Do you still need your ABN?

There’s a lot to think about when running a business. The ATO understands that people don’t always remember to cancel their Australian business numbers (ABN) when they no longer need them. That’s why they regularly review, and sometimes cancel, inactive ABNs.

The ATO may review your ABN if you haven’t reported business activity in your tax return, or there are no signs of business activity in other lodgements or third-party information.

If they think you’re no longer using your ABN, they’ll contact you by email, letter or SMS. If you’re:

  • still running a business, they’ll tell you what you need to do to keep your ABN
  • no longer in business, you don’t need to do anything – they’ll cancel your ABN.

If they cancel your ABN and you think you’re still entitled to it, you’ll need to reapply.

If you restart your business activities, you may be able to reapply for the same ABN, depending on whether your business structure changes. For example:

  • you can reapply for the same ABN if you were a sole trader and want to restart your business activities as a sole trader
  • you’ll need a new ABN if you were a sole trader but you want to restart your business activities as a company.

Keeping your ABN details up-to-date

If you have an ABN, you need to tell the ATO about any changes to your business details within 28 days. This includes cancelling your ABN if your business is no longer operating.

Having up-to-date ABN details is important. Emergency services and government agencies use this information to provide businesses with important information, support or financial help, such as government grants. Your main business address on the Australian Business Register (ABR) must be the physical street address of your business, not a post office box or tax agent address. This is so emergency services know where your business is located in times of disaster.

Source: ato.gov.au June 2024
Reproduced with the permission of the Australian Tax Office. This article was originally published on https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/small-business-newsroom/do-you-still-need-your-abn.
Important:
This provides general information and hasn’t taken your circumstances into account.  It’s important to consider your particular circumstances before deciding what’s right for you. Although the information is from sources considered reliable, we do not guarantee that it is accurate or complete. You should not rely upon it and should seek qualified advice before making any investment decision. Except where liability under any statute cannot be excluded, we do not accept any liability (whether under contract, tort or otherwise) for any resulting loss or damage of the reader or any other person.
Any information provided by the author detailed above is separate and external to our business and our Licensee. Neither our business nor our Licensee takes any responsibility for any action or any service provided by the author. Any links have been provided with permission for information purposes only and will take you to external websites, which are not connected to our company in any way. Note: Our company does not endorse and is not responsible for the accuracy of the contents/information contained within the linked site(s) accessible from this page.

Share this post