# I think I lodged my BAS Wrong



## letmethehellin (Nov 6, 2016)

So Lodging my BAS, and I took the information from Ricdam's spread sheet.

Which told me
G1 - Total Sales (the total fare including ubers portion)
1A - GST on Sales (assuming this is 10% of my total Sales -- which it isn't for some reason)
1B - GST on Purchases ( such as the GST portion of my fuel and cleanign etc) 

1A - 1B = the GST I have to pay the ATO

However, i have since watched a youtube video telling me I should be claiming the Uber service fee off the 1A portion as well.. 

Im currently paying about $650 a quarter and I only do this part time.. Does this seem right?
Or have a majorly ****ed up :O


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## Where to Mister? (Jul 16, 2017)

The GST is 1/11 of total sales, not 1/10.
So divide the total sales by 11 to get the GST.


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## Who is John Galt? (Sep 28, 2016)

letmethehellin said:


> *I think I lodged my BAS Wrong*


Don't sweat the small stuff. At least you lodged it


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## Jack Malarkey (Jan 11, 2016)

Correcting GST errors: https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/GST...nd-activity-statements/Correcting-GST-errors/.

Where to Mister? has above correctly identified the error you made.


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## UberDriverAU (Nov 4, 2015)

letmethehellin said:


> However, i have since watched a youtube video telling me I should be claiming the Uber service fee off the 1A portion as well..


That does not sound right. Whatever your Uber service fee is, it should not have any impact on GST on Sales.


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## letmethehellin (Nov 6, 2016)

UberDriverAU said:


> That does not sound right. Whatever your Uber service fee is, it should not have any impact on GST on Sales.


Unless I'm misunderstanding, this video is saying that you can use the uber fee as deduction on your GST to produce credits.
https://youtu.be/0pZxnG6MCwI?t=2m43s

But then I found this statement after a bit of googling..
"'Why can't I claim GST on Uber Fees?'. Uber is not an Australian company, so our tax laws don't apply, and they don't have to pay GST to the ATO. This means there is no GST in the fees they charge to you. Therefore, since you didn't pay any GST in the first place, you can't claim any GST credits back on your BAS. (You can, however, claim a tax deduction for the Uber Fees on your end of year tax return)."


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## Where to Mister? (Jul 16, 2017)

letmethehellin said:


> Unless I'm misunderstanding, this video is saying that you can use the uber fee as deduction on your GST to produce credits.


The video has it wrong.
GST is payable on the gross fares, not the gross fare - Uber fee.
The Uber fee is able to be claimed as a deduction in you Income Tax Return.


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## UberDriverAU (Nov 4, 2015)

letmethehellin said:


> Unless I'm misunderstanding, this video is saying that you can use the uber fee as deduction on your GST to produce credits.
> https://youtu.be/0pZxnG6MCwI?t=2m43s
> 
> But then I found this statement after a bit of googling..
> "'Why can't I claim GST on Uber Fees?'. Uber is not an Australian company, so our tax laws don't apply, and they don't have to pay GST to the ATO. This means there is no GST in the fees they charge to you. Therefore, since you didn't pay any GST in the first place, you can't claim any GST credits back on your BAS. (You can, however, claim a tax deduction for the Uber Fees on your end of year tax return)."


Just because it's a YouTube video, that doesn't mean it's correct. If it said the Earth was flat, would you believe it??

Have a think about it. Why would you exclude the Uber fee at label G1 (Total Sales inc GST) rather than including it at label G11 (Non-Capital Purchases inc GST) or label G14 (Purchases without GST in the price)?



letmethehellin said:


> Uber is not an Australian company, so our tax laws don't apply, and they don't have to pay GST to the ATO.


This is now outdated information. As of the 1st of July 2017, Uber was required to pay GST on digital services supplied in Australia in certain circumstances:

(1) If you *have *provided them with your ABN and GST details, then they *are not* required to pay GST on their digital services.
(2) If you *have not* provided them with your ABN and GST details, then they *are *required to pay GST on their digital services.


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## letmethehellin (Nov 6, 2016)

Where to Mister? said:


> The video has it wrong.
> GST is payable on the gross fares, not the gross fare - Uber fee.
> The Uber fee is able to be claimed as a deduction in you Income Tax Return.


