How to charge GST for events hosted in Australia – Zoho Backstage

Enable GST — Australia

Goods and services tax (GST) is a value-added tax levied by the government of Australia on goods and services provided by registered businesses in the country. By law, events hosted in Australia must also comply with these regulations and pay some amount of tax. The default GST rate is 10%; however, events organizers can make their events exempt from tax in some cases. To learn how much GST you should charge your attendees, please check with a local tax authority.

The GST will be added to the total amount you collect from attendees and the gross sales for your event will be inclusive of it. You can view the complete breakdown of the tax in the  Order summary tab of the  Registrations  tab in the  Manage dashboard for each event. Once the event is over, you must pay the GST amount collected through ticket sales to the appropriate tax authority. 

Note: Ensure that you set a payment mode and make Australia your payout country before enabling GST for your portal.

Enable GST for yor portal 

Charge GST for your ticket sales by adding your organization's ABN number and a tax rate. Once you've set the rate, GST will be automatically collected from purchasers during the checkout process.



  1. Go to Portal Settings > Payments > Tax Rates tab, from the Portal page.
  2. Click the  Enable tax button. The Confirm tax setup dialog box will appear.
  3. Click the Continue button. The Tax settings panel will display.
  4. Enter the name of your organization in the  Organization name textbox.
  5. Enter the ABN number for your organization in the Australian Business Number (ABN) textbox.
  6. Enter your organization's address in the  Organization address section.
  7. Click the Next  button. The  Add tax  panel will appear.
  8. Enter a name for the tax in the  Tax name  textbox.
  9. Enter the percentage of tax to be added to the order amount in the  Rate textbox.
  10. Click the  Save button.
Note:  When you refund an order, the GST amount will also be refunded.

To modify your organization details





  1. Go to Portal Settings > Payments from the top bar of your portal.
  2. Click the Edit link in the Organization address  section. The Edit organization details  panel will display.
  3. Modify the necessary details such as organization name, VAT Registration number, and address.
  4. Click the Done button. 

Add a tax rate

Cover all the regions you host events in by adding their GST rates to your list.




  1. Go to Portal Settings > Payments > Tax Rates tab, from the Portal page.
  2. Click the Add tax  link in the top-right corner. The Add tax panel will appear.
  3. Enter a name for the tax rate in the Tax name textbox.
  4. Enter the percentage of tax to be added to the order amount in the  Rate textbox.
  5. Click the Save button.
Note: Tax rates once added cannot be deleted.

To edit a tax rate 




  1. Go to Portal Settings > Payments > Tax Rates tab, from the Portal page.
  2. Click the  Edit button to the right of the tax rate you want to modify. The  Edit tax panel will display.
  3. Change the name and percentage of tax.
  4. Click the  Save button.

Create a tax group

Make a group of two or more tax rates to charge their combined value as GST on ticket purchases. 



  1. Go to Portal Settings > Payments > Tax Rates tab, from the Portal page.
  2. Click the Add tax group link in the top-right corner. The Add tax group panel will appear.
  3. Enter a name for the tax group in theTax group name textbox.
  4. Select the checkbox to the left of the tax rates in the Associate taxes section to include them in the tax group. 
Note: Tax groups cannot be deleted after creation.

To modify a tax group




  1. Go to Portal Settings > Payments > Tax Rates tab, from the Portal page.
  2. Click the Edit button to the right of the tax group you want to modify. The Edit tax group panel will appear.
  3. Associate new taxes to the tax group or remove the existing tax rates in the tax group .
  4. Click Save.

View a tax rate or tax group

Get a complete picture of all information regarding a particular tax or tax group.




  1. Go to Portal Settings > Payments > Tax Rates tab, from the Portal page.
  2. Click the dropdown to the right of the tax or tax group you want to view.
  3. Click the View option. The details will be displayed in a panel.

Set a default GST rate for your portal

Based on tax regulations in the region your event is hosted in, make a tax rate the default one for your portal. During ticket purchase, tax will be calculated based on this rate.




  1. Go to Portal Settings > Payments > Tax Rates tab, from the Portal page. All the tax rates will be displayed here. 
  2. Click the Make default link below a tax rate to make the default tax rate for your portal. The Change default tax rate dialogue box will appear.
  3. Click OK.
Note: This tax rate will be applied to all events in your portal. You cannot change the tax rate for individual events.

To collect GST for an event 



  1. Go to Registrations > Setup > Tax, from the Dock.
  2. Click the Change button.
  3. The default tax rate that you set for your portal will be applied to all ticket purchases. 
  4. Click the Change button. 
  5. Select the Taxable radio button to collect tax from your attendees.
    Note: You can click the Manage link in the top-right corner to add a new tax rate.
  6. Click Done.

View tax exemptions

In Australia, you don't have to pay GST if your event falls under the GST free or input-taxed sales categories. Such exemptions are usually available for non-commercial services, and are free of tax.



  1. Go to Portal Settings > Payments > Tax Exemptions tab, from the Portal page. The tax exemptions will be listed here.
  2. Click the View button to the right of a tax exemption to view all the details. 
Note:
  1. Only the available tax exemption codes can be used. 
  2. The tax exemptions codes cannot be modified.

To make an event non-taxable



  1. Go to Registrations > Setup > Tax from the dock.
  2. The default tax rate that you set for your portal will be applied to all ticket purchases. 
  3. Click the Change button. 
  4. Select the Non-taxable radio button to make the event exempt from tax.
  5. Choose a reason for tax exemption from the Exemption Name dropdown.
  6. Click Done.  

While you can set up and collect taxes in Zoho Backstage, you’re responsible for knowing the tax obligations in places where you’re hosting an event. We encourage you to consult with a local authority or tax professional about tax regulations, as Zoho Backstage can't provide advice on tax.