Running Magento stores in Australia differs very little from any other country, but there are a few things that you need to do for compliance with ATO requirements and to ensure that Magento calculates taxes correctly.
First, the basic information for the store must be configured for Australia:
Countries Options :
- Default Country: Australia;
- Allow Countries: Australia;
- Postal Code is Optional for the following countries: Australia;
States Options:
- State is required for: Australia;
- Display not required State: No;
Locale Options:
- T ime zone: AUS Eastern Standard Time (Australia/Sydney);
- Locale: English (Australia);
Store Information:
- Store Name: Your Store Name;
- Store Contact Telephone: Your Store Contact Telephone;
- Country：Australia;
- Store Contact Address: Your Store Contact Address;
Next, the currency must be configured for Australian Dollars:
Currency Options:
- Base currency: Australian Dollar;
- Default display currency: Australian Dollar;
- Allowed currencies: ensure Australian Dollar is selected;
Shipping settings are important for shipping, and also for tax calculation. You should enter information appropriate for your shipping location, which must be in Australia for shipping and tax calculations to work correctly.
Origin:
- Country: Australia;
To set tax correctly for Australia (prices shown include GST) and to apply discounts correctly, the following should be set:
Tax Classes:
- Tax Class for Shipping: Taxable Goods;
Calculation Settings：
- Tax Calculation Method Based On: Total;
- Tax Calculation Based On: Billing Address;
- Catalog Prices: Including Tax;
- Shipping Prices: Including Tax;
- Apply Customer Tax: After Discount;
- Apply Discount On Prices: Including Tax;
- Apply Tax On: Custom price if available;
Default Tax Destination Calculation：
- Default Country: Australia;
Price Display Settings:
- Display Product Prices In Catalog: Including Tax;
- Display Shipping Prices: Including Tax;
Shopping Cart Display Settings:
- Display Prices: Including Tax and Excluding Tax;
- Display Subtotal: Including Tax and Excluding Tax;
- Display Shipping Amount: Including Tax and Excluding Tax;
- Include Tax In Grand Total : Yes;
- Display Full Tax Summary: Yes;
- Display Full Tax Summary: Yes;
Orders, Invoices, Credit Memos Display Settings:
- Display Prices: Including Tax and Excluding Tax;
- Display Subtotal: Including Tax and Excluding Tax;
- Display Shipping Amount: Including Tax and Excluding Tax;
- Include Tax In Grand Total : Yes;
- Display Full Tax Summary: Yes;
- Display Full Tax Summary: Yes;
The easiest way to meet the ATO requirements for ABN and contact number on invoices is to add these details to your address information:
Invoice and Packing Slip Design：
-
- Address: your address + ABN and phone number;
To set up the 10% GST to be applied on products and shipping, Magento requires the addition of an appropriate tax rate and rule:
Here we add a tax rate for GST so that Magento will know how much tax to calculate.
To add a rate, click button[ +Add New Tax Rate ] in the top right and fill out the following information:
- Tax Identifier: GST;
- Country: Australia;
- State: *;
- Zip/Post Code : *;
- Rate: 10.00;
Save the rate and proceed to set up a rule for GST.
Tax rules determines when rates should be applied. In this case we want to set it up to apply GST anywhere in Australia.
Click button [ +Add New Tax Rule ] in the top right and fill out the following information:
- Name: Retail Customer – GST Tax Rule;
- Customer Tax Class: Retail Customer;
- Product Tax Class: Taxable Goods | Shipping;
- Tax Rate: GST;
Save the rule and GST will be completely set up. It’s a good idea to remove any other tax rules that are present by default, unless they will also be relevant for you.
After applying all of these changes you’ll have addressed the essentials for running a Magento store in Australia.