any aussies out there?? (ABNs and tax)

by skwurl
13 replies
at what point should a person get an ABN? is it if you start earning over a certain amount? i would like to get one also because i would like to use it for paypal, instead of my actual name.

also, when i provide my services to businesses (haven't started it yet), won't i have to give them some sort of receipt? so they can claim it back on tax (is that even what businesses do? i'm not sure)?

to give them that, won't i need to have an ABN?

another thing i'm wondering about, can i register an ABN, even though i'm not making any money yet? and will this affect my centrelink payments in any way, even though no money has been made?

i'm on a disability pension, that's why i'm wondering.

thanks guys!
#abns #aussies #tax
  • Profile picture of the author LiamP
    You have a lot of questions and every individual situation is different. Your best bet is to ask an accountant if you can afford one. If not ask the ATO and or centrelink themselves or check out their website. You'd be surprised how helpful they can be - they once arranged for my Dad to pay no tax at all for a couple of years!

    Note you will need an ABN to get a .com.au website.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rachel Incoll
    Hi,

    Personally I have had an ABN since day 1, just to make sure everything is all above board with the ATO.

    i would like to get one also because i would like to use it for paypal,instead of my actual name.
    I think you mean a business name? An ABN is an Australian Business Number - you can't use it instead of your name for PayPal and from memory PayPal don't require your ABN anyway.

    also, when i provide my services to businesses (haven't started it yet), won't i have to give them some sort of receipt? so they can claim it back on tax (is that even what businesses do? i'm not sure)?
    Yes, you'll need to provide an invoice and/or receipt with your business name (registered business name or your name if you are trading as a sole trader), ABN & contact details.

    another thing i'm wondering about, can i register an ABN, even though i'm not making any money yet? and will this affect my centrelink payments in any way, even though no money has been made?
    Yes, you can register an ABN before starting your business but I think there's a certain time frame within which you're supposed to start your buisiness after you register it.

    If you're not earning any money, having an ABN won't affect your Centrelink payments.

    A good place to learn more about ABNs, business in Australia etc. is at www.business.gov.au.

    Cheers

    Rach
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  • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
    You should be seeking the advice of a tax agent or accountant. Not asking on a public forum.
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    • Profile picture of the author JBrooks
      Originally Posted by ramone_johnny View Post

      You should be seeking the advice of a tax agent or accountant. Not asking on a public forum.
      nothing wrong with asking this in a forum its part of doing research. however treat it exactly as that 'part' of your research.

      yes ABN is good to have and from memory fairly easy to do online.
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  • Profile picture of the author Danny Turner
    Some good advice above - the invoice will also need the date and a sequential invoice number -
    the other issue is GST - chuckle definetly see an acountant - you only need to register to collect gst after total earnings(turnover) reaches a certain point
    Your on a disability pension! .... go and see social security - those guys will bend over backwards to help ... there are many programs to help get people into the workforce eg business training etc you may be surprised at what's on offer!
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  • Profile picture of the author haymanpl
    If you have a registered business name or company then you can get a ABN.

    As far as tax is concerned its probably better to open an overseas bank account and send money there using paypal rather than pay up to 50% tax

    Hong Kong's tax rate is only 15-15%

    You can start a LTD company or registered business name there and open a bank account or just put the account in your own name using HSBC in Australia
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    • Profile picture of the author Ruka
      Originally Posted by haymanpl View Post

      If you have a registered business name or company then you can get a ABN.

      As far as tax is concerned its probably better to open an overseas bank account and send money there using paypal rather than pay up to 50% tax

      Hong Kong's tax rate is only 15-15%

      You can start a LTD company or registered business name there and open a bank account or just put the account in your own name using HSBC in Australia
      Great way to go to prison for tax evasion.

      You can't just choose to register a business offshore and pay the tax rate of that country. If it was that easy, everyone would be doing it!

      If you are Australian resident, and the central management and control of the company is in Australia, you have to pay Australian taxes. (& nominee directors are not a solution to this!)

      When the authorities find out, you get to pay backdated tax, plus penalty, plus criminal record/jailtime.

      How do I know this? Research after seeing a presentation for offshore accounts at an IM conference.

      Disclaimer: I'm not an accountant. Go see one!
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    • Profile picture of the author Rachel Incoll
      Originally Posted by haymanpl View Post

      If you have a registered business name or company then you can get a ABN.
      You don't actually need a registered business name or company to get an ABN. You can trade under your own name.
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  • Profile picture of the author skwurl
    thanks for the advice everybody! i appreciate it.

    i think i read somewhere that you don't have to do the GST thing until you earn $75,000 in year, which is definitely not going to happen this year (or a few years, lol). but who knows.... weirder things have happened.

    i probably should go to centrelink and see what they say, but i just hate going there and dealing with them. they send you around in circles, and sometimes one worker will tell you one thing, then another worker something else!

    also guys, if my site is aimed towards australians, is it better to get a .com.au? i need an ABN for that, but also it says you need to have the .com.au domain name related to your business name, which won't work for me, as i want to try out different types of websites.

    will a .com rank ok on australian google? does it make a difference? will hosting it on an australian host make a difference to hosting it on an american one? like hostgator etc?

    thanks, sorry for all the questions
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    • Profile picture of the author JBrooks
      Originally Posted by skwurl View Post

      i think i read somewhere that you don't have to do the GST thing until you earn $75,000 in year, which is definitely not going to happen this year (or a few years, lol). but who knows.... weirder things have happened.
      yep correct $75k+

      Originally Posted by skwurl View Post

      also guys, if my site is aimed towards australians, is it better to get a .com.au? i need an ABN for that, but also it says you need to have the .com.au domain name related to your business name, which won't work for me, as i want to try out different types of websites.
      I would most definitely go for a .com.au tld if your focus is on oz. yeah it may say related to business name but I would say more 'related to your business'. I have numerous .com.au sites all relating to a niche rather than name.

      Originally Posted by skwurl View Post

      will a .com rank ok on australian google? does it make a difference? will hosting it on an australian host make a difference to hosting it on an american one? like hostgator etc?
      google favors locally generated content higher than more generic content so go with .com.au. also your targeted customers will more often than not look for a .com.au

      yes a locally hosted ip address does help for a site wishing to rank in that country and you have the added benefits of faster speeds etc.. although to begin with weigh up your costs as hosting in oz is typically a lot more expensive.

      also a tip, when setting up your site activate google webmaster tools and set up geo-targeting

      hope that helps
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    • Profile picture of the author BrianLG
      Originally Posted by skwurl View Post

      also guys, if my site is aimed towards australians, is it better to get a .com.au? i need an ABN for that, but also it says you need to have the .com.au domain name related to your business name, which won't work for me, as i want to try out different types of websites.

      I may be a bit out of date but you need to have the ABN for the company
      to get the the .com.au domain name for that company name. However with the same ABN I've been able to get totally different domain names.
      With some domain sellers sites I had to say the name was a service or product related to the company. Not sure if they still ask for that anymore or if you need to have the company name domain first. Sorry to be a bit vague, its been awhile since I got a .com.au domain.
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  • Profile picture of the author skwurl
    awesome, thanks everybody for your help. i was concerned about the .com.au stuff, but it all makes sense to me now.

    i wasn't sure if anyone from australia was even going to see my post
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  • Profile picture of the author Kane Fidge
    I found this thread very helpful, thanks!!
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