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Completing your activity statement

How to complete your activity statement if you choose to use a simplified accounting method.

Last updated 22 October 2019

A SAM can only be applied to sales and purchases of trading stock.

If you decide to use a SAM, you will still need to separately consider other sales (such as non-trading stock or capital items) and expenses (such as rent, phone and any capital items) when you complete your activity statement.

You are required by law to keep proper records. When using a SAM, you must keep records that explain how you worked out your GST-free sales and trading stock purchases for a tax period. For example, you may need to keep your calculation sheets and notes on how you worked out your sample period percentages.

See also:

Increasing adjustments if you revoke your election

If you include a purchase in your trading stock purchases for a tax period and later revoke your election to use a SAM, you may need to make an increasing adjustment to the activity statement you completed while you were using the SAM. The increasing adjustment ensures you do not claim two GST credits for the same purchase.

This could happen if you didn't have a tax invoice when you included the purchase in your trading stock purchases when using a SAM, but you received the tax invoice after you revoked the method and started claiming GST credits under the normal attribution rules.

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