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Do we charge foreign clients GST?
Thread poster: Dylan J Hartmann
Natasha Ziada (X)
Natasha Ziada (X)  Identity Verified
Australia
Local time: 11:26
English to Dutch
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Worth it? Jun 14, 2017

DJHartmann wrote:

I have since registered for GST after my accountant got back to me with this:



Hi Dylan

We agree with the following points in your email below;

· There is no GST on your current export sales/services.
· You are not currently required to register for GST, as your turnover from Australian sourced income is less than $75,000.

However, you may still wish to consider registering for GST. If you were to register for GST from say 1 July 2017, you would be entitled to claim input tax credits for the GST included in the price of purchases you use in your business to produce your export sales/services.



With this above point, we can get tax credits for office goods!

[Edited at 2017-06-13 23:08 GMT]


I would be interested to hear from other freelancers who have voluntarily registered for GST. Do the benefits offset the extra admin/work required? Are Australian clients and agencies happy to pay the extra 10% (I currently have none but this would hopefully change upon obtaining my accreditation)? Does it come across as 'more professional'?


 
QUOI
QUOI  Identity Verified

Chinese to English
+ ...
My $0.022 (GST included) Jun 14, 2017

It doesn't necessarily make you look more professional.

Most business in Australia pay 10% GST as a matter of course if you send them a compliant tax invoice. It’s input tax credits to them as they are purchasing your products/services. Just like us, they offset what they pay in GST with what they collect in GST from selling their goods and services.

Nobody gets to keep GST theoretically. We are all volunteer tax collectors for the government. After 18 years, we are
... See more
It doesn't necessarily make you look more professional.

Most business in Australia pay 10% GST as a matter of course if you send them a compliant tax invoice. It’s input tax credits to them as they are purchasing your products/services. Just like us, they offset what they pay in GST with what they collect in GST from selling their goods and services.

Nobody gets to keep GST theoretically. We are all volunteer tax collectors for the government. After 18 years, we are all used to it now.

You get a refund from ATO every quarter (most common BAS frequency) if you pay out more in GST (ie. business related stationery, telephone etc) and you remit GST to ATO if you collect (ie. from selling your services) more GST than you have paid out.

However, it does involve a small amount of admin work so it’s worthwhile investing in a basic accounting software. It normally takes me less than 15 minutes every week to record expenses and send out invoices. Quarterly BAS takes less than 10 minutes as it’s a matter of asking the accounting software to spit out relevant data and file them online. Once you get into the habit, it’s quite easy to manage and doesn't take much effort.

Natasha Ziada wrote:
I would be interested to hear from other freelancers who have voluntarily registered for GST. Do the benefits offset the extra admin/work required? Are Australian clients and agencies happy to pay the extra 10% (I currently have none but this would hopefully change upon obtaining my accreditation)? Does it come across as 'more professional'?
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Dylan J Hartmann
Dylan J Hartmann  Identity Verified
Australia
Member (2014)
Thai to English
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MODERATOR
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks! Jun 14, 2017

QUOI wrote:

However, it does involve a small amount of admin work so it’s worthwhile investing in a basic accounting software. It normally takes me less than 15 minutes every week to record expenses and send out invoices. Quarterly BAS takes less than 10 minutes as it’s a matter of asking the accounting software to spit out relevant data and file them online. Once you get into the habit, it’s quite easy to manage and doesn't take much effort.



Thanks for this!


 
Dylan J Hartmann
Dylan J Hartmann  Identity Verified
Australia
Member (2014)
Thai to English
+ ...

MODERATOR
TOPIC STARTER
How did your test go? Sep 7, 2017

Natasha Ziada wrote:

I'm up for my accreditation test in August, which will hopefully be the only time in my life I will be doing a handwritten translation!


I've been able to log into NAATI online and can now purchase a certificate/stamp, where I'm sure I couldn't before?!

Still haven't received any confirmation in writing, would really like to see! (waiting on AusPost)

How did your test go? I left feeling quite uncertain, so will surely celebrate if my accreditation is confirmed!


 
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Do we charge foreign clients GST?






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