Do you still need your ABN?

There’s a lot to think about when running a business. The ATO understands that people don’t always remember to cancel their Australian business numbers (ABN) when they no longer need them. That’s why they regularly review, and sometimes cancel, inactive ABNs.

The ATO may review your ABN if you haven’t reported business activity in your tax return, or there are no signs of business activity in other lodgements or third-party information.

If they think you’re no longer using your ABN, they’ll contact you by email, letter or SMS. If you’re:

• still running a business, they’ll tell you what you need to do to keep your ABN
• no longer in business, you don’t need to do anything – they’ll cancel your ABN.

If they cancel your ABN and you think you’re still entitled to it, you’ll need to reapply.

If you restart your business activities, you may be able to reapply for the same ABN, depending on whether your business structure changes. For example:

• you can reapply for the same ABN if you were a sole trader and want to restart your business activities as a sole trader
• you’ll need a new ABN if you were a sole trader but you want to restart your business activities as a company.

Keeping your ABN details up-to-date

If you have an ABN, you need to tell the ATO about any changes to your business details within 28 days. This includes cancelling your ABN if your business is no longer operating.

Having up-to-date ABN details is important. Emergency services and government agencies use this information to provide businesses with important information, support or financial help, such as government grants. Your main business address on the Australian Business Register (ABR) must be the physical street address of your business, not a post office box or tax agent address. This is so emergency services know where your business is located in times of disaster.

Source: ato.gov.au June 2024
Reproduced with the permission of the Australian Tax Office. This article was originally published on https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/small-business-newsroom/do-you-still-need-your-abn.
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