Tax invoices and GST credits

BUSINESS
SEGMENT
BUSINESSES THAT
CLAIM GST CREDITS
AUDIENCE
FACT SHEET
FORMAT
NAT 12358-11.2004
PRODUCT ID
Tax invoices and GST credits
This fact sheet explains what is a valid tax invoice for
claiming a GST credit and what you need to do to have
a tax invoice decision reviewed.
CLAIMING GST CREDITS
To claim a GST credit, you must be registered for GST and have
a tax invoice for purchases that cost more than $55 (including
GST). To claim a GST credit for purchases that cost $55 or less
(including GST), you should have some documentary evidence
to support your claims, such as cash register dockets, receipts
or invoices. You should keep your tax invoices and other GST
records for five years.
Your supplier must be registered for GST before you
can claim a GST credit on a purchase. If you are in doubt
you can:
■ ask if the supplier is registered for GST
■ check the Australian Business Register (ABR)
at www.abr.gov.au
■ phone 13 72 26 to confirm the supplier’s Australian
business number (ABN) is valid, or
■ phone 13 28 66 for advice.
WHAT IS A VALID TAX INVOICE FOR CLAIMING
GST CREDITS?
Tax invoices must include certain information. If you use an
incorrect or incomplete tax invoice to claim a GST credit, the
GST credit may not be allowed.
A valid tax invoice for taxable sales that total less than
$1,000 must contain:
■ the words ‘tax invoice’ stated prominently
■ the name of the seller
■ the Australian business number (ABN) of the seller
■ the date of issue of the tax invoice
■ a brief description of the things sold
■ the GST-inclusive price of the taxable sale, and
■ the GST amount. This can be shown separately or, where
the GST to be paid is exactly 1/11 of the total price, as a
statement along the lines of ‘total price includes GST’.
A valid tax invoice for taxable sales that total $1,000 or more
must contain:
■ the words ‘tax invoice’ stated prominently
■ the name of the seller
■ the ABN of the seller
■ the name of the buyer
■ the address or ABN of the buyer
■ the date of issue of the tax invoice
■ the quantity of the goods or the extent of the services sold
■ a brief description of the things sold
■ the GST-inclusive price of the taxable sale, and
■ the GST amount. This can be shown separately or, where
the GST to be paid is exactly 1/11 of the total price, as a
statement along the lines of ‘total price includes GST’.
If the tax invoice is for a taxable sale and either a GST-free or
input taxed sale, the tax invoice must also show:
■ each taxable sale
■ the amount of GST to be paid (for the taxable sales), and
■ the amount to be paid for the total sale.
For more information about tax invoices, refer to:
■ Providing valid tax invoices for supplies of taxable and
either GST-free or input taxed items (NAT 5009), and
■ GST for small business (NAT 3014).

TAX INVOICES AND GST CREDITS
OBTAINING A TAX INVOICE
If you buy taxable goods or services, your supplier must provide
you with a tax invoice within 28 days after you request one.
Generally, you must have a correct tax invoice before you claim
the GST credit. If you receive a tax invoice that contains errors,
you should ask your supplier to provide a correct tax invoice.
If you wish to claim a GST credit but your supplier does not
provide you with a tax invoice within the 28 day period, you can
seek our permission to claim the GST credit by providing us
with the following information:
■ your name, contact details and ABN
■ documents relating to the purchase
■ the name, address and ABN (if known) of the supplier
■ the nature, purpose and quantity of the purchase
■ the amount paid or payable, and the amount of GST
included, and
■ steps you’ve taken to obtain a tax invoice.
To request our permission to claim a GST credit
you should:
■ email us at GSTmail@ato.gov.au or
■ write to GST General Technical Advice,
PO Box 9935 in your capital city.
WHAT IF YOU CLAIMED A GST CREDIT WITHOUT
HAVING A VALID TAX INVOICE?
If you claimed a GST credit without having a valid tax invoice,
you can write to us explaining your circumstances and ask that
the tax invoice be treated as valid.
If we discover a claim of this nature, for example during an
audit, we will usually treat the tax invoices as valid and allow
your claim if you:
■ are entitled to the GST credit, and
■ have made a genuine attempt to comply with the requirement
to hold a tax invoice.
HOW WE DEAL WITH MISSING OR INVALID
TAX INVOICES
In November 2004, we issued a practice statement that
explains when we will treat a document that is not a tax invoice
as a tax invoice.
If you claim a GST credit without a tax invoice or with an invalid
tax invoice, we may:
■ treat your tax invoice as being valid, or
■ treat some other document as a tax invoice.
However, our decision to allow your claim will depend on the
details you provide.
For more information about how we deal with GST
credits claimed with invalid or missing tax invoices, refer to
PS LA 2004/11 The Commissioner’s discretions to treat a
particular document as a tax invoice or adjustment note.
HAVING A PREVIOUS TAX INVOICE
DECISION REVIEWED
The practice statement applies to decisions we made about
tax invoices from 1 July 2000. If you claimed a GST credit after
1 July 2000 and we disallowed the claim because you didn’t
have a valid tax invoice, you can request a review if you believe
our decision was not made in accordance with the policy in the
practice statement.
To apply for a review of a tax invoice decision, complete the
form Request for review of tax invoice decision (NAT 12381).
You cannot amend a claim of this nature by:
■ revising your activity statement, or
■ using the process described in Correcting GST mistakes
(NAT 4700).
2 TAX INVOICES AND GST CREDITS

TAX INVOICES AND GST CREDITS
MORE INFORMATION
■ visit our website at www.ato.gov.au, or
■ phone 13 28 66 between 8.00am and 6.00pm,
Monday to Friday.
■ obtain a fax by phoning 13 28 60, or
■ write to us at GST General Technical Advice,
PO Box 9935 in your capital city.
If you do not speak English well and want to talk to a tax
officer, phone the Translating and Interpreting Service on
13 14 50 for help with your call.
If you have a hearing or speech impairment and have
access to appropriate TTY or modem equipment, phone
13 36 77. If you do not have access to TTY or modem
equipment, phone the Speech to Speech Relay Service
on 1300 555 727.
OUR COMMITMENT TO YOU
The information in this publication is current at November 2004.
In the taxpayers’ charter we commit to giving you information
and advice you can rely on.
If you try to follow the information contained in our written
general advice and publications, and in doing so you make an
honest mistake, you won’t be subject to a penalty. However,
as well as the underpaid tax, we may ask you to pay a general
interest charge.
We make every effort to ensure that this information and advice
is accurate. If you follow our advice, which subsequently turns
out to be incorrect, or our advice is misleading and you make
a mistake as a result, you won’t be subject to a penalty or a
general interest charge although you’ll be required to pay any
underpaid tax.
You are protected under GST law if you have acted on any GST
information in this publication. If you have relied on GST advice
in this Tax Office publication and that advice has later changed,
you will not have to pay any extra GST for the period up to
the date of the change. Similarly, you will not have to pay any
penalties or interest.
If you feel this publication does not fully cover your
circumstances, please seek help from the Tax Office or a
professional adviser. Since we regularly revise our publications
to take account of any changes to the law, you should make
sure this edition is the latest. The easiest way to do this is
by checking for a more recent version on our website at
www.ato.gov.au
© COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA 2004
This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968,
no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from
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PUBLISHED BY
Australian Taxation Office
Canberra
November 2004
TAX INVOICES AND GST CREDITS 3