 Ahh.. so in regards to the uber fee, it doesn't apply to anything relating to a GST credit, but it can be used as a tax deduction on your yearly tax statement?



UberDriverAU said:


> (1) If you *have *provided them with your ABN and GST details, then they *are not* required to pay GST on their digital services.
> (2) If you *have not* provided them with your ABN and GST details, then they *are *required to pay GST on their digital services.


I ended up supplying them with my ABN, because I was informed that I could not receive GST credits for the GST i spend on fuel/washing/service/etc

However, I am also in a situation where I have to pay GST on a second job that i do under the same ABN because this ABN is registered for GST because of uber. 
So from my understanding, If I removed my ABN from uber, I would loose more in a percentage, but I would also not have to be registered for GST with my ABN ?


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## UberDriverAU (Nov 4, 2015)

letmethehellin said:


> So from my understanding, If I removed my ABN from uber, I would loose more in a percentage, but I would also not have to be registered for GST with my ABN ?


You would need to keep your ABN and GST registration if you keep doing UberX. Whether or not you supply your ABN to Uber has nothing to do with whether or not you can claim GST credits on your purchases.

Assuming you're on 25% Uber service fee. If you provide your ABN then you stay on 25%. If you don't then Uber charges 27.5% to cover the GST they have to pay, but you can claim 2.5% of that back as a GST credit. So the net effect is Uber takes 25% whether or not you provide your ABN to them.


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## uber_driver (Apr 6, 2016)

thats it mate
see you in golburn jail


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## DannyM (Jul 31, 2016)

UberDriverAU said:


> You would need to keep your ABN and GST registration if you keep doing UberX. Whether or not you supply your ABN to Uber has nothing to do with whether or not you can claim GST credits on your purchases.
> 
> Assuming you're on 25% Uber service fee. If you provide your ABN then you stay on 25%. If you don't then Uber charges 27.5% to cover the GST they have to pay, but you can claim 2.5% of that back as a GST credit. So the net effect is Uber takes 25% whether or not you provide your ABN to them.


I am confused. How can we claim GST credits on uber charges if we do not have ABN.


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## UberDriverAU (Nov 4, 2015)

DannyM said:


> I am confused. How can we claim GST credits on uber charges if we do not have ABN.


If you do not have an ABN and therefore aren't registered for GST, you should expect a letter from the ATO very soon. What you are expected to do is very clear.


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## letmethehellin (Nov 6, 2016)

UberDriverAU said:


> Assuming you're on 25% Uber service fee. If you provide your ABN then you stay on 25%. If you don't then Uber charges 27.5% to cover the GST they have to pay, but you can claim 2.5% of that back as a GST credit. So the net effect is Uber takes 25% whether or not you provide your ABN to them.


Just to try and clear things up, if you do not supply an ABN to uber they will take an extra 2.5% off you, however you still need to lodge BAS on the whole fare, but you can add that extra 2.5% as a credit??


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## JimmyAU (Apr 11, 2017)

I'm pretty sure you cannot lodge a BAS without bring registered for GST, to be registered for GST you need to apply for an ABN. Am I right?


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## UberDriverAU (Nov 4, 2015)

JimmyAU said:


> I'm pretty sure you cannot lodge a BAS without bring registered for GST, to be registered for GST you need to apply for an ABN. Am I right?


Correct for most drivers. There are other things that might require that you lodge a BAS. The thing that people seem to get confused about is it's optional to give Uber your ABN and GST details. In my opinion we are better of not giving those details to Uber, because it relies on them doing the right thing, eg. giving 5 cents of the booking fee deduction back. Why rely on them when you don't have to? Right now they're screwing over many drivers who have given them their ABN and GST details (by not giving the 5 cents back), but drivers who haven't given those details are uneffected because they can claim a 5 cent GST credit.



letmethehellin said:


> Just to try and clear things up, if you do not supply an ABN to uber they will take an extra 2.5% off you, however you still need to lodge BAS on the whole fare, but you can add that extra 2.5% as a credit??


Yes, that's correct.


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## Instyle (Oct 18, 2014)

letmethehellin said:


> However, I am also in a situation where I have to pay GST on a second job that i do under the same ABN because this ABN is registered for GST because of uber.


How do you feel about doing Uber work considering you have to charge and remit GST on all other business income?


