GST compliance requirements for schools are wide-ranging and complex. Nevertheless, it is important to remain on top of your GST compliance obligations to avoid the imposition of financial penalties by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) or reputational damage.
Is your school’s GST processes sufficiently robust if the ATO were to conduct a review?
Education is at the heart of the ever-increasing globalised and connected world. With the constant changes and shifts in legislation, federal and state government support, and other fiscal requirements, GST compliance requirements are not always front of mind.
A GST Health Check can deliver financial value to your school by helping to ensure your GST processes are in order. This is particularly useful given the increased ATO activity in the education space.
Why perform a GST Health Check?
The ATO is increasing its focus on GST compliance with a view to ensuring GST-registered entities, including schools, are reporting and remitting the correct amount of GST on supplies they make.
The objective of a GST Health Check is to identify and address gaps in an entity’s GST processes. This is achieved by undertaking a detailed review of the GST treatment of revenue and expense streams, GST coding and BAS preparation and reporting processes.
Through a GST Health Check we recently performed for a school, we identified that the school’s student laptop lease program was not being treated correctly for GST purposes. We worked with the school to restructure the program to avoid any GST exposure.
Equally, we have assisted schools to maximise their GST savings and improve cash flow – for example, by applying concessional rules for schools on revenue that ordinarily would be subject to GST.
How can Grant Thornton help?
Our specialist indirect tax team can help you establish robust systems to improve the management of your school’s GST compliance requirements. We do this by:
- Reviewing lodged BASs and supporting workpapers to identify GST reporting risks.
- Identifying opportunities for GST savings.
- Reviewing GST reporting processes and advising on their robustness from the perspective of an ATO review.
- Advising on the GST treatment of more complex revenue streams specific to schools, such as income generated from:
- supplies of co-curricular activities
- student boarding accommodation
- laptop lease programs
- course materials, and
- fundraising activities.
Get in touch to discuss how a GST Health Check could benefit your school and avoid financial penalties from the ATO.
