GST guide
GST for Taxi Operators in Australia
BookTaxiService is taxi booking and dispatch software that lets Australian taxi operators decide how GST is priced into their fares, show it to customers at booking and put it on the tax invoices that go out after the trip. You set the rules once in your admin settings, and every quote, booking and invoice follows them.
General information only, not tax advice. The tax rules on this page are summarised from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) pages as read in October 2026, with links to each one. Check your own situation with a registered tax agent or the ATO before you change how you charge or report.
Below: who has to register, what a taxi tax invoice needs, the two ways to enter prices, the 10% GST rule and state levies, what customers and drivers see, the records you can export, a summary table and a seven-step setup checklist.
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Do Taxi Operators Have to Register for GST?
Yes. The ATO says providers of taxi services must register for GST regardless of turnover, so the usual $75,000 threshold does not apply. Fares paid to taxi drivers include GST. A taxi driver who is not employed by someone else must lodge a business activity statement (BAS) monthly or quarterly, because the ATO does not let taxi drivers report annually.
The detail sits on two ATO pages: GST and taxis and registering for GST as a taxi, limousine or ride-sourcing provider. In short, according to the ATO:
- you pay net GST: the GST in all fares you take, minus GST credits on business purchases, including bailment payments
- you only claim GST credits related to your taxi work
- total sales (label G1 on the BAS) includes taxi takings by cash, card and Cabcharge, tolls and extras such as baggage handling, tips and WorkCover payments
- you can report with Simpler BAS, GST instalments or full reporting, but not annually
The ATO’s taxi page also notes that its guidance does not cover ride-sourcing drivers, who have separate ATO guidance.
BookTaxiService does not decide whether you need to register, and it does not lodge anything with the ATO.
What the ATO Expects on a Taxi Tax Invoice
A taxi tax invoice is a document a passenger can ask for, and the ATO sets what it must contain. According to the ATO’s tax invoices page, if a customer asks for a tax invoice you must provide one within 28 days, unless the sale is $82.50 (including GST) or less.
For a sale under $1,000, the ATO lists seven details:
- that the document is intended to be a tax invoice
- the seller’s identity
- the seller’s ABN
- the date issued
- a brief description of what was sold, with quantity (if applicable) and price
- the GST amount, shown separately, or the words “Total price includes GST” if the GST is exactly one-eleventh of the total
- the extent to which each sale is taxable
At $1,000 or more, the invoice also needs the buyer’s identity or ABN. A PDF sent by email is fine, as long as it carries all the required information.
Setting Your Prices: Tax Included or Tax Excluded
Price display is the BookTaxiService setting that decides whether the prices you enter already include tax. You find it in Admin Settings under Tax & Surcharges, with two choices: “Tax included” and “Tax excluded”. If you never set it, BookTaxiService treats your prices as tax excluded.
Take a $50 fare entered in your rates:
| Price display | What happens to the $50 you entered | Example with only a 10% GST rule |
|---|---|---|
| Tax excluded | $50 is the base. Your GST rule and any levies are added on top at checkout. | Customer pays $55 |
| Tax included | $50 is what the customer pays. BookTaxiService works out the GST and levies inside it. | Customer pays $50, of which GST is one-eleventh (about $4.55) |
Which mode you use is your choice. BookTaxiService does not recommend one over the other. Changing the mode affects new quotes, bookings, invoices and booking form prices, and the settings screen walks through the same $50 example before you confirm.
Your price inputs tell you which mode you are in. Rates for distance, fixed routes, hourly hire, extras, fees, peak pricing and dead kilometres carry a small tag reading “+ GST” or “inc. GST”. Toll amounts on fixed rates read “in fare”.
One exception to remember: when staff correct a booking’s price or set a custom total, BookTaxiService always asks for the GST-inclusive customer total, whichever mode you use, and then works out the tax parts from it.
The GST Rule and State Levies
The GST rule in BookTaxiService is an operator setting, not a fixed number. A new Australian GST rule starts at 10%, and you can see and edit its value in Settings > Tax & Surcharges. Add an active GST rule there to have BookTaxiService calculate GST on bookings. Without an applicable active rule, the calculator produces no GST line.
State levies are rules you add yourself. Victoria’s CPV Service Levy is the example the settings screen gives. For each levy you choose:
- a flat amount or a percentage
- the Australian state or states it applies to
- whether it is “Taxable” or “Non-taxable”
A taxable levy goes into the amount GST is calculated on. A non-taxable levy is added after GST. With prices entered tax excluded, a $40 fare plus a $1.20 levy marked taxable gives a GST base of $41.20, which BookTaxiService can show as “GST (10% on $41.20)” depending on the booking display.
