This is part of our GST, BAS and Compliance Reporting series (Chapter 6 of the Xero tutorial hub):

• Lesson 1: How Xero Tracks GST on Every Transaction
• Lesson 2: Preparing Your Activity Statement in Xero
• Lesson 3: Lodging Your BAS Directly from Xero
• Lesson 4: Setting Up and Lodging TPAR in Xero

Xero tracks GST in the background every time you code a transaction, which is what makes your Activity Statement mostly build itself.

1. Choosing the right tax rate

Every transaction gets a tax rate, such as GST on income, GST free, or BAS excluded, and choosing correctly matters for an accurate BAS.

2. Common GST-free items to know

Some expenses and sales are GST-free by law, so it is worth knowing which of your regular transactions fall into this category.

3. Checking your coding is consistent

Inconsistent tax rate coding on the same type of transaction is one of the most common sources of BAS errors.

4. Review before BAS time, not during

Spot-checking your coding through the quarter, rather than only at BAS time, catches errors while they are still easy to fix.

Xero’s YouTube channel covers GST basics: watch the official Xero tutorial. Our registered BAS agents can review your GST coding before you lodge.