Tax for Marketing Consultants Australia
This page is for freelance marketers, campaign consultants, and growth contractors who want a practical guide to PSI, software, ad tools, working from home, and GST timing.
Quick answer: marketing consultants often need to manage ABN income, PSI, software and subscription deductions, working from home expenses, and GST timing. The biggest mistakes are assuming a company structure automatically bypasses PSI and claiming mixed-use tools without records.
Common marketing consultant tax checkpoints
Often relevant
- ABN income, invoices, retainers, and business bank-account separation
- PSI review where income mainly comes from your own labour and expertise
- Software, analytics tools, ad platforms, CRM costs, and subscriptions used to earn income
- Working from home expenses and business-use internet or phone costs
- GST registration timing if revenue approaches the threshold
Common traps
- Ignoring PSI because work is invoiced through a company or trust
- Claiming mixed personal subscriptions or devices as fully business-related
- Using unsupported internet or home-office percentages
- Missing GST registration once projected turnover scales up
PSI and records checkpoints
- PSI review: service-based consulting income often needs a PSI check before income-splitting assumptions are made.
- Private use matters: software, internet, phones, and laptops often need apportionment.
- WFH method: keep method-specific records for working-from-home claims.
- GST timing: assess projected turnover, not only past billings.
Start with these calculators
Sole trader tax calculator
Estimate tax on consulting income after business deductions.
GST calculator
Check GST-inclusive pricing on retainers and campaign work.
BAS calculator
Estimate BAS reporting impacts if you are GST-registered.
Contractor vs employee
Compare independent consulting income against a PAYG marketing role.
Marketing consultant tax FAQs
Does PSI affect marketing consultants?
Often yes where revenue mainly reflects your own labour and expertise rather than a larger business structure.
Can marketing consultants claim software and ad tools?
Usually yes for the work-related cost, provided private use is excluded and records are kept.
Do marketing consultants need to register for GST?
Often yes once projected or actual turnover reaches the registration threshold.
Tax Accuracy & Sources
This page summarises common marketing-consultant tax issues only. The right answer depends on whether you operate as a sole trader or company, whether PSI applies, whether GST registration is required, and how mixed-use costs are apportioned.
Uses 2025-26 ATO rates.