Does GST apply to bank fees? It depends...

Bank fees, such as monthly account fees, ATM fees, and credit card interest, are not subject to GST. These items are input-taxed as financial supplies, which means that your bank is not required to charge GST on these fees. As a result, you should not include a GST amount in your small business tax returns for these charges.

When it comes to calculating GST for bank fees in your BAS lodgment, you should not add any GST for bank fees. For example, if a bank charges a $10 per month account maintenance fee, you would only need to include the raw $10 as an expense. The BAS would just have $0 GST for these items.

There are some exceptions to this rule. Fees for services such as POS terminals, business insurance, or financial advice, can be subject to GST. So it’s important for businesses to keep receipts and accurate records of their fees and the GST charged on them. This will help you to calculate the GST correctly and ensure that you are complying with tax laws.

Thriday makes it easy to track your GST, as it automatically calculates the appropriate GST for any transactions processed through your Thriday Visa Debit card* or business bank account*. As a business owner, you want to ensure that you pay the right tax to avoid having any issues with the ATO.

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To ensure you pay the right taxes, bank fees such as account maintenance fees, ATM fees, and credit card fees are not subject to GST. This means that businesses are not required to include GST on these fees when preparing a tax or BAS submission. As a business you should keep accurate records of your bank fees and use a platform like Thriday to ensure your data is accurate.