GST on House and Land Packages

James Murphy Tax

Question:

My client has purchased several blocks of land. Some with GST, some without.

They are registered for GST.

Their business is property development; they contract to the builder to build the house and sell it to people.

Hence a house and land package. I.e., they purchased one block for $143,000 incl. GST. The block is a standard size house block for the area.

They are just about to sign a contract to build the house and sell the land for $630,000. The house is a 4-bedroom standard house.

Should the sale have GST on it? I believe it should, as there is no reason it shouldn’t.

I also came across this piece from the ATO.

https://www.ato.gov.au/business/gst/in-detail/your-industry/property/gst-and-residential-property/?anchor=Sellinganewresidentialproperty#Sellinganewresidentialproperty

Answer

GST is definitely payable on the sale. Since 1.7.2018, it has been the responsibility of the solicitor acting for the purchaser to forward 7% of the selling price to the ATO.

When doing the  BAS, the developer later adjusts this figure upwards or downwards when doing the precise calculations.