How to cancel your ABN when you leave Australia

How do you cancel your ABN?

The simplest way is to let us handle it as part of your departure tax package:

1. Get in touch before you leave Australia
2. We confirm everything tied to your ABN is wrapped up (returns lodged, invoices issued, payments collected)
3. We submit the cancellation on your behalf
4. The ABN is cancelled from the date you specify

We package the ABN cancellation together with your final tax return and any super claim, so everything is sorted in one go before you leave.

Why should you cancel your ABN?

Leaving an ABN active when you are no longer using it is not a major legal risk, but it does cause issues:

• Correspondence may be sent to your old Australian address after you leave
• You may miss important notices about reporting obligations
• If you return to Australia later, you may need to reactivate the ABN or apply for a new one
• An open ABN can be a target for identity fraud if your details become known

Cancelling cleanly when you leave keeps your administrative life simple.

What to do before cancelling your ABN

Before cancellation, make sure everything tied to your ABN is wrapped up:

• Lodge your tax return for any year you earned ABN income
• Issue any outstanding invoices to clients
• Collect any pending payments
• Lodge any required BAS statements if you were registered for GST
• Settle any final tax owed

If the financial year has not yet ended when you leave, we can lodge your tax return after 1 July from anywhere in the world. We help working holiday makers do this regularly.

Do not forget to claim your super

If superannuation contributions were made in connection with employment work (separate from your ABN contracting), claim them back through the Departing Australia Superannuation Payment (DASP) process. See our article on claiming your super when you leave Australia for the steps.

ABN contractor work typically does not generate super contributions, but employment work in parallel often does.