A not-for-profit only has to register for GST once its GST turnover reaches $150,000: double the $75,000 threshold that applies to businesses, and it has 21 days to register once it does. Genuine gifts and donations aren't payment for anything, so they carry no GST and are excluded from the turnover count. ACNC-registered charities endorsed by the ATO get more again: fundraising events they can treat as input-taxed, GST-free raffles and bingo, and GST-free sales priced below 50% of market value or 75% of cost.
Register for GST →5-minute form · usually done in 4 business hours
The $150,000 threshold: and what actually counts toward it.
The registration test works the same way as the ordinary $75,000 rule (current turnover over the last 12 months, or projected turnover for the next 12) the line is just drawn twice as high for a not-for-profit. What trips committees up isn't the number, it's what goes into it:
| Income | Counts toward $150,000? |
|---|---|
| Genuine gifts and donations | No: a gift isn't payment for a sale, so it's excluded entirely |
| Membership fees | Yes: members get something for their money, so it's a sale |
| Sponsorship | Yes. The sponsor is buying exposure, not making a gift |
| Sales of goods and services | Yes: the sausage sizzle, the bar, the merchandise, course fees |
| Grants with strings attached | Usually yes, a grant you must deliver something for is payment for a sale |
| Input-taxed fundraising events | No: where an eligible charity has made the input-taxed choice (below) |
So a community group with $200,000 of income ($120,000 of it donations) has a GST turnover of $80,000 and doesn't have to register. Cross the line and the clock runs: 21 days to register, the same deadline as a business crossing $75,000. And the threshold is about compulsion, not permission, any not-for-profit carrying on an enterprise can choose to register below it.
Donations: no strings means no GST.
A donation escapes GST because nothing is being sold. The ATO's test is that the gift is unfettered: the donor receives nothing material in return, and the organisation isn't obliged to do anything in recognition of it. A token acknowledgment doesn't break that: a sticker, a name read out at the AGM, a key-ring with a $400 donation. What breaks it is a real benefit flowing back: once the "donation" buys a table at the dinner, logo placement on the jerseys or advertising in the program, it's consideration for a sale: taxable if you're registered, and counted toward the threshold. The label on the invoice doesn't decide it; what the payer gets does. The same lens sorts grants: money handed over with nothing owed in return sits with donations, while a grant that obliges you to deliver services, outcomes or reports to the funder is generally payment for a supply.
Once registered, the ordinary rules apply.
Registration doesn't make an organisation's sales special by itself. A registered not-for-profit charges 10% on its taxable sales (memberships, sponsorship, the bar, merchandise) claims credits on the GST inside its costs, and lodges a BAS like any business. Donations stay out of the GST net even after you register. The genuinely different treatment sits in the concessions, and those depend on what kind of not-for-profit you are.
The charity concessions: endorsement required.
The strongest concessions aren't available to every not-for-profit. They belong to ACNC-registered charities that the ATO has endorsed for GST charity concessions, to gift-deductible entities and to government schools. A sporting club or community association that isn't a registered charity gets the $150,000 threshold and the donation rule, but not these:
| Concession | What it does |
|---|---|
| Input-taxed fundraising events | Choose to treat a fete, ball, gala dinner or similar event as input-taxed: no GST on tickets and takings, no credits on the event's costs, and the proceeds stay out of the $150,000 turnover count |
| GST-free raffles and bingo | Raffle tickets and bingo are GST-free, provided the game doesn't contravene state or territory law, and being GST-free, the credits on running costs stay claimable |
| Non-commercial sales | Sales are GST-free when priced below 50% of the GST-inclusive market value or 75% of the cost of providing them (for accommodation: below 75% of market value or cost). The concession that keeps the op-shop and the subsidised community service GST-free |
| Cash accounting | An endorsed charity can account for GST on a cash basis regardless of turnover |
The input-taxed fundraising choice is the one to think hardest about: it must be made before the event, it covers everything sold at the event, and input-taxed means the GST on the venue, catering and prizes is not claimable. For an event with big GST-heavy costs and modest takings, staying taxable can genuinely come out ahead, run the numbers both ways before choosing.
Non-profit sub-entities: one body, many thresholds.
