If you sell property as part of your business, you may be eligible to use the goods and services tax (GST) margin scheme as a concessional way of working out the GST you must pay.
You can only apply the margin scheme if the sale of the property is subject to GST – for example, if you build new residential premises or sell subdivided vacant land that you have developed as part of your business.
If you use the margin scheme, GST only needs to be paid on the margin for the sale and not the total sale price. Your margin is generally the difference between the sale price and one of the following:
- the amount you paid for the property
- the value of the property provided in an approved valuation at the applicable valuation date if certain conditions are satisfied
The ATO will be presenting a free webinar for all property developers on GST and the margin scheme on Wednesday 10 February from 12 noon to 1pm ESST.
The webinar will be presented by ATO Directors Neil Dixon and James Francis and will cover:
- what the margin scheme is
- how the margin scheme works
- common errors
You can submit your questions before the webinar when you register your attendance, during the webinar itself or by posting your questions on the Q&A section of Let’s talk.
