We all know that BAS lodgements happen every quarter and so it is really important to keep your accounting file clean and up-to-date to stay on top of your tax obligations. We have listed down some of the most common GST mistakes that we see every quarter which can be totally avoidable by you and can save your time and your accountant's time in doing your BAS:

1. Claiming GST on private transactions - GST only applies to transactions related to the business, so any expenses or drawings taken out personally should not have GST on them.

2. Claiming GST on GST-free items - There are just some business expenses with which you cannot claim GST credits for. The most common items would be bank fees, ASIC fees, QBCC fees, entertainment expenses, interest charges, ATO payments, wages and super.

3. Claiming GST on loan repayments - Loan repayments should not have any GST on them as it has already been claimed when the purchase of the asset was initially recorded.

4. Transactions allocated to incorrect accounts - We see a lot of instances where a GST-free transaction has been allocated to an account with a default GST code or vice versa, which is incorrect. An example of this would be entertainment expenses which has been wrongly allocated to travel or staff amenities.

5. Incorrect default GST codes - Reviewing your chart of accounts and making sure that all accounts have correct default GST codes can save you time down the track. You will not have to worry about which GST code to use as it is already pre-filled when you allocate the transaction.

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Keeping in mind the cleaner your books, the less time your accountants spend fixing these errors which saves you money!