BookTaxiService does not keep a list of state levies or add them for you. Whether a particular levy should be marked taxable is a question for your tax agent; BookTaxiService applies whichever setting you choose.
What Customers See When They Book
Customers on a BookTaxiService booking form see GST at two points. On the vehicle choice step, each price shows “incl. GST” when the quote includes tax.
On the review and pay step, the display depends on your price mode and on the layout you pick (basic, detailed or total only):
- Tax excluded: separate lines can appear for the fare, GST and any levies before the total. A Victorian operator with the CPV levy set up might show Trip fare, GST, CPV Service Levy (VIC), then Total.
- Tax included: the total shows a note underneath, “Includes GST” or “Includes Taxes & levies”.
A separate GST line does not appear in every layout. Preview your form before you go live; the guide to adding a taxi booking form to your website covers where it sits.
Tax Invoices and Receipts BookTaxiService Produces
BookTaxiService produces three customer documents that touch GST, and only two of them are tax invoices.
Trip Tax Invoice
With an ABN stored, the trip receipt defaults to a “TAX INVOICE” header and an ABN in the business details, and shows GST when the booking has a GST breakdown. Check any customised document header and description before sending it. BookTaxiService tries to attach it to the trip completion email for a recipient allowed to see the price (bookings paid by invoice excepted), and to the payment confirmation email. Attachments can fail to generate, so a PDF is not guaranteed for every booking.
Corporate Account Invoices
Invoices for corporate accounts carry “TAX INVOICE” in the header by default, and the default branding includes your ABN when one is stored. Both fields can be customised. When you have an ABN, the invoice itemises GST from the bookings’ stored tax breakdown.
Invoice Payment Receipt
When a customer pays an invoice, BookTaxiService sends a “PAYMENT RECEIPT”. The payment receipt is a record of the payment, not a tax invoice, and it does not print your ABN. For corporate accounts, the invoice itself, titled “TAX INVOICE” by default, is the document to check against the ATO’s list.
Compare each document against the ATO’s seven details above with your tax agent. The BookTaxiService payments overview covers the rest of the money side.
Card Surcharges and Fare Fees
Card surcharges in BookTaxiService are tax rules scoped to card payments, set in Settings > Tax & Surcharges. BookTaxiService always includes a card surcharge in the amount GST is calculated on; there is no non-taxable option for surcharges. Saving a non-zero card surcharge means acknowledging a disclaimer first, and following the rules on card surcharges is the operator’s responsibility. More on taking cards is on the taxi card payments page.
Fare fees work differently. Tolls, airport fees, parking and card fees are fee types in your pricing, added to the fare subtotal before BookTaxiService applies your tax rules. BookTaxiService does not decide how the law treats any of these amounts for GST; confirm that with your tax agent.
Records for Your BAS
BookTaxiService keeps your booking and payment records and lets you export revenue figures, but it does not prepare or lodge a BAS. Under Reports, the analytics CSV exports “Revenue by vehicle” and “Revenue by service” include booking counts, revenue, average fare, fare components, discounts and a column labelled Tax.
The Tax column is the combined tax on those bookings. It can include levies you have set up, so it is not a GST-only total and not a BAS figure. Use it to reconcile, then let your tax agent work out the BAS amounts.
The ATO lists the records a taxi driver should keep for five years: kilometres travelled (including kilometres without passengers), shifts, total income by cash, card and Cabcharge, and expenses. BookTaxiService records cover bookings and payments; kilometres, shifts and expenses outside the system are still yours to keep.
Drivers and GST
BookTaxiService leaves fare GST and levies out of driver commission. When it calculates what a driver earns from a fare, it removes the GST and any levies first, along with certain fees, and works out commission on what remains.
BookTaxiService does not add GST to driver payouts and does not create tax invoices for drivers. Where your plan includes driver payments, you can track payout records. Plans with driver auto payouts also let Australian operators export an ABA bank file. Each driver’s own GST position is a matter for that driver and their tax agent.
Your BookTaxiService Fees
BookTaxiService charges Australian operators GST on its own fees. Your subscription and per-trip fees are charged plus 10% GST, and BookTaxiService invoices you with the GST shown separately. The amount for each plan is on the pricing page.