A concession unique to not-for-profits: an organisation can choose to treat separately identifiable branches (the fete committee, the school canteen, a regional chapter) as independent non-profit sub-entities for GST. Each sub-entity is tested against its own $150,000 threshold, so a small fundraising arm can operate unregistered, keeping its sausage sizzles and cake stalls GST-free, while the parent body stays registered for its main operations. The branch has to be genuinely separate (its own activities and its own records, not just a new name on the same ledger) and once carved out, it's outside the parent's GST net both ways: no GST on its sales, no credits on its costs through the parent's BAS.
Below the threshold: when registering voluntarily pays.
Plenty of not-for-profits under $150,000 register anyway, and the arithmetic is the same one that drives exporters to register: when your income is mostly GST-free to you (donations, grants without strings) but your costs are full of GST (venue hire, insurance, equipment, printing, utilities) registration turns that GST into quarterly refunds. The price is real, though: BAS every quarter, GST added to memberships and other taxable sales, and records that stand up. The five-year rule applies to not-for-profits too, and volunteer-run books change hands with every committee. If the organisation's taxable sales are significant and its members are price-sensitive, staying under the threshold and unregistered is often the simpler, cheaper posture. Registration is a choice below $150,000: make it on the numbers, not by default.
Quick answers.
What is the GST registration threshold for a not-for-profit?
$150,000 of GST turnover: double the $75,000 threshold that applies to businesses. Once your not-for-profit's turnover reaches $150,000 you have 21 days to register. Below that, registration is optional. Genuine gifts and donations are excluded from the turnover count, so a community organisation living mostly on donations can run well past $150,000 in total income without being required to register.
Do donations attract GST?
No. A genuine gift is not payment for a sale, so it carries no GST and is excluded from your GST turnover. The test is that the donation is unfettered: the donor gets nothing material in return and you're not obliged to do anything for them. A token thank-you like a sticker doesn't change that, but once the "donation" buys something real (advertising, event tickets, sponsorship exposure) it's payment for a taxable sale if you're registered.
Do we charge GST on membership fees?
Usually yes, if you're registered for GST. A membership fee buys something (the right to participate, use facilities, receive the newsletter) so it's consideration for a sale and normally taxable, and it counts toward the $150,000 threshold. It isn't a gift, because the member receives something in return. The same logic applies to sponsorship: the sponsor is buying exposure, so it's a taxable sale, not a donation.
What GST concessions do charities get?
ACNC-registered charities that are endorsed by the ATO (plus gift-deductible entities and government schools) can: treat fundraising events like dinners and fetes as input-taxed, keeping the proceeds out of the turnover count; sell raffle and bingo tickets GST-free where state law allows the game; make GST-free "non-commercial" sales priced below 50% of market value or 75% of cost; and account for GST on a cash basis whatever their turnover. Plain not-for-profits without endorsement get the $150,000 threshold and the donation rule, but not these extras.
Are fundraising events subject to GST?
An eligible charity, gift-deductible entity or government school can choose to treat certain fundraising events (fetes, balls, gala dinners, charity auctions and similar) as input-taxed. That means no GST on the tickets and takings, no GST credits on the event's costs, and the proceeds don't count toward the $150,000 registration threshold. The choice must be made before the event and covers everything sold at it. Without the choice, and if you're registered, event takings are ordinary taxable sales.
Should a small not-for-profit register for GST voluntarily?
It can pay when the organisation spends heavily on GST-carrying costs (venue hire, equipment, insurance, printing) and its income is mostly donations and grants, because registration unlocks GST credits on those costs while the donation income stays GST-free anyway. The price is lodging a BAS every quarter and charging GST on memberships and other taxable sales. Our BAS-agent service is $119 + GST if you'd rather have it reviewed and lodged for you.
What is a non-profit sub-entity?
A GST trick available to not-for-profits: an organisation can choose to treat separately identifiable branches or units (the annual fete committee, the school canteen, a local chapter) as independent "sub-entities" for GST. Each sub-entity gets its own $150,000 registration threshold, so a small fundraising arm can stay unregistered even though the parent body is registered. Each branch needs its own records, and the choice has to be genuine: a branch with an independent character, not just a label on the same bank account.
Related guides: Do I need to register for GST? · Crossing the $75,000 threshold · When to charge GST · GST-free supplies · How GST credits work · GST record-keeping · GST on health and medical services · GST on education and childcare
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Reviewed and lodged by Registered BAS Agent 25972850 · $119 + GST, tax deductible · backdating up to 4 years +$25 + GST · free help on 1800 546 526.