This guide is designed to provide non-profit organisations, charities and gift-deductible entities with information to help them meet their goods and services tax (GST) obligations. In particular it covers some areas of GST administration where non-profits can often experience difficulty and also provides links to more detailed GST information.
Terms we use
When we say:
sales, we are referring to the GST term supplies, including:
the sale or a supply of goods or services
lease of premises
equipment hire
giving advice or information
exporting goods.
purchases, we are referring to the GST term acquisitions - purchases include:
goods and services, such as trading stock
entering into a lease
consumables and other things acquired in the course of your operations.
GST credits, we are referring to the GST term input tax credits
payment (made or received) we are referring to the GST term consideration
officer,we are referring to an office holder, for example a treasurer in an organisation which is a company
agent, we are referring to any person or entity that is authorised to incur expenses on behalf of the organisation
anexpense that is not listed as non-deductible, we are referring to the non-deductible expenses inDivision 69-5 of A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999, for example recreational club expenses and some entertainment expenses.
What is a non-profit organisation?
A non-profit organisation does not operate for the profit or gain of its members (directly or indirectly). Any profit made by a non-profit organisation goes directly back into the organisation and is not distributed to any of its members.
This applies while the organisation is operating and when it winds up.
Different GST Concessions are available to Non-Profit Organisations depending upon their status and nature. Hence, there will be concessions that will only apply to charities and gift-deductible entities.
What is a charity?
A charity is an institution or fund that is established for a charitable purpose, such as poverty relief.
To be eligible to access charity GST concessions:
the charity’s sole purpose should be charitable
the charity must be endorsed by us as a charity for tax purposes.
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