more for a non-profit organisation (checked August 2026). The ATO's registering for GST guidance sets out the full list of triggers, and it is longer than the headline threshold suggests.

Registration is compulsory when any of the following is true:

• Your business or enterprise has a GST turnover of $75,000 or more.
• You start a new business and expect turnover to reach the threshold in the first year of operation.
• You are already in business and have reached the threshold.
• Your non-profit organisation has a GST turnover of $150,000 a year or more.
• You provide taxi or limousine travel for passengers, including ride-sourcing, regardless of turnover — this applies to owner-drivers and to drivers who lease or rent a vehicle.
• You want to claim fuel tax credits for your business or enterprise.

Outside those categories, registration is optional. If you do register voluntarily, you must generally stay registered for at least 12 months. Registration requires an ABN first, and you only register once even if you run more than one business. Our GST registration scope tool walks the triggers in order.

How GST turnover is actually calculated

GST turnover is gross business income, not profit, reduced by a defined set of exclusions. That distinction is where most registration errors begin: businesses test their margin against the threshold rather than their revenue.

From total business income, subtract:

• GST included in sales to customers
• sales to associates that are not for payment and are not taxable
• sales not connected with an enterprise you run
• input-taxed sales you make
• sales not connected with Australia

You then apply two parallel tests. Current GST turnover is your turnover for the current month plus the previous 11 months. Projected GST turnover is your turnover for the current month plus the next 11 months. You reach the threshold if either figure is $75,000 or more ($150,000 or more for a non-profit).

The projected test carries a relief valve. Even if current GST turnover is at or above the threshold, registration is not required if projected GST turnover will be below it. When working out projected turnover, exclude amounts received for the sale of a business asset such as a capital asset, and any sale made, or likely to be made, solely as a consequence of ceasing to carry on an enterprise or substantially and permanently reducing its size or scale. A one-off equipment sale should not, on its own, push an enterprise into registration.

Members of a GST group include the turnover of other group members but exclude transactions between them.

The non-profit threshold: $150,000

A not-for-profit organisation must register for GST if it is carrying on an enterprise and its GST turnover is $150,000 or more. Below that, registration is optional. The ATO's GST registration for not-for-profits guidance applies the same current and projected turnover mechanics, with the threshold lifted to $150,000 on both limbs.

Two points matter operationally.

Gifts and donations that are voluntary and give the donor no material benefit are not included in GST turnover. A community organisation with substantial donation income and modest trading income can sit well under the threshold on the correct calculation while appearing to exceed it on a naive reading of its receipts.

A non-profit sub-entity is a separate entity for GST purposes, may hold its own ABN, and has its own $150,000 threshold. That threshold applies to each sub-entity the parent creates. Sub-entities exist for GST purposes only and carry no income tax obligations, which is why they are also outside the annual NFP self-review return unless the lodging entity is the parent.

The GST threshold sits separately from income tax exemption and from ACNC registration. An organisation can be income tax exempt, ACNC-registered and still required to register for GST — see the charities and not-for-profits hub for how those duties stack.

Taxi, limousine and ride-sourcing: no threshold at all

Drivers providing taxi, limousine or ride-sourcing services must register for GST regardless of turnover, before the first fare. The ATO is unambiguous: ride-sourcing is taxi travel for GST purposes, and the $75,000 rule does not apply to it. The position is set out on the ATO's ride-sourcing registrations page.

The practical consequences:

• An ABN is required, because GST registration depends on holding one.
• Registration must be effective from the date you intend to start, or did start, providing the service.
• You must report GST monthly or quarterly. Annual GST reporting is not available to ride-sourcing drivers.
• If you already hold an ABN but have not registered for GST, you must register within 21 days of starting to provide ride-sourcing services.
• An existing GST registration held for another activity — for example as an IT contractor — covers the ride-sourcing activity as well.
• Once registered, provide your ABN to the platform, which may issue tax invoices on your behalf.

Fuel used in light vehicles travelling on public roads, which is what ride-sourcing is, is not eligible for fuel tax credits. Registering for GST does not change that.

Registering because you want fuel tax credits

You must be registered for GST at the time you acquired the fuel, and registered for fuel tax credits when you lodge the claim. GST registration is a precondition, not an option, for a business that intends to claim. That is why "you want to claim fuel tax credits" appears in the ATO's list of compulsory registration triggers even where turnover is nowhere near $75,000 — a small primary producer or civil contractor with an off-road fleet may register solely to access the credit. The mechanics are covered in our fuel tax credits explainer.

The 21-day rule, backdating and the cost of registering late

Once you are required to register, you must do so within 21 days. The clock runs from the point your GST turnover exceeds the relevant threshold — not from the end of the quarter, and not from the date you notice.

If you are not registered, the ATO expects you to check each month whether you have reached the threshold or are likely to exceed it. That monthly check is the control; a business that reviews turnover annually will breach the 21-day rule by construction.

Registering late is expensive. If you do not register when required, you may have to pay GST on sales made since the date you were required to register — even if you did not include GST in the price of those sales. Penalties and interest may also apply, and the shortfall sits on top of margin you never collected.

Backdating is available but bounded. A GST registration can be backdated by no more than four years, meaning that absent fraud or evasion you are not required to be registered before that date. Backdating requests must be made to the ATO by phone.

Registration takes effect from the date the ATO notifies in writing, which is why the notification letter should be filed with the ABN records rather than discarded. Once registered, you must lodge a business activity statement — see our BAS lodgement explainer for the cycle and due dates.

Choosing a reporting cycle

Your GST reporting and payment cycle follows your turnover, not your preference, at the top end:

A business below $20 million may elect to report monthly, which some do to smooth cash flow and align GST with other month-end processes. Changing cycle mid-period generally takes effect from the start of the next quarter or year, unless the election is made early in the lodgement period. The current settings are on the ATO's when and how to report and pay GST page. Whichever cycle applies, put the due dates into your compliance calendar at the point of registration rather than at the point of the first notice.