ABN Guides for Working Holiday Makers
An Australian Business Number (ABN) is an 11-digit identifier used when you operate as a sole trader or independent contractor in Australia. You need an ABN if a business is paying you to invoice them rather than putting you on the payroll. These articles cover registration, when an ABN is the right choice, and how working under an ABN affects your tax, super, and entitlements.
Register for your ABN →What ABN covers, and who it is for
An Australian Business Number is what you invoice under when a business pays you as a contractor rather than putting you on its payroll. These guides cover registering one and cancelling one, GST and the $75,000 turnover threshold, invoicing requirements, business deductions, vehicle logbooks, and how invoiced income sits alongside wages inside the same tax return.
They are for anyone who has been asked to get an ABN by a farm, a delivery platform or a hospitality operator, and for anyone who already has one and is not sure what it changed. Two facts do most of the work.
Nothing is withheld from an ABN payment and no super is paid on it, so the tax arrives in one piece at the end of the year rather than a little at a time. And the arrangement is classified on how the work actually runs, not on the word used for it, which is why being moved from payroll to invoicing for the same job, the same hours and the same supervision is worth reading about here.
All ABN articles (14)
What Is an ABN, and Do You Need One?
An Australian Business Number makes you a contractor, not an employee: no tax withheld, no super paid for you. When that is legitimate and when it is not.
Read more →How to Register an ABN, and When Not To
Registration itself is free. Who is entitled to an ABN, why sham contracting is the real risk, the $75,000 GST threshold, the 47% withholding rule, and when to cancel.
Read more →Farm Work on an ABN: Legit or Wage Theft?
Some farms push workers onto ABNs to dodge super and minimum rates. When contracting is legal, when it is sham, and how to protect your pay and 88 days.
Read more →Employee or Contractor? What Decides It
The label on your contract does not decide it - control, tools and risk do. How the test works, and what sham contracting costs working holiday makers.
Read more →TFN and ABN Together? Yes, Here Is How
Working holiday makers can hold both. The TFN covers employment, the ABN covers contracting, and nothing is withheld on ABN income until assessment.
Read more →How to Cancel an ABN Before You Fly Home
An ABN left open after you fly home keeps generating ATO lodgement expectations. When cancellation should take effect, what to settle first, and what still has to be lodged.
Read more →GST With an ABN: Only Past $75,000
Most working holiday makers with an ABN earn under the $75,000 GST threshold and should not register - except rideshare drivers, who must from dollar one.
Read more →The 12-Week Logbook for ABN Car Costs
A valid logbook lets ABN workers claim the business share of all car costs - often beating the cents-per-km cap. How to keep one the ATO accepts.
Read more →Small Business Tax Offset on ABN Income
The offset refunds up to $1,000 of tax on sole-trader income - and working holiday makers with ABN income are frequently eligible. How it is calculated.
Read more →Sole Trader or Company on a WHV?
A company costs hundreds per year and adds ASIC duties - overkill for delivery and farm contracting. When sole trader is right and the rare exceptions.
Read more →PSI or Business Income? The ABN 80% Rule
Where 80% of your ABN income comes from one payer, personal services income rules restrict what you can deduct. What that means for riders and labourers.
Read more →What Must an ABN Tax Invoice Include?
An ABN invoice needs your name, your ABN, the date, a description and the total. GST lines belong on it only if you are registered, which most are not.
Read more →ABN Deductions: What Contractors Can Claim
ABN income opens broader deductions - equipment, phone share, vehicle costs, insurance. The full list with the records the ATO expects.
Read more →Uber and DoorDash: ABN, GST and Your Tax
Rideshare needs GST registration from dollar one - delivery does not. Setting up correctly, quarterly BAS, and the deductions that cut your bill.
Read more →Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Do working holiday makers need an ABN in Australia?
You need an ABN if you are working as an independent contractor or sole trader, meaning you invoice for your work rather than being on a payroll. Most working holiday makers in standard employment do not need an ABN.
How much does it cost to get an ABN?
There is no government fee to register an ABN. The cost of an ABN is on the tax side: nothing is withheld from an invoice, so the whole liability sits with you until the return is lodged, and an ABN taken out when you were really an employee costs you super and award entitlements as well.
What is the difference between a TFN and an ABN?
A TFN is your personal tax identifier required for all workers. An ABN is required only if you are operating as a contractor or sole trader. Many working holiday makers hold both.
Can you have a TFN and an ABN at the same time?
Yes. Many working holiday makers hold both simultaneously, using the TFN for employment income and the ABN for contractor work.