# GST Registration Status

Source: https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/finance/staff-payments/gst-registration-status

> Add GST to contractor staff payments (enabled by Astalty support).

## Overview

> **Want Access To This Feature?**
>
> GST Registration Status for Staff Payments is an **optional feature that must be enabled by the Astalty Support team** - it is not self-service and does not appear in the Optional Features menu. To turn it on for your account, please contact <support@astalty.com.au>.

Some contractors are registered for GST and some aren't. Once this feature is enabled, you can record each contractor's GST registration status on their user profile, and Astalty will automatically add **10% GST** to the staff payments of contractors you have marked as **Registered**.

> **Verify the status before selecting it**
>
> Astalty uses the status you select and does not determine whether a contractor is registered for GST. Verify the contractor's status outside Astalty before recording it.

> **Before You Start**
>
> This guide builds on the standard Staff Payments process. If you haven't set up Staff Payments yet, start with our [Settings](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/finance/staff-payments/settings) and [Processing](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/finance/staff-payments/processing) guides.

## Recording a Contractor's GST Registration Status

By default, only Admins can update a contractor's financial details.

Navigate to the [Users](https://app.astalty.com.au/users) menu and select the contractor whose GST status you'd like to record. From their profile, open the **Finance** tab.

![A user's profile with Finance highlighted in the profile menu, between Security and HR & Payroll.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/staff-payments-superannuation-finance-tab.jpeg)

In the **Other Financial Details** card, click the **'Edit'** button.

![The Finance tab of a user's profile, with the Edit button highlighted on the Other Financial Details card, which shows Entity Name, ABN and a Superannuation Entitlement of Not entitled, beside the Bank Account Details card.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/staff-payments-superannuation-other-financial-details-edit.jpeg)

The card shows **GST Registration Status** after a status has been recorded. Before then it shows **Entity Name**, **ABN** and, when enabled, **Superannuation Entitlement**.

Clicking **'Edit'** opens the **Update Staff Payment Settings** drawer. Underneath **Entity Name** and **ABN** you'll find the **GST Registration Status** dropdown. It stays greyed out until the contractor has an **ABN** recorded, so fill the **ABN** field in first if it's empty.

There are three options:

| Status             | What it means                                                                       |
| ------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Registered**     | The contractor is registered for GST. Astalty adds 10% GST to their staff payments. |
| **Not Registered** | The contractor is not registered for GST. No GST is added.                          |
| **Unknown**        | You haven't confirmed the contractor's GST status yet. No GST is added.             |

Once you're happy, click **'Update'** to save your changes. The status you chose then appears as a **GST Registration Status** row on the **Other Financial Details** card.

> **Can't See the GST Registration Status Dropdown?**
>
> Two different things can hide or lock it, and they're easy to mix up:
>
> - **The dropdown isn't in the drawer at all** - the feature isn't enabled on your account. The drawer will show only **Entity Name** and **ABN** - plus the superannuation checkbox, if you use that feature. Contact <support@astalty.com.au> to have it turned on.
> - **The dropdown is there but greyed out** - the contractor has no **ABN** recorded. Fill in the **ABN** field in the same drawer and the dropdown becomes selectable straight away.

> **Only 'Registered' Changes Anything**
>
> **Not Registered** and **Unknown** both add no GST. Use **Unknown** when the status has not been confirmed. Astalty treats it as not registered for payment calculations.

## Processing the Staff Payment Batch

Once the status is recorded, process your Staff Payment Batch exactly as you normally would - create the batch, generate the draft, calculate it, finalise it, and mark it as paid. You can follow the full process step by step in our [Processing](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/finance/staff-payments/processing) guide.

GST is worked out when the batch is **calculated**, using each contractor's GST Registration Status at that moment. The GST amount is 10% of the contractor's payment amount.

> **GST Is Not Shown in the Batch Screen**
>
> The totals shown on the Staff Payment Batch screen in Astalty cover the **payment amounts only** - they do **not** include GST. The GST amounts appear in the ABA file and on each contractor's invoice (RCTI). If a payment total looks 10% higher than you expected, check the GST Registration Status of the contractors in that batch.

## Where GST Appears

### The ABA File

Unlike [Superannuation](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/finance/staff-payments/superannuation), GST **is** added to the amount the contractor is paid. The ABA payment file contains the contractor's payment amount **plus** their GST amount, so a GST-registered contractor is paid 10% more than their payment rate alone.

### The Contractor's Invoice (RCTI)

Each contractor's Recipient Created Tax Invoice (RCTI) has a **GST** column against every line, plus a **GST** row in the totals. For a contractor marked **Registered**, these show the GST amounts; for everyone else they show `0.00`.

You can download RCTIs from a finalised, paid batch by clicking **'Actions'** and selecting **'Export Invoices'**. Contractors can also download their own RCTI from the **My Payments** report - see our [Reports & Exports](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/finance/staff-payments/reports-and-exports) guide.

These RCTI controls require the separate Staff Payment RCTI optional feature, which Astalty Support must enable for the provider.

> **Check the ABN and Entity Name**
>
> The contractor's **ABN** and **Entity Name** both appear on their RCTI. Because an RCTI is a tax invoice you are issuing on the contractor's behalf, it's worth making sure these are correct before you export.

### The Xero Bill Export

If you also use the Staff Payment Xero bill export, a contractor's GST Registration Status sets the tax type on their bill lines:

- **Registered** → `GST on Expenses`
- **Not Registered** or **Unknown** → `GST Free Expenses`

The CSV has no GST column. Its line amounts are the contractor's payment amounts, GST exclusive - Xero works out the 10% from the tax type when you import the file.

> **Using Superannuation As Well?**
>
> If your account also has the [Superannuation](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/finance/staff-payments/superannuation) feature enabled, superannuation is calculated on the contractor's **payment amount only** - the GST amount is excluded from the superannuation calculation.