Do You Need an ABN to Invoice?

Technically no — you can issue an invoice without an ABN — but in practice, if you're carrying on an enterprise and the invoice is over $75 (excluding GST), the client must withhold 47% of the payment under the No-ABN Withholding rule. So almost every Australian business needs an ABN to invoice.

You need an ABN when:

You're running a business, sole trader, contractor, or freelance activity
You issue invoices over $75 excluding GST
You want clients to pay you the full amount without 47% withheld

You may not need one when:

You're selling a one-off personal item (not part of a business)
You're a hobbyist with no commercial intent
The arrangement is genuinely casual employment, not contracting

Applying for an ABN is free at abr.gov.au and usually takes a few minutes. Once you have it, display your ABN on every invoice in the format "ABN: XX XXX XXX XXX". InvoiceSonic stores your ABN once and adds it automatically to every invoice you generate.

Do You Need an ABN to Invoice?

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