Capital purchase (GST on Capital)
An asset you buy to use over years — G10 on the BAS, then depreciated.
A capital purchase is a business asset you buy to use over more than one year — a laptop, a vehicle, equipment, fit-out — rather than something consumed in the period. On the BAS it is reported at G10 (capital purchases) instead of G11, with any GST to 1B in the quarter of purchase; for income tax, the cost is written off over the asset’s effective life or under the write-off rules.
The ATO keeps capital and non-capital purchases on separate labels so the GST return shows how much of a business’s spending is investment. The GST credit does not wait for the depreciation: the whole credit is claimed in the quarter you bought the asset, while the deduction for the cost is spread over years through the asset register.
Worked example
You buy a $2,200 laptop. The $2,200 goes to G10 and the $200 of GST to 1B on this quarter’s BAS. The $2,000 GST-exclusive cost then goes on the asset register with a two-year effective life and is deducted across those two years, reduced by any private-use share.
Common mistake
Recording the laptop as an ordinary expense. That sends it to G11 instead of G10 on the BAS, and claims the whole cost as a deduction in year one when it may belong over the effective life.
Grounded in ATO guidance. Figures last checked . General information, not tax advice.
Related terms
Tax treatment (GST treatment)
The code that decides which activity-statement label a transaction feeds.
Depreciation (decline in value)
Claiming the cost of a big asset gradually over its life.
Effective life
How many years an asset is expected to be used — the base of every depreciation rate.
Instant asset write-off
Immediately deduct an eligible asset instead of depreciating it.
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