Gift vouchers and GST

The ATO has advised retailers on when to report GST on gift cards.

If you sell a gift voucher which can be redeemed for a choice of goods or services up to a certain value, you need to report the GST for that gift voucher when the gift voucher is redeemed, not when the gift voucher is sold.

If only part of the gift voucher is redeemed, you only need to report the GST on that part.

However, if the gift voucher is for a specific product or service – say perhaps a gym membership –  you report the GST when the voucher is sold.

When a business with an ABN buys a voucher for taxable goods or services which qualify for an input tax credit, you don’t claim the credit unless you redeem the voucher for taxable supplies.