Wāhanga 3 - Te tuhi mauhanga Part 3 - Record keeping

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GST workshop - Record keeping

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Part 3

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An introduction to GST, Record keeping.

When you’re registered for GST, it’s important to keep records, especially taxable supply information.

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Heading: Taxable supply information

Taxable supply information must be provided unless the supply is $200 or less.

A combination of records can be used to support the figures in your GST returns.

The information requirements depend on the value and type of supply.

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Narrator

Taxable supply information is a record of your sales and purchases – the figures that go in your GST returns.

When you sell goods and services, you’ll need to provide taxable supply information to your customers, unless the supply is $200 or less.

When you buy goods and services, you’ll need to get taxable supply information from sellers, unless the supply is $200 or less.

For these low-value transactions, buyers and sellers must keep their own taxable supply information.

In the past, you needed to keep tax invoices, and credit and debit notes as records of sales or purchases.

Now, you can use a combination of records to support the figures in your GST returns as long as the taxable supply information requirements are met.

The information you need to provide, or keep, depends on the value and type of supply.

The level of detail required increases as the amount of the sale increases.

We’ll take you through some examples now.

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Supplies of $200 or less:

• Seller’s name or trade name
• Date of invoice
• Description of the goods or services
• Total amount payable

A sample tax invoice is shown, pointing out the information it must have when the supply is $200 or less.

• Seller’s name
• Date of invoice
• Description of the goods and services
• Total amount payable

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Narrator

For supplies of $200 or less, your taxable supply information must show:

• the seller’s name or trade name
• the date of invoice or the time of supply if no invoice is issued
• the description of the goods or services
• and the total amount payable.

In most cases for these low-value transactions, a till receipt will meet the requirements for both the buyer and seller.

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Supplies more than $200 and up to $1,000:

• Seller’s name or trade name
• Date of invoice
• Description of the goods or services
• Total amount payable
• Sellers GST number
• A clear indication of the amount of GST included in the sale price

A sample tax invoice is shown, pointing out the information it must have when the supply is more than $200 and up to $1,000.

• Seller’s name or trade name
• Seller’s GST number
• Date of invoice
• Description of the goods and services
• GST exclusive amount
• GST amount
• Total amount payable

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Narrator

For supplies of more than $200 and up to $1,000, your taxable supply information must show all the previous details plus

• the seller’s GST number
• and a clear indication of the amount of GST included in the sale price.

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Supplies of more than $1,000:

• Seller’s name or trade name
• Date of invoice
• Description of the goods or services
• Total amount payable
• Seller’s GST number
• A clear indication of the amount of GST included in the sale price
• Information to identify the buyer

A sample tax invoice is shown, pointing out the information it must have when the supply is more than $1,000.

• Seller’s name
• Sellers GST number
• Date of invoice
• Buyer’s name and address
• Description of the goods and services
• GST exclusive amount
• GST amount
• Total amount payable

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Narrator

For supplies of more than $1,000, your taxable supply information must show all the previous details plus

• information to identify the buyer of the goods or services.

The taxable supply information does not need to include details relating to the quantity or volume of the supply; however, this information should be captured elsewhere in your business records.

In these examples, we’ve used an invoice to illustrate taxable supply information.

Remember, taxable supply information can be captured from several sources, for example

• invoices,
• supplier agreements,
• contracts,
• and bank statements.

Now let’s look at the GST cashbook.

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GST cashbook

Use your cashbook to record what your business sells and buys.

Free download under “record books”.

You must keep your records for 7 years.

Schedule of business income – IR3B

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A cashbook is a simple, but useful way of recording income and expenditure, as well as GST.

If you don’t have software, we have a free cashbook you can use.

The template is an Excel spreadsheet you can download for free from our website.

To find it, search, record books, select the record books link, and the template is at the bottom of the page.

There’s an instructions tab in the spreadsheet to tell you how to use it.

You need to keep your business records for at least 7 years, even if you stop trading.

If you’re considering using a tax agent, talk to them before purchasing a software package.

They may have a package available with their preferred service provider.

If you’re already using an accounting package, check if it’s compatible with the software your tax agent uses.

If you prefer to keep a paper cashbook, make sure you buy one with at least twelve columns.

To work out what expense headings to use for your cashbook, have a look at our, schedule of business income, template.

You’ll find it on our website by searching for IR3B.

Using these headings can save you time at the end of the year when you’re completing your income tax return.

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