Updated 26 July 2026
In this guide
Marketplace GST: who collects what
Where you sell decides who handles the GST:
- Your own site (Shopify, WooCommerce), Australian customers. Normal rules. Registered sellers charge 10% GST on taxable sales; the $75,000 registration threshold applies to your GST turnover.
- Marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. For many transactions, particularly low-value imported goods sold to Australian consumers, the marketplace is treated as the supplier under the electronic distribution platform rules and collects and remits the GST itself. Your settlement reports show what the platform handled; do not remit GST twice on platform-collected sales, and do not ignore the sales you are still responsible for.
- Exports. Goods exported to overseas customers within the 60-day rule are GST-free. They still count toward GST turnover.
- Imports for resale. GST paid at the border on commercial imports is claimable as an input tax credit if you are registered, and deferral via the deferred GST scheme moves it onto the BAS instead of paying at customs, a real cash flow lever for importers.
The BAS mechanics behind this are standard once mapped; the mapping is the work. Misclassified platform-collected sales are the most common GST error we correct for new ecommerce clients.
Inventory and COGS: profit is not your bank balance
You cannot deduct stock when you buy it. You deduct cost of goods sold: opening stock plus purchases minus closing stock. That makes the year-end stocktake a tax document, not an operations chore, because every dollar of closing stock is a dollar of deduction deferred to next year.
- Valuation choices. Each item can be valued at cost, market selling value or replacement value, chosen item by item each year. Writing obsolete stock down to market value below cost is a legitimate deduction in the year it happens.
- Simplified rule for small business. If turnover is under $10 million and the movement in stock value is $5,000 or less, you can skip the formal stocktake and hold the opening figure. Useful, but only when true.
- Stock on the water and 3PL stock. Goods you own in transit or sitting in a third-party warehouse are your trading stock. Count them.
- Personal use and samples. Stock taken for private use is assessable at market value; influencer-style gifting of your own stock is a business expense with records.
Multichannel reconciliation: the payout trap
Shopify pays you net of fees. Amazon pays net of fees, advertising, refunds and reserve holds. PayPal is its own ledger. Bookkeeping that records deposits as sales understates income and loses the fee deductions, and it will not survive a data-matched ATO review, because platforms report gross seller income under the sharing economy reporting regime.
The fix is structural: every channel gets a clearing account, gross sales and fees are posted from the platform settlement reports, and the clearing account nets to the actual bank deposit. When gross sales per channel reconciles to platform reports and bank deposits, your GST, income tax and margins are all right at once. This is the exact setup we build in Xero for bookkeeping clients selling on two or more channels.
The rest of the ecommerce picture
- Foreign marketplace income. Selling on Amazon US or Etsy in foreign currency: income is assessable in AUD at the applicable exchange rates, foreign withholding may be claimable as a foreign income tax offset, and a W-8BEN sorts US withholding; our W-8BEN guide covers it.
- PAYG instalments arrive after your first profitable year; plan the first-year lump.
- Structure. Growing sellers holding stock and debt often outgrow sole trader quickly for liability reasons alone; the structuring guide covers the move.
- Dropshipping has its own GST and trading stock quirks, covered separately in our dropshipping tax guide.
Frequently asked questions
Do I charge GST on Amazon sales in Australia?
It depends on the transaction. For many sales, especially low-value imported goods, Amazon collects and remits the GST as the deemed supplier. Your settlement reports show which sales the platform handled and which remain yours.
Can I deduct inventory when I buy it?
No. You deduct cost of goods sold: opening stock plus purchases minus closing stock. Closing stock defers deduction to the year the goods sell.
Do I need a stocktake every year?
Generally yes if you carry stock, valued item by item at cost, market or replacement value. Small businesses can skip it where the stock movement is $5,000 or less.
How do I account for Shopify or Amazon payouts?
Never as sales. Post gross sales and fees from settlement reports through a clearing account per channel, with the net matching the bank deposit.
Is income from overseas marketplaces taxable in Australia?
Yes, fully assessable in AUD, with foreign tax withheld generally claimable as a foreign income tax offset.
When do ecommerce sellers need an accountant?
Once you sell on more than one channel, carry meaningful stock, or approach the $75,000 GST threshold; that is where the errors start compounding.
Get the setup that survives review
We build the clearing-account structure, the GST mapping and the stocktake process, then run the compliance on top. Talk to our team about your channels.
Talk to our teamThis article provides general information only, current at the date of publication, and does not constitute personal tax, legal or financial advice. Consider your circumstances or speak with us before acting. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.
