When you sell or close your business, you must cancel your GST registration within 21 days of ceasing business activities, but only after every outstanding BAS is lodged, including a final BAS covering the period up to your cancellation date. If you're keeping business assets you claimed GST credits on, you generally repay part of those credits on the final BAS. The ABN is a separate cancellation that comes after GST, within 28 days of ceasing, and your records still need to be kept for five years.
Cancel my GST →$139 + GST · final-BAS obligations checked first
The wind-down order.
Closing a business is one of the few tax jobs where sequence genuinely matters. Each step depends on the one before it. The whole thing, in order:
| Step | Deadline | Why it's in this position |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Stop trading, issue your last invoices | Fixes the cessation date everything else counts from | |
| 2. Lodge every outstanding BAS | Their original due dates | Cancellation doesn't erase unlodged periods. They keep accruing penalties |
| 3. Work out adjustments for assets you're keeping | Before the final BAS | Credits claimed on assets you still hold are partly repaid at cancellation |
| 4. Lodge the final BAS | Its normal due date | Covers up to the cancellation date, and carries the asset adjustment |
| 5. Cancel the GST registration | Within 21 days of ceasing | Stops new BAS from being issued |
| 6. Cancel the ABN | Within 28 days of ceasing | Separate from GST, and the ATO expects lodgements and debts squared first |
| 7. Keep the records | 5 years | The retention clock keeps running after the business stops |
The step people skip is number 2. An unlodged BAS doesn't disappear when the shop shuts. It sits on the account accruing failure-to-lodge penalties and interest, and it will block a clean ABN cancellation later. Check every period is in before you touch anything else; our BAS due dates guide has the full calendar if you're reconstructing what was due when.
The final BAS: the statement that closes the account.
Your final BAS works like any other BAS: GST on your last sales at 1A, credits on your last purchases at 1B, and wind-down costs count, so keep the tax invoices for final accounting fees, equipment repairs before sale, even the skip bin. Two things make it different. It only covers the period up to your cancellation date, and it's your last chance to claim cleanly: credits generally expire four years after the BAS they were first claimable on, and chasing them after deregistration is much harder than claiming them now. Sweep the drawer for missed invoices before this statement goes in.
The asset adjustment: the bit that surprises people.
If you claimed GST credits on business assets and still hold them when the registration is cancelled (the ute, the tools, the laptop that's about to become personal property), you generally make an increasing adjustment on the final BAS, repaying part of those credits. The adjustment is worked out from the asset's market value and business-use percentage at cancellation, not what you paid: a $30,000 ute now worth $12,000 gives back GST on the $12,000, scaled by its business use. And the obligation fades with age. Each asset only stays adjustable for a set number of adjustment periods, so a car held for more than five full financial years, for example, usually needs no repayment at all. This calculation is the single most common thing done wrong on self-lodged cancellations, and it's the main check our agents run before lodging one.
Selling instead of closing: the going concern rule.
If the business is being sold rather than shut, the sale itself can be GST-free as a going concern, but only if every condition holds: the sale is for payment, the buyer is registered (or required to be registered) for GST, you and the buyer agree in writing on or before the sale day that it's a going concern, you supply everything necessary for the business to keep operating, and you carry the business on until the day it changes hands. Miss one (most often the written agreement, or cancelling your registration a week too early) and GST lands on the whole sale price. Keep your registration alive until settlement, and make sure the contract says the words.
Still trading, just smaller? Cancelling is optional.
Everything above assumes the business is genuinely ending. If you're still trading but turnover has fallen below the $75,000 registration threshold, cancelling is a choice, not a requirement. You can stay registered and keep claiming credits, or cancel and drop the BAS cycle. Two catches: if you registered voluntarily, you generally need to stay registered for at least 12 months before you can cancel, and rideshare and taxi drivers can't cancel while still driving. GST applies from the first dollar of fares regardless of turnover. The asset adjustment above applies to below-threshold cancellations too, so run the numbers before deciding the quarterly BAS is the worse deal.
GST first, then the ABN: and what stays behind.
GST and the ABN are separate registrations with separate cancellations, done in that order: cancelling GST leaves the ABN active, and an active ABN with no GST is exactly right for anyone still doing occasional work under the threshold. If the business is finished for good, the ABN should be cancelled within 28 days of ceasing; the ATO won't close it cleanly over unlodged returns or unpaid debts, which is why it sits last. Even then, two obligations outlive the business: the final income tax return, and your records, which must be kept for five years, the retention clock doesn't stop when the trading does. If you need the ABN closed as well, our sister service ABN Assist handles that side.
Quick answers.
Do I have to cancel my GST registration when I close my business?
Yes: if you sell or close the business, the ATO requires you to cancel your GST registration within 21 days of ceasing business activities. Until it's cancelled, BAS keep being issued and keep being due, whether or not you're trading. If your business is still running but turnover has dropped below $75,000, cancelling is optional rather than required.
What is a final BAS?
It's the last activity statement your registration will ever produce, covering the period up to your cancellation date. It works like any other BAS (GST on your final sales, credits on your final purchases) plus any adjustment for business assets you're keeping. Every earlier outstanding BAS must be lodged too: cancelling doesn't erase unlodged periods, which otherwise sit accruing failure-to-lodge penalties on a business you thought was closed.
Do I have to repay GST credits on equipment I keep after cancelling?
Often, yes in part. If you claimed GST credits on business assets (a vehicle, tools, equipment) and still hold them when your registration is cancelled, you generally make an increasing adjustment on your final BAS, worked out from the asset's market value and business-use percentage at cancellation, not its original price. Older assets can fall outside the adjustment periods entirely: a car held for more than five full financial years, for example, usually needs no repayment.
Is selling my business subject to GST?
Not necessarily. The sale of a business as a going concern is GST-free if it's for payment, the buyer is registered (or required to be registered) for GST, you and the buyer agree in writing on or before the sale day that it's a going concern, you supply everything necessary for the business to keep operating, and you carry the business on until the day of the sale. Miss a condition and GST applies to the sale price, so the contract wording matters.
Does cancelling GST cancel my ABN too?
No. They're separate cancellations, and the order matters: GST first, then the ABN. If you've closed the business permanently, the ABN should be cancelled within 28 days of ceasing, but the ATO expects outstanding lodgements and debts to be sorted first. Your final income tax return is still due after both are cancelled, and your records must be kept for five years.
What does the $139 cancellation cover?
Our cancellation service is $139 + GST (tax deductible) and exists for people who want a registered BAS agent to check the cancellation date, outstanding lodgements and any asset adjustments before anything is lodged, so nothing resurfaces later.
Related guides: What is a BAS? · BAS due dates · Fixing BAS mistakes · GST record-keeping · How GST credits work · Do I need to register for GST?
Close it off properly. ~4 business hours.
Lodged with the ATO by Registered BAS Agent 25972850 · $139 + GST, tax deductible · free help on 1800 546 526.