Tax Invoices and Receipt Requirements

The fastest way to lose a GST credit is not a complicated tax argument - it is a shoebox of EFTPOS slips that were never valid tax invoices. When the ATO reviews a BAS, the question is rarely whether the expense was real; it is whether you hold the document the law requires.

What a valid tax invoice must contain

For taxable sales under $1,000, a tax invoice must contain enough information to clearly show 7 details: that the document is intended as a tax invoice, the seller's identity, the seller's ABN, the date it was issued, a brief description of what was sold including quantity and price, the GST amount payable, and the extent to which each sale is taxable. The GST can be shown separately, or, where GST is exactly 1/11 of the total, as a statement that the total price includes GST.

For sales of $1,000 or more, the invoice must also show the buyer's identity or ABN. If your invoice template meets the higher standard, you can safely use it for all sales.

When you need a tax invoice to claim GST credits

You need to hold a valid tax invoice to claim a GST credit for any purchase costing more than $82.50 including GST, and you should have it at the time you lodge the BAS claiming the credit. For purchases at or below that threshold, you can claim without a tax invoice, but you still need some record of the purchase, such as a receipt or diary entry. If a supplier has not given you a tax invoice, ask - they must provide one within 28 days of your request.

What we commonly see go wrong

• Receipts that are not tax invoices - EFTPOS slips and bank statements prove payment, not the GST content of the supply.
• Suppliers who are not registered for GST charging what looks like GST. No registration means no credit for you, so check the ABN Lookup for larger or ongoing suppliers.
• Mixed supplies treated as fully taxable - an invoice covering taxable and GST-free items must show which is which, and claiming 1/11 of the whole total overstates the credit.
• Invoices in the wrong entity's name, common where a business runs through a trust or company but suppliers invoice the individual.

Record keeping behind the receipts

Business records supporting your BAS, including tax invoices, generally must be kept for 5 years, and digital copies are fine as long as they are complete, unaltered and readable. There is also a time limit on the credits themselves: GST credits generally must be claimed within 4 years, so old unclaimed invoices are not a bottomless well - check the current ATO rules before relying on aged claims.

When to get advice

Get advice if you issue recipient-created tax invoices, deal with agents, receive invoices from suppliers whose registration status is unclear, or discover you have been claiming credits without adequate documents. We see this often: the fix is usually a tidy-up of templates and a supplier check, done once, rather than an argument with the ATO later.

Is a bank or credit card statement enough to claim a GST credit?

On its own, generally no for purchases above the threshold - it shows payment but not the supplier's ABN or the GST charged. Keep the actual tax invoice, and use the statement as supporting evidence.

What if an invoice is missing a required detail?

Ask the supplier for a corrected tax invoice - they are obliged to provide a valid one on request. In limited cases missing information can be found in other documents from the supplier, but relying on that is riskier than fixing the invoice.

Do digital invoices and eInvoices count?

Yes. A tax invoice can be a PDF, email or eInvoice, provided it contains all the required information, and eInvoices issued under the Peppol framework can qualify even without the words tax invoice on them.