Industry hub

Business and Self-Employed

This hub groups sole traders, contractors, consultants, freelancers, company-side operators, and service businesses that need a practical starting point on ABN income, GST, BAS, PSI, super, and business-use deductions.

14 published guides
Role-based occupation-specific deductions
Main site linked to calculators and ATO sources

Quick answer: These roles usually revolve around business profit, contractor status, GST registration, and mixed private-business expenses. The main risk areas are misclassifying work arrangements, over-claiming private costs, and ignoring PSI or super rules where they still apply.

What usually matters in this cluster

  • ABN income, invoicing, and whether you are genuinely operating a business
  • GST registration thresholds, BAS reporting, and invoice treatment
  • PSI exposure where income mainly comes from personal labour or skills
  • Home office, software, phone, insurance, and accounting costs
  • Cash-flow planning across tax, GST, and super obligations

Common over-claim traps

Watch-outs across this industry

  • Assuming an ABN automatically makes private costs deductible
  • Ignoring GST once turnover reaches the registration threshold
  • Missing super guarantee issues in labour-only contractor arrangements
  • Claiming capital items without checking decline-in-value treatment

How to use the pages properly

  • Start with the job title closest to your current income-earning duties, not the broadest label.
  • Check whether the expense was reimbursed or partly private before using any calculator estimate.
  • Keep records for mixed-use costs, travel patterns, and higher-cost assets that may need timing treatment.
  • Use the role page to narrow the claim type, then use the calculator page to estimate the numbers.
Sole traders

Tax for Sole Traders

Core tax obligations for sole traders: GST, PAYG instalments, super, and record-keeping basics.

Start with Sole trader tax calculator

Contractors

Tax for Contractors

ABN income, GST, PSI, super, and record-keeping checkpoints for Australian contractors.

Start with Contractor vs employee calculator

Freelancers

Tax for Freelancers

Freelancer tax guide for invoicing, deductions, GST, home-based work, and cash-flow setup.

Start with Sole trader tax calculator

Designers

Tax for Designers

Designer tax guide covering ABN income, software, devices, working from home, and GST timing.

Start with Sole trader tax calculator

Consultants

Tax for Consultants

Consultant tax guide covering ABN income, PSI, GST, home office records, and contractor compliance basics.

Start with Sole trader tax calculator

Marketing consultants

Tax for Marketing Consultants

Marketing consultant tax guide covering PSI, software, ad costs, home office records, and GST basics.

Start with Sole trader tax calculator

IT contractors

Tax for IT Contractors

PSI, contractor-vs-employee, software expenses, home office, and super checkpoints for IT contractors.

Start with Contractor vs employee calculator

Small business

Tax for Small Business Owners

Small business tax guide covering structure, GST, BAS, payroll, and current asset write-off cautions.

Start with BAS calculator

Company directors

Tax for Company Directors

Company director tax guide covering wages vs dividends, Division 7A risk, super, and record-keeping.

Start with Company tax calculator

Employers

Tax for Employers

Employer tax guide covering PAYG withholding, super, STP, payroll tax, FBT, and compliance timing.

Start with PAYG calculator

Copywriters

Tax for Copywriters

Copywriter tax guide covering ABN income, software, research tools, home office deductions, and GST timing.

Start with Sole trader tax calculator

Virtual assistants

Tax for Virtual Assistants

Virtual assistant tax guide covering ABN income, home office records, software, GST, and client admin costs.

Start with Sole trader tax calculator

Allied health

Tax for Allied Health Professionals

Allied health tax guide covering registration, CPD, equipment, client travel, and contractor compliance basics.

Start with Tax return calculator

Recruitment consultants

Tax for Recruitment Consultants

Recruitment consultant tax guide covering phone use, client travel, WFH, memberships, and deduction boundaries.

Start with Tax return calculator

Start with these calculators

Why this cluster exists

Cleaner topical signals

Grouping similar occupations gives search engines clearer context around recurring deduction themes such as WFH, tools, travel, uniforms, memberships, and role-specific training.

Faster user paths

Users can compare adjacent roles before choosing the closest page, rather than bouncing back to the main calculators directory when a job title does not exactly match their search.

Business and Self-Employed tax FAQs

Do self-employed roles all follow the same tax rules?

No. GST, PSI, super, and deduction outcomes depend on the actual arrangement, turnover, and whether income is mainly from labour, assets, or a broader business structure.

Can business-use expenses be claimed in full?

Only where the cost is genuinely business-only. Mixed-use items such as phones, internet, cars, and home office costs usually need apportionment and records.

What should be checked first in this cluster?

Start with status and setup: whether you are an employee or contractor, whether GST registration applies, and whether your records separate private and business spending cleanly.