One stall, selling things you made for enjoyment, is usually a hobby and does not need an ABN. A stall you run regularly, with an eye on profit, is a business and does. The number of markets is not the test on its own. What the ABR looks at is repetition, an intention to make a profit, and whether the activity is organised in a business-like way.
Where the line sits
The ABR sets out the features of a business. Read them as a whole rather than a checklist, because no single one decides it:
- the activity is a significant commercial activity, involving commercial sales, and is of a reasonable size and scale;
- there is an intention to make a profit, as demonstrated by a business plan, unlike with a hobby;
- the activity is repeated;
- it is systematic, organised, carried on in a business-like way, and records are kept;
- it is carried on in a similar way to other businesses in the same industry;
- you have relevant knowledge or skill.
A stall at a shopping centre car park is the ATO's own example of a private recreational pursuit or hobby. So is holiday craft income. That tells you where the starting point is for an occasional seller.
Do I need an ABN to sell at markets?
Work through it in this order.
| What you are doing | ABN? |
|---|---|
| Clearing out your own possessions at a car boot sale | No. Selling personal items is not an enterprise |
| One stall, things you made for enjoyment, no plan to repeat | Usually no. This is the hobby case |
| A stall most weekends, buying materials to sell on | Yes. Repetition plus profit intention |
| Any scale, but you also sell wholesale to shops | Yes. Selling to businesses brings the 47% rule into play |
| The market organiser requires one to book a site | Practically yes, and see below |
When the market organiser asks for one
Many do, and it puts an honest hobbyist in an awkward spot. The organiser is usually protecting themselves: if they are paying you, or invoicing you as a business, they want the paperwork straight.
Two things to understand:
- An organiser cannot make you entitled to an ABN. Entitlement depends on whether you are carrying on an enterprise, not on what a form asks for. Applying when you are not entitled is not a harmless bit of admin.
- If the activity really is a hobby, the answer is a statement by a supplier, which is the ATO form that covers exactly this situation: a supply made in the course of a private recreational pursuit or hobby.
If you find yourself reaching for that form at every market, the honest reading is that it has stopped being a hobby.
The 47% question
Selling to the public does not raise it. Selling to a business does. Where a business pays you more than $75 excluding GST and you have not quoted an ABN, they are required to withhold 47% and send it to the ATO.
For a market seller that usually turns up the first time a shop or cafe wants to stock your product, which is also, not coincidentally, the point where the activity starts looking like a business.
What an ABN does not commit you to
Getting one is a smaller step than people assume. It is free at the ABR, there is no annual fee and no renewal. It does not mean charging GST, which is separate and only compulsory from $75,000 of turnover. It does not create a lodgement obligation by itself, and you can cancel it when the stall days stop.
What it does mean is that your market income is business income and belongs in your tax return, which is true whether or not you hold the ABN.
Common questions
Do you need an ABN to sell at markets in Australia?
Not if it is genuinely a hobby: one-off or occasional, things you made for enjoyment, no real intention to profit. You do if you are carrying on an enterprise, which is judged on repetition, profit intention, scale and how organised the activity is.
The market organiser wants my ABN but I only do one or two a year. What now?
If the activity is genuinely a hobby you can give them a statement by a supplier, which is the ATO form covering supplies made as a private recreational pursuit or hobby. An organiser asking for an ABN does not make you entitled to one.
Do I have to declare market income if it is a hobby?
Genuine hobby income is not assessable, which is the flip side of not being able to claim hobby expenses. The risk is assuming it is a hobby when the activity has quietly become a business. Our guide on hobby or business works through the test.
How many markets can I do before I need an ABN?
There is no number. Repetition is one of the features of a business but it is weighed with the others, so a regular monthly stall run at a profit crosses over well before an annual one does.
Do I need to charge GST at a market stall?
Only if you are registered for GST, which is compulsory once your GST turnover reaches $75,000 in a 12-month period. Below that it is optional, and registering means lodging activity statements.
What if a shop wants to buy my products to resell?
That is a business paying a business, so no-ABN withholding applies: without an ABN they must withhold 47% of anything over $75 excluding GST. It is also a strong sign the activity is no longer a hobby.
Stall turned into a business? Five minutes, $99.
Agent-checked and lodged the same day. Free help on 1800 546 526.