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## AvengingxxAngel (Jan 5, 2017)

Good thread. I never considered GST credits on the commission cause I know Uber don't pay GST. 
Now I know you definitely can't claim those prospective GST credits.


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## UberDriverAU (Nov 4, 2015)

AvengingxxAngel said:


> Uber don't pay GST.


Yes they do. You control whether or not they charge you GST. If you give them your ABN and GST details they will not charge GST, if you don't give them those details they will charge you GST.


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## AvengingxxAngel (Jan 5, 2017)

UberDriverAU said:


> Yes they do. You control whether or not they charge you GST. If you give them your ABN and GST details they will not charge GST, if you don't give them those details they will charge you GST.


....but if we don't give our details Uber deactivates our accounts?


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## UberDriverAU (Nov 4, 2015)

AvengingxxAngel said:


> ....but if we don't give our details Uber deactivates our accounts?


No they don't. The did a huge backflip on that "policy". I've not given them my details and I'm still driving, as are many others. They would have figured out they'd lose a fair chunk of their workforce had they deactivated those who hadn't given these details.


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## AvengingxxAngel (Jan 5, 2017)

UberDriverAU said:


> No they don't. The did a huge backflip on that "policy". I've not given them my details and I'm still driving, as are many others. They would have figured out they'd lose a fair chunk of their workforce had they deactivated those who hadn't given these details.


I'm regretting handing over my details right now


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## UberDriverAU (Nov 4, 2015)

AvengingxxAngel said:


> I'm regretting handing over my details right now


Why not remove them?


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## AvengingxxAngel (Jan 5, 2017)

UberDriverAU said:


> Why not remove them?


I didn't know you could, thanks


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## Instyle (Oct 18, 2014)

AvengingxxAngel said:


> ....but if we don't give our details Uber deactivates our accounts?


Uber back-pedalled hard on this issue as they would have _LOST_ a lot of drivers! Originally there was a threat of deactivation but that has gone. Frankly, it's quite stupid on Uber's behalf, they're just buying themselves some time as the ATO will eventually catch up will all intentional tax cheats anyway.

The new tax laws mean overseas entities selling to private or directly to end user the customer have to charge GST whereas foreign entities charging an Australian Business are not obligated to charge GST, hence why many have been saying lose your ABN from the Uber portal so Uber will have to charge GST like a non commercial customer.

Obviously the charging of GST will enable you to claim that GST credit against your GST payable. Just because you don't list an ABN with Uber doesn't mean you can't claim the credits. Uber will then be legally obligated to supply you with a Tax Invoice denoting the GST portion paid, in turn also making Uber pay income tax on the excluding GST driver fees.

Having Uber charge you GST sorts out this "Booking Fee" & "Split Fare Fee" garbage whereby the driver made a loss after paying GST on the additional gross fees when the whole amount is "deducted" by Uber anyway.

Keep a look out in your Uber portal for your RCTI Tax Invoices to Uber which display the driver fees you have paid. I've found that these invoices DO NOT include the "Booking Fee" and possibly the "Split Fare Fee".


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## UberDriverAU (Nov 4, 2015)

Instyle said:


> Uber back-pedalled hard on this issue as they would have _LOST_ a lot of drivers! Originally there was a threat of deactivation but that has gone. Frankly, it's quite stupid on Uber's behalf, they're just buying themselves some time as the ATO will eventually catch up will all intentional tax cheats anyway.


I think they were hoping to avoid dealing with GST altogether, but came to the realisation that it'd seriously hurt their business.


Instyle said:


> Having Uber charge you GST sorts out this "Booking Fee" & "Split Fare Fee" garbage whereby the driver made a loss after paying GST on the additional gross fees when the whole amount is "deducted" by Uber anyway.


No more worrying about whether or not Uber's doing the right thing as you don't owe nor are you owed any amounts on these fees. If Uber doesn't pay someone it'll be the ATO, which isn't our problem.


Instyle said:


> Keep a look out in your Uber portal for your RCTI Tax Invoices to Uber which display the driver fees you have paid. I've found that these invoices DO NOT include the "Booking Fee" and possibly the "Split Fare Fee".


They are not RCTIs. They're _from_ Uber _to_ you for their various fees.


