GST on Expenses

GST on Expenses

Tax Rates

GST Free Expenses – used for GST free supplies (e.g. food), suppliers not registered for GST and where a GST Tax Invoice not provided.

GST on Expenses – as per valid GST Tax Invoices

Input Taxed – you can't claim GST credits for purchases relating to Input Taxed Sales (e.g. Fundraising events)

BAS Excluded – used for transactions between Queensland Scout Formations only and manual journals.

Tax Invoices required

The application of GST on spending and bills is primarily guided by the documentation provided. To be able to claim GST a valid tax invoice which includes the following details must be provided:

1.     Document is intended to be a tax invoice

2.     Seller's identity

3.     Seller's Australian business number (ABN)

4.     Date the invoice was issued

5.     Brief description of the items sold, including the quantity (if applicable) and the price

6.     GST amount (if any) payable – this can be shown separately or, if the GST amount is exactly one-eleventh of the total price, as a statement which says 'Total price includes GST'

7.     Extent to which each sale on the invoice is a taxable sale

8.     For purchases of $1,000 or more the buyer’s identity should also be on the invoice.


In most situations an eftpos receipt is not a Tax Invoice as it does not include these details.

Check carefully to see if online purchases from places like Temu, Ebay, Etsy and Amazon have provided a GST Tax Invoice, many of these do not include a valid ABN (must be 11 digits).

Some suppliers may provide an ABN but do not identify a GST amount on the invoice, this may be because it is a GST Free service or supply, or they are not registered for GST. This can be easily checked at ABN Lookup where it will clearly state “Not registered for GST”, “Registered from dd mmm yyyy” or “Not currently registered for GST”.

When loading documents into Xero use pdf or jpg files.
Other file types like zip, word, excel or emails require downloading and slow down the verification processes for GST claim and audit.

Transactions where GST allocation may differ from documentation

Fundraising – If the income from the fundraising was treated as Input Taxed, then expenses should also be Input Taxed. or GST on Income. If the income was allocated as GST on Income, you can claim the GST on the fundraising expenses as per the tax invoices.

Grants – BAS Excluded, as these are co-ordinated through State Office. See the Fact Sheet on Accounting for Grants

Activities relying heavily on third party providers (e.g. bowling, cinema) – GST on Expenses only if you have charged attendees the full rate of the activity and included GST on Income, or if you have charged attendees less than 75% of the cost of activity.

How to

Process grocery and other invoices where GST is not 1/11th of total cost

A screenshot of a computer

AI-generated content may be incorrect.

The required values to split the payment between GST on Expenses and GST Free can be calculated in the Unit Price column of Xero, just by typing the calculation in the space.                  

Make sure the copy of the grocery invoice you upload includes the bottom of the docket, nearly all include a total GST value at the bottom which can be used to calculate as above.


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