Can you send an invoice without an ABN?

Job's done, customer wants the bill, and you don't have an ABN yet. Can you still send an invoice? You can send a piece of paper asking for money, sure. But depending on who's paying, that missing ABN can cost you nearly half the invoice.

The 47% problem

Here's the rule that matters. When a business pays another business for work, and the invoice has no ABN on it, the payer is generally required to withhold about 47% of the payment and send it to the ATO. It's called no-ABN withholding, and it isn't optional for them.

So if you invoice a builder, a real estate agent or a body corporate without an ABN, they're meant to hold back almost half your money. You can claim it back at tax time, but that's months away and paperwork you don't need.

Invoicing a regular homeowner is different. The withholding rule sits on business payers, not householders. But if you're doing this work as a business, you're generally meant to have an ABN anyway.

You also can't call it a tax invoice

The words "tax invoice" mean something specific. Only a business registered for GST issues tax invoices, and GST registration needs an ABN first.

Not registered? Your document is just an invoice. Don't write "tax invoice" on it, and don't add a GST line, because you can't charge GST you're not registered for. Get those two things wrong and you've got a document that misleads the customer and annoys the ATO.

The hobby exception

There's one narrow out. If the work is genuinely a hobby or private arrangement, not a business, you can give the payer a "Statement by a supplier" form instead of an ABN, and they don't withhold.

Be honest with yourself here. Mowing your neighbour's lawn once is a favour. Mowing twelve lawns a week with a trailer and a Facebook page is a business, and the form isn't for you.

The fix takes minutes and costs nothing

An ABN is free from the Australian Business Register. Not the lookalike sites that charge for the same form, the actual government one. Most sole traders get theirs on the spot.

Get the ABN first, then invoice. Your customer pays the full amount, no withholding, no waiting until tax time to see your own money.

This is general information, not tax advice. For your specific situation, check the ATO website or ask your accountant.