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## AvengingxxAngel (Jan 5, 2017)

So to put it in perspective....
If you don't supply your ABN and GST details to Uber, it means they charge you GST on their commission 2.5%...so for every trip Uber takes 27.5% instead of 25%. So they charge you the GST they pay.
At BAS time, you claim back that 2.5% as GST credits, and then pay the GST for the money you get in hand, omitting the commission as you've already paid GST on that and are now claiming GST credits.
Is that right?


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## letmethehellin (Nov 6, 2016)

Went to the Accountant today.. He pointed out that I have entered the wrong information in to G11, said it should be the total of something - I didn't understand.. I asked a few times but still couldn't figure out what she was saying?

I've listed my GST credits in G11 (fuel/carwashes/services/water etc)

Also, I've noticed in my Lodgements to the Question 'Does this include GST?' one lodgement i've selected yes, and one lodgement i've selected no
Not sure wtf i've done there?


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## AvengingxxAngel (Jan 5, 2017)

letmethehellin said:


> Went to the Accountant today.. He pointed out that I have entered the wrong information in to G11, said it should be the total of something - I didn't understand.. I asked a few times but still couldn't figure out what she was saying?
> 
> I've listed my GST credits in G11 (fuel/carwashes/services/water etc)
> 
> ...


So in G1, I added my income including the commission of course, that was all I filled out on the front page. I think I done that wrong. Then I filled in 1A and 1B to get the total amount I need to pay. I haven't heard anything back from the ATO saying I filled it out wrong, but I guess they're not too fussed about it as long as its paid. I'll probably get audited which doesn't matter as I photocopy and file all of my receipts. One thing I haven't been claiming on is my phone, which I will now.


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## Chirsg (Aug 17, 2017)

letmethehellin said:


> Went to the Accountant today.. He pointed out that I have entered the wrong information in to G11, said it should be the total of something - I didn't understand.. I asked a few times but still couldn't figure out what she was saying?
> 
> I've listed my GST credits in G11 (fuel/carwashes/services/water etc)
> 
> ...


That sounds a bit concerning that you don't understand what your accountant is saying. Either hire a new accountant or give him the iron fist and tell him to elaborate.


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## MyRedUber (Dec 28, 2015)

AvengingxxAngel said:


> So in G1, I added my income including the commission of course, that was all I filled out on the front page. I think I done that wrong. Then I filled in 1A and 1B to get the total amount I need to pay. I haven't heard anything back from the ATO saying I filled it out wrong, but I guess they're not too fussed about it as long as its paid. I'll probably get audited which doesn't matter as I photocopy and file all of my receipts. One thing I haven't been claiming on is my phone, which I will now.


At G1 - Total Sales, enter the total of Fares, Surge and Tolls and any other extra charges. All of your revemie, including tolls.
At 1A - GST on Sales, enter 1/11th of Total Sales plus the $0.05 GST on the Booking Fee for each drive.
At G10 - Capital Purchases, enter the total paid for equipment purchases, dash cams, phones, etc.
At G11 - Non-Capital Purchases, enter the total paid for petrol, servicing, repairs, car wash, phone bills, and Commission paid to (retained by) Uber.
At 1B - GST on Purchases, enter the total amount of GST that you've paid on everything you've purchased. The GST amount is usually printed on the receipt / tax invoice. If it's not printed, then calculate 1/11th of the total price. One exception, there's no GST in the Uber Commission.
Your GST Liability / Credit equals 1A minus 1B.


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## AvengingxxAngel (Jan 5, 2017)

MyRedUber said:


> At G1 - Total Sales, enter the total of Fares, Surge and Tolls and any other extra charges. All of your revemie, including tolls.
> At 1A - GST on Sales, enter 1/11th of Total Sales plus the $0.05 GST on the Booking Fee for each drive.
> At G10 - Capital Purchases, enter the total paid for equipment purchases, dash cams, phones, etc.
> At G11 - Non-Capital Purchases, enter the total paid for petrol, servicing, repairs, car wash, phone bills, and Commission paid to (retained by) Uber.
> ...


Great thanks


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## UberDriverAU (Nov 4, 2015)

AvengingxxAngel said:


> Great thanks


If Uber still has your ABN and GST details, don't forget to also include all their fees at G14 on the worksheet, otherwise you will be claiming GST credits for their fees when you shouldn't be. Also, with the new Simplified BAS reporting, you only need to fill in labels G1, 1A, and 1B.


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