Overdue BAS for makers: Etsy, markets and handmade gifts

Let 2Fin do the boring bits

Catching up is mostly sorting, and sorting is the part 2Fin takes off you. Bring in two years of bank statements at once — CSV, Excel or PDF, several files in one go — and Fin reads every line; in testing, 1,891 transactions came in in about a second on a desktop computer. Each transaction is categorised with its GST or VAT worked out, every overdue quarter is listed with its due date, and Fill all periods saves a draft of each one with a single press.

What is left for you is the decisions, not the data entry. Purchases are grouped by payee — the craft supplier, the postage, the platform fees — so you answer each payee once and the answer covers every quarter. Fin’s confident guesses (80% sure or more) can be accepted in one tap and undone one by one, and a payee can become a rule so the next import sorts itself. Every figure opens to the transactions inside it, and the finished statements export for you or your agent to check and lodge.

Hobby, side income or business?

The ATO sorts online and market selling into three groups. A genuine hobby, or selling things you no longer need, is generally not taxed. An income-producing activity that is not a business is taxed as income, but ABN and GST registration don’t apply. A business has ABN and GST obligations. To tell them apart, the ATO asks whether you intend to be in business, whether there is a prospect of profit, whether you sell at a scale and in a repeated way, and whether you run it like a business: records, a separate account, an ABN.

The ATO released a draft ruling on carrying on a business, TR 2026/D2, on 16 October 2026, with comments closing 27 November 2026; it is a draft, not yet final. If your making grew from a hobby, reassess it as it changes. This is general information. Check what applies to you with a registered tax or BAS agent, or with the tax office.

Who handles the GST on Etsy sales

The ATO’s platform rules make an electronic distribution platform responsible for GST on low value imported goods sold to Australian consumers, and on imported services and digital products. Physical goods you make and post from Australia to Australian buyers fall outside those rules, so once you are registered, the GST on those sales is yours to report on your BAS. Check your platform’s own terms for what it does at checkout.

For income tax, the ATO counts platform income as what is paid to you after the platform’s fees. For GST, the sale is the price your buyer paid; the fees are a separate business cost.

Markets, materials and posting overseas

Cash at the stall counts toward the $75,000 threshold and goes in the quarter you took it; a simple takings sheet per market day is a good record. Materials and stock you buy for the business carry GST credits once you are registered, with a tax invoice for anything over $82.50. Goods you post to buyers overseas are GST-free if they leave within 60 days of the earlier of payment or invoice.

Making and selling in the UK or New Zealand

In the UK, VAT registration starts at £90,000 of taxable turnover. In New Zealand, GST registration starts at $60,000 a year, and goods entered for export must leave within 28 days of the time of supply to be zero-rated.