Rideshare drivers skip the threshold entirely, registration is required from the first fare (rideshare GST).
How the ATO actually counts the $75,000.
GST turnover isn't your financial-year total. It's a rolling 12-month view, looking both backwards and forwards. You cross the threshold the moment either your past 12 months hit $75,000 or your projected next 12 months will. Land a contract in March that guarantees $80,000 over the coming year, and you've crossed in March, no waiting for June. From that moment you have 21 days to register.
What counts, what doesn't.
- Counts: your business sales, ex GST, across every venture under the same ABN, two businesses share one threshold.
- Doesn't count: input-taxed income like residential rent (why Airbnb hosts rarely register), genuine hobby income, wages from a job, and sales outside your enterprise.
- Ignores the threshold entirely: taxi and rideshare driving: registration from the first dollar of fares.
The full definition, including the GST-free sales that still count and the capital-asset sales that never do, is in our what is GST turnover guide.
Under the line but climbing?
Registering voluntarily before $75,000 is allowed and often smart: you claim GST credits on set-up costs, and business customers don't care about the 10% because they claim it back. The trade-off is charging GST to consumers and lodging a BAS each cycle, a pricing decision more than a tax one.
Quick answers.
Is the $75,000 threshold based on the financial year?
No. It's a rolling 12-month calculation that looks backwards and forwards. You cross whenever your past 12 months hit $75,000 or your reasonably expected next 12 months will, whichever comes first.
Is the threshold before or after GST?
GST turnover is measured ex-GST, the price of your sales before any GST is added. $75,000 of ex-GST sales is the line.
What happens if I go over without registering?
The ATO can require GST on your sales from the date you should have registered: one-eleventh of revenue you never collected GST on, plus possible penalties. Backdated registration fixes it; acting quickly limits the cost.
Does income from a job count toward the threshold?
No, wages aren't enterprise turnover. Only your business sales count. But all business ventures under the same ABN are added together.
Related: Do I need to register for GST? · Crossing the $75,000 threshold · All business calculators
Over the line: or about to be? ~4 business hours to registered.
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