Reference Guide · Updated 20 May 2026
When does an Australian private tutor need to register for GST, how does GST actually work on tutoring invoices, and what edge cases trip people up — overseas students, group rates, school-contracted work, NDIS, and pre-paid packs. A plain-English, ATO-grounded reference.
Step 1 — The Threshold
GST registration in Australia is driven by GST turnover, not net profit. For tutors, the relevant rules are concise but easy to misread — particularly the projection rule and the 21-day window.
You must register for GST when your GST turnover reaches or exceeds $75,000 in any rolling 12-month period — current month plus the previous 11, or current month plus the next 11 (projected turnover).
The sum of all taxable supplies you reasonably expect to make in the current month plus the next 11 months. If a new corporate-tutoring contract or a school engagement makes the next year obviously over $75k, the projection — not the historical figure — triggers registration.
If you cross the threshold mid-year, you have 21 days from the day you reasonably expected to exceed $75,000 to register. The ATO can backdate registration to that date and chase the GST you should have collected.
You can register below $75k. Pros: you can claim input tax credits on tutoring inputs (Zoom Pro, textbooks, OneBookPlus subscription) and look more established to corporate clients. Cons: every invoice carries 10% GST, you must lodge BAS, and parents paying out-of-pocket effectively pay 10% more.
Once you register (voluntarily or compulsorily), you must stay registered for at least 12 months before you can cancel — even if your turnover drops below the threshold during that period.
Threshold figures and timing rules reflect current ATO guidance. Confirm with your tax agent for your specific situation.
Step 2 — Is Tutoring GST-Taxable?
Once you cross the $75k threshold, the default position is that tutoring is a taxable supply under section 9-5 of the A New Tax System (GST) Act 1999. There is a narrow education exception, but private 1:1 tutoring almost never qualifies.
Section 9-5 makes a supply taxable if it is made for consideration, in the course of an enterprise, connected with Australia, and the supplier is registered or required to be registered. Standard private tutoring ticks every box. GST applies at 10% on the GST-inclusive price (1/11th of the total).
Education courses delivered by an "education institution" (registered school, TAFE, university, RTO) are GST-free. The exception is read narrowly: a private tutor running coaching for school students is not an education institution, even though the content is academic.
The ATO confirmed in ATO Interpretative Decision 2002/389 that private tuition for HSC / VCE candidates is a taxable supply — even though it directly supports the student's enrolled school course. The supplier (the tutor) is not the education provider, so Subdivision 38-C does not flow through.
If you are a registered school or RTO yourself and the tutoring is delivered as part of an accredited course you provide, or you sub-contract to a registered provider that on-supplies the tutoring as part of its GST-free course, the supply can be GST-free. These are minority cases; document them carefully.
Step 3 — A Worked Example
GST is 10% of the GST-exclusive price, which equals 1/11th of the GST-inclusive price. The maths is identical either way — choose how you quote, then be consistent.
| Line | GST-inclusive quote ($99/hr) | GST-exclusive quote ($90 + GST) |
|---|---|---|
| Headline rate | $99.00 per hour (GST inc.) | $90.00 per hour + GST |
| GST component | $9.00 (1/11th of $99) | $9.00 (10% of $90) |
| Total parent pays | $99.00 | $99.00 |
| Net to tutor | $90.00 | $90.00 |
| Goes to ATO at next BAS | $9.00 per hour | $9.00 per hour |
The 1/11th figure is the right one to memorise — once you have a GST-inclusive total, dividing by 11 gives the GST you owe. Set aside that amount on every payment received.
Step 4 — Special Cases
The general rule (tutoring is taxable, 10% GST applies) is easy. The exceptions are where tutors lose or overpay money. Each of these has its own evidence requirements.
Step 5 — BAS Frequency
For nearly every Australian tutor, BAS is a quarterly event. The variations (annual, monthly, instalments) apply only in specific situations.
Most tutors lodge quarterly. Due dates: Q1 (Jul–Sep) 28 Oct, Q2 (Oct–Dec) 28 Feb, Q3 (Jan–Mar) 28 Apr, Q4 (Apr–Jun) 28 Jul. Lodging through a registered tax/BAS agent gives you an extra 2–4 weeks for most quarters.
Available only to voluntary registrants whose turnover is under $75k. One BAS per year (28 Feb following the financial year end). Useful for tutors who registered voluntarily for ITCs and don't want quarterly admin.
Mandatory only if your GST turnover is $20 million or more — essentially never for a tutor. You can opt in to monthly if you prefer faster ITC refunds, but it triples the admin.
Eligible small businesses may pay GST in quarterly instalments based on an ATO-calculated figure, then reconcile annually. Simplifies cash flow but doesn't change your underlying obligation.
Tutors with turnover under $10m can elect cash accounting — GST attributes when paid, not when invoiced. This is the simpler default for tutors taking payment up-front or via online checkout.
Tax invoices, adjustment notes, BAS workings and bank reconciliations must be kept for at least 5 years from the date the transaction was completed. Digital records (e.g. OneBookPlus invoices) satisfy the requirement.
Step 6 — Input Tax Credits
Once registered, you can claim the GST component of business expenses from GST-registered suppliers as input tax credits (ITCs) — reducing the net GST you remit each BAS.
Zoom Pro, Google Workspace, Microsoft Teams, Webex — used to deliver online sessions. Claim the GST component (1/11th of the GST-inclusive invoice) where the provider is GST-registered in Australia and issues a tax invoice.
Textbooks, past papers, online subject subscriptions (Mathspace, Education Perfect, Atomi, Edrolo), printed workbooks. Direct cost of supplying tutoring — fully claimable.
Tutoring platform commission, Stripe/Square processing fees on tutoring payments, online booking and scheduling tools. Where the platform is GST-registered, ITCs are available on the GST portion of the fee.