GST at a Glance
The table below puts each GST task next to what the ATO says and what BookTaxiService does about it.
| GST task | What the ATO says | What BookTaxiService does |
|---|---|---|
| Registering for GST | Taxi providers register regardless of turnover; the $75,000 threshold does not apply | Nothing. BookTaxiService does not decide or lodge registration |
| Lodging BAS | Monthly or quarterly; annual reporting is not available to taxi drivers | Nothing. BookTaxiService does not prepare or lodge a BAS |
| Pricing fares | Fares include GST | Price display setting: tax included or tax excluded, your choice |
| GST rate | Product setting only | Editable GST rule that starts at 10% |
| State levies | Product setting only | Levies you add, scoped by state, marked taxable or non-taxable |
| Showing GST at booking | Product setting only | “incl. GST” on vehicle prices; GST lines or an “Includes GST” note, depending on mode and layout |
| Tax invoices | Provide within 28 days on request above $82.50; seven details under $1,000 | Trip tax invoice with your ABN and GST when you have an ABN; corporate invoices can itemise GST |
| Card surcharges | Product setting only | Surcharge rules by payment method, always in the GST base, disclaimer acknowledgement required |
| Records | Keep kilometres, shifts, income by payment type and expenses for five years | Booking and payment records; revenue CSVs with a combined Tax column |
| Driver payouts | Product setting only | Commission excludes fare GST and levies; no GST added to payouts |
Setting Up GST in BookTaxiService
Setting up GST in BookTaxiService takes seven steps, all in your own admin:
- Add your ABN in Admin Settings > Company. Without it, trip receipts are not titled “TAX INVOICE” and invoices do not show a GST row.
- Choose your price display in Settings > Tax & Surcharges: tax included or tax excluded.
- Check your GST rule is active and holds the rate you charge.
- Add any state levies you collect, set the states they apply to and mark each one taxable or non-taxable, as your tax agent advises.
- Check card surcharges by payment method, and acknowledge the disclaimer for any non-zero card surcharge.
- Preview a price with the live preview on the same settings page.
- Test a booking through to completion and check the trip tax invoice shows your business name, ABN and GST, especially if you customised the document branding.
New to BookTaxiService? The taxi booking software overview shows how bookings, dispatch and payments fit together.
Premium Taxi Service
Premium Taxi Service is an Australian taxi operator in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane that has run on BookTaxiService since March 2026.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to register for GST if I drive a taxi?
According to the ATO, providers of taxi services must register for GST regardless of turnover, so the $75,000 threshold that applies to most businesses does not apply to taxi travel. The ATO also says a taxi driver who is not employed by someone else must lodge BAS monthly or quarterly, not annually. This is general information; confirm your own position with a registered tax agent or the ATO.
When do I have to give a passenger a tax invoice?
The ATO says that if a customer asks for a tax invoice, you must provide one within 28 days, unless the sale is $82.50 (including GST) or less. A PDF sent by email is fine if it has all the required details. With your ABN stored, BookTaxiService titles the trip receipt a tax invoice by default and shows GST from the booking breakdown.
Should I enter my fares including or excluding GST?
That is your decision. BookTaxiService offers both: “Tax included” treats the price you enter as the customer price and works the GST out of it, while “Tax excluded” adds GST and levies on top. BookTaxiService does not recommend either mode. A registered tax agent can help if you are unsure what suits your business.
Is GST always 10% in BookTaxiService?
The GST rule in BookTaxiService starts at 10% for Australian operators, but the value is an editable operator setting, not a locked number. Without an applicable active GST rule, BookTaxiService produces no GST line on bookings.
Does BookTaxiService add state levies such as the Victorian CPV levy?
No, not automatically. BookTaxiService lets you add levies as rules, scoped to the states they apply to and marked taxable or non-taxable. BookTaxiService does not maintain a list of state levies, so you add the ones you collect and confirm their GST treatment with your tax agent.
Can BookTaxiService do my BAS?
No. BookTaxiService does not prepare or lodge a BAS. Its revenue CSV exports include a combined Tax column for reconciliation, which can include levies and is not a GST-only total. Your tax agent or the ATO’s guidance is the place to work out BAS amounts.
Does BookTaxiService charge GST on its own fees?
Yes. BookTaxiService charges Australian operators its subscription and per-trip fees plus 10% GST, with the GST shown separately on the invoice. Plan amounts are on the BookTaxiService pricing page.
Set Up GST on Your Taxi Bookings
Choose your plan, add your ABN and set your tax rules so every quote and tax invoice carries GST the way you charge it.
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