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Essential tax information for your non-profit organisation

Note: This publication is also available in Portable Document Format: download Essential tax information for your non-profit organisation (NAT 13131, PDF, 115KB) and in paper format.

Introduction

For those involved in the financial aspects of non-profit organisations – such as charities, clubs, societies and associations – we offer a range of publications, advisory, educational and electronic services.

Choose the right amount of tax information for your needs – from overviews, to guides and fact sheets on specific topics, to comprehensive technical information.

Services

Internet

Our website includes an area specifically for non-profit organisations.

The Non-profit organisations home page at www.ato.gov.au/nonprofit links you to information about:

  • taxes relevant to non-profit organisations, including income tax, fringe benefits tax, goods and services tax, and pay as you go
  • exemptions or concessions that may apply, and
  • other issues, such as fundraising, record keeping, volunteers and deductible gifts.

Email update service

Use the Subscribe link on our home page to subscribe to the Non-profit organisations webspace and receive free email updates when information is updated or added, including articles from the Non-profit news service. This will keep you up-to-date on key tax issues affecting the non-profit sector, new publications we release for non-profit organisations, and changes to tax law.

Phone

Phone our information line on 1300 130 248 for help with matters specific to non-profit organisations, including the endorsement process for charities and deductible gift recipients, income tax, goods and services tax and fringe benefits tax concessions.

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.

Speakers and seminars

Subject to availability, we have experienced tax officers who can deliver a variety of informative and practical tax presentations and workshops. To discuss requirements for your meeting, seminar or function phone 1300 130 282 or email speakersandseminars@ato.gov.au

Publications

General overview information

Tax basics for non-profit organisations (NAT 7966) is for all non-profit organisations. It:

  • provides an overview of tax obligations and concessions for non-profit organisations
  • helps you identify which taxes affect your organisation, including income tax, fringe benefits tax, goods and services tax, and pay as you go, and
  • explains where to find more detailed information.

More detailed information

Income tax guide for non-profit organisations (NAT 7967) is for all non-profit organisations. It explains:

  • how to work out if your organisation is exempt from income tax
  • the endorsement process for charities, and
  • the income tax treatment of non-profit organisations that are not exempt.

GiftPack (NAT 3132) is for organisations that want to receive tax deductible gifts and donors that want to claim deductions for their gifts. It explains:

  • who can receive tax deductible gifts
  • the endorsement process for deductible gift recipients
  • the types of gifts that are tax deductible, and
  • what donors have to do to claim deductions for their gifts.

Volunteers and tax (NAT 4612) is for volunteers and organisations that deal with volunteers. It explains the tax treatment of transactions that commonly occur between non-profit organisations and their volunteers.

Fundraising (NAT 13095) is for all non-profit organisations. It:

  • explains the tax treatment of various fundraising activities and the concessions available, and
  • provides information on state, territory and local government requirements in relation to fundraising.

Other guides

Other guides are available with detailed information on goods and services tax, PAYG withholding, fringe benefits tax, superannuation, capital gains tax, activity statements and record keeping.

Fact sheets

We also have a range of fact sheets on specific topics written especially for non-profit organisations.

Technical information

If you are looking for technical information such as rulings, practice statements and tax laws, you can find them on our website.

Obtaining copies of our publications

To obtain copies of our publications:

    Australian Taxation Office
    GPO Box 9990
    IN YOUR CAPITAL CITY.

Last Modified: Friday, 26 September 2008



Relying on our information - our commitment to you

We are committed to providing you with advice and guidance you can rely on, so we make every effort to ensure that what we give you is correct.

If you follow our advice or guidance and it turns out to be incorrect, or it is misleading and you make a mistake as a result, we will take that into account when determining what action, if any, we should take.

Some of the advice and guidance on this website applies to a specific financial year. This is clearly marked. Make sure you have the information for the right year before making decisions based on that information.

If you feel that our advice and guidance does not fully cover your circumstances, or you are unsure how it applies to you, contact us or seek professional advice.

Copyright

© Commonwealth of Australia

This work is copyright. You may download, display, print and reproduce this material in unaltered form only (retaining this notice) for your personal, non-commercial use or use within your organisation. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, all other rights are reserved.

Requests for further authorisation should be directed to the Commonwealth Copyright Administration, Copyright Law Branch, Attorney-General’s Department, Robert Garran Offices, National Circuit, BARTON ACT 2600 or posted at http://www.ag.gov.au/cca.