OneBookPlus subscription, accounting software (Xero, MYOB), CRM, calendar tools, password managers, ABN registration fees, website hosting, domain renewal.
GST-inclusive utilities, internet, phone — claimable only for the business-use portion, calculated by floor area, time-use, or the ATO's fixed-rate method. Keep a 4-week representative diary.
Travel from one tutoring location to another is deductible and ITCs on fuel/tolls can be claimed (proportional to business use). Home to first session and last session to home is normal commuting — not deductible.
Subject-matter courses, teaching CPD, conferences directly relevant to your tutoring practice. Personal degrees and study not connected to your current tutoring income are generally not deductible.
Private study, private vehicle running costs (unless logged for business use), groceries or coffees with students unless documented as a legitimate working expense, GST on supplies from non-GST-registered providers (there is no GST to claim).
Step 7 — Common Mistakes
These are the patterns ATO compliance and tax-agent reviews flag most often for tutoring businesses.
Adding GST to an invoice when you are not registered is unlawful and the ATO can require you to refund the amount or remit it as if it were GST. Either register, or don't add GST.
The most common audit trigger for tutors. If a string of corporate or group contracts pushes you over $75k mid-year and you don't register within 21 days, the ATO can backdate registration and demand the GST you should have collected — out of your own pocket.
Many tutors collect GST on offshore students unnecessarily. If the student is overseas at session time and you have evidence, it's a GST-free export under s38-190. Don't pay GST you don't owe.
Voluntarily registered tutors regularly forget to claim ITCs on Zoom, Google Workspace, textbook subscriptions, and OneBookPlus — that's real cash left on the table every quarter.
Claiming home internet at 100% when actual business use is 40% is the classic mistake. The ATO expects a reasonable, documented apportionment — diaries, floor-area calculations, fixed-rate methods.
Refunding a parent for unused sessions without issuing an adjustment note leaves your BAS overstated. Adjustment notes reduce GST collected in the period the refund is paid.
The $75k test is a rolling 12-month view. Check your turnover at the end of every month against the previous 11 — your accounting software (Xero, MYOB, OneBookPlus) can show this in two clicks. Don't wait until July tax time to discover you crossed the threshold in February.
The GST you collect is never yours — it's held in trust for the ATO. Move 1/11th (roughly 9.1%) of every GST-inclusive payment into a separate bank account on receipt. When the BAS lands, the cash is already there and you avoid the most common cash-flow crisis of newly registered tutors.
Invoices need to clearly show your ABN, the GST component, and the words "tax invoice" for amounts over $82.50. OneBookPlus, Xero and MYOB tag GST on every line and generate the BAS summary automatically — eliminating the manual reconciliation that creates errors.
Crossing the threshold is one of the higher audit-risk moments for a small tutoring business — partly because it's easy to get wrong, partly because the ATO actively monitors near-threshold turnover. A few hundred dollars on a tax agent at registration time is cheap insurance against backdated GST claims.
You must register for GST as soon as your GST turnover reaches $75,000 in a rolling 12-month period — either looking back at the last 12 months or projecting the current month plus the next 11. If you reasonably expect to cross $75k, you have 21 days from that point to register. Below $75k, registration is voluntary. Once you register, you must stay registered for at least 12 months.
Generally yes. Under section 38-190 of the A New Tax System (GST) Act 1999, services consumed outside Australia by a recipient who is offshore at the time of the supply are GST-free exports. A Zoom lesson with a student physically in Singapore, Hong Kong, the UK or anywhere outside Australia is GST-free. Keep documentation — signed location declaration, billing address, video-platform geolocation — to prove the export character. If the student is in Australia (e.g. visiting family) at session time, that session is taxable.
Yes, if you're GST-registered. The GST attributes when the invoice is issued (accruals) or when payment is received (cash basis), not session by session. A $990 ten-pack collects $90 of GST that goes on the BAS for that period. If a parent later cancels and you refund unused sessions, issue an adjustment note to reduce the GST in the refund period — don't quietly net it off.
It depends on your client mix and inputs. Voluntary registration lets you claim input tax credits on tutoring tools (Zoom, Google Workspace, OneBookPlus, textbooks, platform fees) — useful if those costs are material. The downside is every invoice carries 10% GST, which parents paying out-of-pocket effectively absorb, and you must lodge BAS at least annually. If most of your clients are corporate or school accounts that claim GST back themselves, voluntary registration is usually neutral-to-positive. If your clients are individual families and your input costs are small, it's usually not worth it.
Quarterly is the default. Q1 (Jul–Sep) is due 28 October, Q2 (Oct–Dec) due 28 February, Q3 (Jan–Mar) due 28 April, Q4 (Apr–Jun) due 28 July. Lodging through a registered tax or BAS agent gives you an extra 2–4 weeks on most quarters. If you voluntarily registered below $75k, you can choose annual GST reporting (one BAS per year). Monthly lodgement is mandatory only for businesses turning over $20m+ — essentially never for a tutor.
If you're GST-registered, you can claim the GST component (1/11th of the GST-inclusive price) of any business expense from a GST-registered supplier with a valid tax invoice. Common ITCs for tutors: Zoom Pro, Google Workspace or Microsoft Teams, textbook and online subject subscriptions, OneBookPlus and accounting software, tutoring platform commission and payment processing fees, the business-use portion of home internet and phone, fuel and tolls for travel between session locations, and PD relevant to tutoring. You cannot claim ITCs on personal study, private vehicle costs, or supplies from non-GST-registered providers (no GST was charged).
OneBookPlus is the AU-built workspace for Australian tutors. Bookings, parent invoicing, session packs, GST- tagged tax invoices and BAS-ready reports — built around how tutors actually work.
Last reviewed and updated: by Bishal Shrestha