Closing the books, in order
Put together from the ATO’s and the Register’s pages, the order runs like this.
Settle what is owed and outstanding
Before you cancel any registration, the ATO says you must “lodge all required activity statements and tax returns”, “pay any outstanding tax debts”, “complete employee obligations, including super and STP (if applicable)”, STP being Single Touch Payroll, and “repay any refunds you were not entitled to”. These apply even when the business is closing.
Cancel PAYG withholding
The Australian Business Register says that if you want to cancel pay as you go withholding, you must cancel it before you cancel the ABN.
- Within 21 days
Cancel the GST registration
You or your registered tax or BAS agent must cancel GST within 21 days of selling or closing the business, or of changing its structure. The ATO accepts cancellation through Online services for business, a registered agent, by phone, or on its Application to cancel registration form (NAT 2955).
The date chosen should be the last day you want to be registered, and the ATO usually cancels from that date.
Lodge the last GST BAS
A BAS is due for the tax period that the cancellation’s date of effect falls in. It reports all sales, purchases and importations in that period, including the sale of the business or its assets, plus adjustments for any assets kept after cancellation. Any outstanding BASs are lodged and outstanding GST accounted for.
- Within 28 days
Cancel the ABN
The ATO says a business that has changed, been sold or closed, and is cancelling GST, must also cancel its ABN within 28 days. business.gov.au puts it as within 28 days of stopping business activities.
Online, the Register’s steps are to log in to ABR online services with a myID through Digital ID (which needs Relationship Authorisation Manager set up), select Cancel ABN, confirm that the business has ceased trading or been sold, and submit. Changes made online take effect immediately. If you cannot cancel online, the Register offers contact or a form by mail.
The ATO suggests checking that the postal address on the Register is right first, because that is where the cancellation notice is sent.
Keep the records
Under the tax law, business records must be kept for 5 years after they are prepared or obtained, or the transactions are completed, whichever is later, even if the business is sold or closed.
What cancels what
| When you cancel | These are cancelled with it | Also note |
|---|---|---|
| GST registration | Fuel tax credits, luxury car tax and wine equalisation tax registrations. | Other registrations may not be affected: you must keep lodging BAS if you are registered for PAYG withholding, are in the PAYG instalments system, or have fringe benefits tax obligations. |
| ABN | GST, luxury car tax, wine equalisation tax and fuel tax credit registrations, and any authorised relationships between the ABN and your myID. | The Register says PAYG withholding has to be cancelled before the ABN, if you want to cancel it. The ATO says you may keep receiving PAYG instalment activity statements after cancelling the ABN. |
Limits on the cancellation date
The ATO says you can’t:
- “cancel your registration retrospectively if you were still operating on a GST-registered basis after the date you chose”;
- “continue to operate on a GST-registered basis after your cancellation date”;
- “cancel if you have already lodged an activity statement for the period containing the date of cancellation”.
A company that is still registered
A company that no longer carries on a business but stays registered with ASIC must cancel its GST registration, and can choose to keep its ABN. Once a company is deregistered, the ATO cancels its ABN and all its registrations itself. How a company comes off the register is in voluntary deregistration.
Starting again later
The ATO says that someone who starts another business reapplies for an ABN through the Register, and that keeping the same business structure means being issued the same ABN as before.