Invoicing without GST in Australia: what goes on the invoice when you are not registered

Plenty of Australian sole traders start out under the GST threshold. A first-year sparky doing weekend jobs, a cleaner with a handful of regulars, a support worker picking up NDIS shifts on the side. The invoices still have to be right, and the rules for an invoice without GST are different from a tax invoice in a few small ways that customers and bookkeepers notice.

This guide covers what to put on the invoice, what to leave off, the one mistake that costs you a big slice of the payment, and how to know when you have crossed the line into needing to register.

A few terms first. The ATO is the Australian Taxation Office. GST is the goods and services tax, 10% added to most sales by businesses registered for it. An ABN is an Australian Business Number, the 11-digit identifier for your business. A BAS is a Business Activity Statement, the form registered businesses lodge to report GST.

Who this applies to

You are not registered for GST if your GST turnover is under $75,000 a year and you have not chosen to register voluntarily. Turnover here means your gross business income, not profit, and not counting GST-free sales like some exports.

Two groups are outside this picture:

• Taxi and ride-share drivers must register for GST from the first dollar.
• Non-profit organisations have a higher threshold of $150,000.

If you are under the threshold and not registered, you do not charge GST, you cannot claim GST credits on your purchases, and you do not lodge a BAS for GST.

What an invoice without GST must show

The ATO sets out what a tax invoice must contain. An ordinary invoice from an unregistered business has fewer formal rules, but customers, plan managers and bookkeepers expect the same basics. Include all of these:

Item	Why it matters
The word "Invoice" as the heading	Not "Tax Invoice". That phrase is reserved for GST-registered businesses.
Your business name and ABN	Without an ABN the payer may have to withhold tax at the top rate (see below).
Invoice number and date	Sequential numbers keep your records clean and make follow-up easy.
Customer name	Add their address or ABN for larger jobs; it is not compulsory, but it helps if a payment is ever disputed.
A description of each item	What you did, how many, and the price. For labour, hours and rate.
The total	With no GST line. The subtotal and the total are the same number.
Payment terms and bank details	Due date, BSB and account number, or however you take payment.

Many sole traders add one plain line near the total: "No GST has been charged. This business is not registered for GST." It is not required, but it stops the "where is the GST?" email.

What a correct invoice without GST looks like

Here is what those rules look like filled in, for a handyman job.

Field	What it shows
Heading	Invoice, not Tax Invoice
Business name and ABN	Jordan Smith, ABN 12 345 678 901
Invoice number and date	INV-014, 21 September 2026
Line items	Repair deck railing, 3 hours at $65 per hour: $195. Materials, timber and screws: $85
Total	$280, no GST line
Note	"No GST has been charged. This business is not registered for GST."

Nothing on this invoice says "Tax Invoice", and there is no GST column to add up. The subtotal and the total are the same figure.

The no-ABN rule: why the ABN matters more than GST

This is the mistake that actually costs money. If you supply goods or services to another business and your invoice does not quote your ABN, the paying business is generally required to withhold tax from the payment at the top marginal rate and send it to the ATO. You can get it back at tax time, but that is a long wait for most of your money.

There are exceptions. Payments of $75 or less (excluding GST) do not need an ABN. Neither do genuinely private sales, or supplies from someone doing a hobby rather than a business, who can give the payer a signed "Statement by a supplier" form instead.

If you are running a business, the simple answer is to get an ABN. It is free through the Australian Business Register and usually issued on the spot. Put it on every invoice.

Pricing when you do not charge GST

Your price is your price. There is no 10% to add, so a $500 job is invoiced at $500 and the customer pays $500.

Two things to be aware of:

Business customers cannot claim a GST credit on your invoice. A GST-registered builder paying you $500 gets nothing back from the ATO. A registered competitor charging $500 plus $50 GST costs that builder $500 after the credit. So you are not automatically cheaper to business customers, only to private ones.

Your own costs include GST you cannot recover. The GST on your tools, van and materials is a cost of doing business, not a credit. Build it into your rates.

When you cross the threshold

The threshold is not measured on a financial year. GST turnover is tested two ways, and either one triggers registration:

• Current turnover: your gross income for the current month plus the previous 11 months reaches $75,000.
• Projected turnover: your gross income for the current month plus the next 11 months is likely to reach $75,000.

Once you hit it, you have 21 days to register. From your registration date you must add 10% GST to taxable sales, head your invoices "Tax Invoice", and issue one within 28 days when a customer asks for it on any sale over $82.50 including GST.

A practical habit: check your rolling 12-month total every quarter. A busy autumn can push a part-timer over the line without them noticing, and the ATO can backdate registration and ask for GST you never collected.

Once you register, the invoice changes

For sales under $1,000, a tax invoice needs the words "Tax Invoice", your identity and ABN, the date, a description of each item with quantity and price, and the GST amount shown per line or as a statement that the total includes GST. For sales of $1,000 or more it also needs the buyer's identity or ABN. The free tax invoice generator handles both formats and the GST rounding, and switches heading and layout depending on whether you are registered.

If you are in a specific trade, the invoice templates by trade show realistic line items for electricians, plumbers, cleaners, NDIS support workers and others, in both the GST and no-GST forms.

Common mistakes

Writing "Tax Invoice" while unregistered. It looks harmless but it tells the customer they can claim GST that was never charged. The ATO's guidance is clear that unregistered businesses should not use those words.

Adding 10% "to be safe". Charging GST when you are not registered is an offence. If you have been doing it, stop, and talk to a tax agent about correcting it.

Leaving the ABN off. See the no-ABN rule above. This is the expensive one.

Missing the threshold. Registering late means the ATO can treat past sales as GST-inclusive, which comes out of your pocket.

Quoting GST-inclusive prices out of habit. If your quotes say "inc GST" and your invoice charges none, customers get confused. Keep the wording consistent: no GST anywhere.

Assuming free means unlimited. Several popular invoice apps have moved features behind paywalls or capped invoice numbers. If your records live in one, export regularly. The comparison in best invoice app for tradies in Australia covers who has done this.

A template you can use today

If you want the layout as a PDF rather than a checklist, the sole trader invoice template comes in two versions: a Tax Invoice for registered businesses and a no-GST Invoice for everyone under the threshold. The example on that page is a sole trader who is not registered, so you can see exactly how the heading, the totals and the no-GST line should read.

Record keeping still applies

Not being registered for GST does not shorten your record-keeping obligations. Keep every invoice, quote and receipt for five years. A numbered sequence of PDFs in a folder is enough for a sole trader; what matters is that you can produce them if asked.