GST for online sellers gets complicated fast once you’re selling across multiple channels, some to Australian customers and some overseas. Here’s what actually applies, in plain English.

You need to register once you hit the threshold

If your turnover is likely to exceed $75,000 in a rolling 12-month period, you’re required to register for GST — this includes sales across all your channels combined, not per platform. A lot of sellers underestimate this by only counting their main store.

Marketplace platforms may already be collecting GST for you

For sales through some overseas marketplaces to Australian consumers, the platform itself may be responsible for collecting and remitting GST under Australia’s low-value imported goods rules. This doesn’t remove your own reporting obligations on your direct sales — it just means you need to correctly identify which sales already had GST handled by the platform, so you don’t report it twice.

Reconcile gross sales, fees and refunds separately

Your GST is calculated on your sales, not your net payout after platform fees. Coding the net deposit as your sales figure understates your GST liability and your actual turnover. Fees, refunds, and chargebacks each need their own coding so your BAS figures reflect what actually happened.

International sales aren’t automatically GST-free

Exports can be GST-free, but only if specific conditions are met — generally, the goods are exported within a set timeframe and you hold the right evidence. Assuming every overseas sale is GST-free without checking the conditions is a common and costly mistake.

Getting your GST reporting right

Multi-channel GST reporting is genuinely one of the more complex areas of e-commerce bookkeeping, and it’s worth getting reviewed properly rather than guessing. Our e-commerce bookkeeping service reconciles sales across your channels and keeps your GST-ready transaction coding accurate and BAS-ready. Book a free consultation if you’re not confident your GST reporting is right.