GST for Australian Joinery Businesses

When do you need to register for GST?

You must register for GST if your annual turnover is $75,000 or more. For most established joinery businesses this threshold is quickly exceeded. Registration is voluntary below the threshold — but worth doing if you have significant business expenses, as you can claim GST credits on purchases.

Quoting with and without GST

Trade quotes are typically presented exclusive of GST with GST noted separately, or inclusive of GST with the GST component disclosed. Either approach is acceptable. The convention in the AU joinery trade is ex-GST quotes to builders (who are themselves GST-registered and will reclaim the input credit), and inclusive quotes to residential end clients who cannot claim GST back.

Progress payments and GST

Each progress claim invoice should include the GST component clearly. If you're on cash-basis GST accounting, GST is remitted when payment is received. If accruals-basis, it's remitted in the period the tax invoice is issued regardless of payment. For most small joinery businesses, cash-basis accounting is simpler and should be discussed with your accountant.

The joinery.io tools and GST

The estimating calculator includes an option to add 10% GST to the quote price, showing both the ex-GST and inclusive amounts. This makes it easy to produce quotes in either format depending on your client type.