GST issues registers

Retirement villages industry partnership

The application of GST to the operations of a retirement village run by a charitable institution, a trustee of a charitable fund or a gift-deductible entity

For source of ATO view, refer to paragraphs 142 to 153 of GSTR 2006/4 Goods and services tax: determining the extent of creditable purpose for claiming input tax credits and for making adjustments for changes in extent of creditable purpose.

Scenic Retirement Village (Scenic) is a charitable institution that runs a residential retirement village in Canberra. The village has 200 basic-style home units. Each unit is fully self-contained and has one bedroom. The village is set in pleasant but small landscaped gardens. There are minimal facilities. Each resident is accepted on the basis that he or she is quite capable of self-care. The organisation employs people to maintain the grounds and property and for administration.

Scenic charges rent comprising a weekly amount and a deferred management fee. If the society also charged a non-refundable entry contribution, this amount would also form part of the rent.

The supply of accommodation will be GST-free where:

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the supplier is a charitable institution, a trustee of a charitable fund or a gift deductible entity, and

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the supply is for a consideration that is less than 75% of either the

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GST inclusive market value of the supply, or

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cost to the supplier of providing the accommodation.

The society has determined that the price charged for the supply of their residential accommodation is less than 75% of the market value of the supply and is, therefore, GST-free.

Note: Scenic is an example for illustrative purposes only. It is intended to give general guidance and outline broad principles but it is not intended to be a prescriptive document. It does not represent the Commissioner of Taxation's view as to how GST will apply in all cases. Each case should be treated on its own individual merits and according to the circumstances surrounding its operations.

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Budget for Scenic

Step 1: work out your budget for the year

Step 2: determine the GST-exclusive expenses

If the rent charged to the residents is GST-free, the operator will be able to claim all the input tax credits incurred in providing this accommodation.

Note 1: This is the budgeted expenses amount before GST input tax credits have been applied from step 1.

Note 2: The total GST exclusive price paid for inputs.

Note 3: GST input tax credit that will be available if the supply is determined to be GST-free.

Step 3: work out the overall charge to the residents

Annual levy per resident unit = $4,297

Calculation: $859,500 ÷ 200 units = $4,297.50 pa

Charges to residents

Scenic, therefore, needs to charge residents $82.40 per week to meet costs.

Calculation: ($4,297 ÷ 365) × 7 = $82.40

Residents pay an amount of $35,000 on entry. This amount is refundable. However, Scenic charges a deferred management fee of 2.5% per year for the first ten years and this is deducted from the amount paid on entry when it is refunded. Since the deferred management fees form part of the rent received by the Scenic over the ten year period, this component must be considered when comparing the rent with the market value.

35,000 × 2.5% = $875pa or $16.80 per week deferred management fee must be counted as part of the rent.

Total rent for GST purposes

$82.40 + $16.80 = $99.20

Note: In year 11 the retention amount of $16.80 per week would not be included.

Accrued method of working out retention amounts

Some agreements with residents provide for the retention of a percentage of the 'value' of the unit when the resident leaves the village. This exit value, or retention amount, is calculated as a proportion of the loan amount a subsequent incoming resident is prepared to pay. In these situations, the value of the weekly retention amount can be determined using the organisation's best estimate of the expected 'value' of the unit at the end of the expected occupancy period by the resident. In most cases, the organisation will already be setting aside an accrued amount for this purpose (calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) and the same methodology can be applied for the purposes of working out the total rent.

For example, a resident pays a loan of $35,000 on entry to Scenic and the agreement provides for 2.5% per year of the 'value' of the unit, when the resident leaves. Based on usual occupancy rates in this village, it is expected that this resident will stay in the village for 10 years. Based on past movements in the 'value' of the units, it is expected that value of the unit will increase 20% over this period. The weekly retention amount for the current resident is therefore worked out as follows:

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Expected value on departure: ($35,000 × 20%) + $35,000 = $42,000.

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Retention amount is 2.5% of $42,000 = $1,050 per year.

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Expected occupancy is 10 years = $1,050 × 10 years = $10,500 retention in total.

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Weekly retention amount is therefore $10,500 ÷ 520 weeks = $20.19 per week. This amount must be counted as the part of the rent.

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In this situation the total rent for GST purposes would be $82.40 + $20.19 = $102.59.

Step 4: compare the rent to be charged with market value

The market value may be determined by referring to our guidelines on market values for charities in Part 3 of the Charities consultative committee resolved issues document and the GST and non-commercial rules - benchmark market values.

If the society offered full board, the market value for this can also be found in our guidelines on market values for charities in Part 3 of the Charities consultative committee resolved issues document.

From the Reference tables (Table 5) in the benchmark market values guide, the market value for one-bedroom accommodation in Canberra is $281.25 per week.

The benchmark market value can therefore be determined as:

75% of $281.25= $210.94 per week


The supply of accommodation will be GST-free if Scenic charges less than $210.94 per week. In this example, the rent of $99.20 per week is less than 75% of the benchmark market value of $281.25 per week and will therefore be GST-free.

Glossary of terms

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