How to Fill BAS G1 Label Without Guesswork

The G1 label is where many sole traders start second-guessing their BAS. It looks simple – “Total sales” – but it is easy to enter the wrong figure if you only add up invoices, remove GST, or forget about GST-free income. This guide shows you how to fill BAS G1 label correctly using figures you can check before you lodge.

What does the BAS G1 label mean?

G1 is your total sales for the BAS period. It is the gross value of your business sales and income before you subtract expenses. Where a sale includes GST, the G1 amount is generally the GST-inclusive amount.

Think of G1 as the whole sales picture for the quarter, not just the sales on which you charged GST. Your G1 figure may include taxable sales, GST-free sales, input-taxed sales and sales of business assets. The GST part of relevant sales is then reported separately at label 1A.

This is why G1 and 1A are not interchangeable. G1 is your total sales amount. Label 1A is the GST you collected on taxable sales. A lower 1A figure does not mean your G1 is wrong – it may simply mean part of your income was GST-free or input taxed.

How to fill BAS G1 label step by step

Start by checking the dates printed at the top of your BAS. If you lodge quarterly, you need sales that belong in that specific quarter only. Do not use your year-to-date income total unless the BAS period happens to cover the full year.

Next, use the GST accounting basis you have registered with the ATO. If you report GST on a cash basis, G1 will generally be based on money you received during the quarter. If you report on a non-cash or accruals basis, it is generally based on invoices issued or sales made during that quarter, even if a customer has not paid yet.

Once you have the right reporting period and basis, add the gross value of all relevant sales. Enter the final total at G1. Do not subtract your business expenses, bank fees, software costs, vehicle costs or purchases. Those amounts may affect GST credits at 1B, but they do not reduce total sales at G1.

For a straightforward service business, the process is usually this: total your sales income for the quarter, include GST in GST-taxable sales, add any GST-free income, then account for sales adjustments such as refunds or credit notes. The result is your G1 total.

What to include at G1

Your G1 total can include ordinary customer sales, deposits you have received for work, GST-free sales, sales of business equipment or other business assets, and other business income relevant to your GST reporting.

For example, if you are a photographer and received $8,800 from standard shoots including GST, $1,000 for a GST-free service, and $2,200 from selling an old business camera including GST, your G1 figure is $12,000.

The GST on taxable sales is not removed from that figure. In this example, the GST component of the standard shoots is $800 and the GST component of the camera sale is $200. Your G1 is still $12,000, while 1A would generally include $1,000 of GST from those taxable sales.

What not to include at G1

G1 is not every dollar that landed in your bank account. Personal transfers, loans, money you put into the business yourself, loan repayments received, and reimbursements that are not payment for a sale may not belong in your total sales figure.

A bank statement is useful for checking payments received, especially for cash-basis reporting, but it is not a complete BAS worksheet on its own. You need to separate genuine business sales from transfers and other non-sales amounts.

If a customer paid you $3,300 for a job and you transferred $2,000 from your personal savings to cover a slow month, only the $3,300 is sales income. The personal transfer is not a sale and should not inflate G1.

The G1 calculation in a real quarterly example

Say you are a GST-registered sole trader lodging your June quarter BAS on a cash basis. During the quarter, you received the following amounts:

• $16,500 from taxable services, including GST
• $2,400 from GST-free income
• $1,100 from selling a business asset, including GST
• $550 refunded to a customer for cancelled work

Your G1 calculation is $16,500 + $2,400 + $1,100 – $550 = $19,450.

The refund reduces the sales total because you gave money back in the same reporting period. Your 1A calculation is different. It would include GST from the taxable services and taxable asset sale, adjusted for any GST included in the refund. The GST-free income is included at G1 but does not add GST to 1A.

This is the central check: G1 is the gross sales figure, while 1A is the GST portion of taxable sales only.

Four G1 mistakes that cause BAS stress

A correct G1 figure is usually less about difficult maths and more about keeping categories separate. Watch for these common mistakes:

• Entering sales excluding GST. If your taxable invoices are recorded GST-inclusive, use the GST-inclusive total at G1. Do not strip out one-eleventh before entering G1.
• Including only taxable sales. GST-free and certain other sales can still belong in total sales, even though they do not create GST at 1A.
• Deducting expenses from income. G1 is not your profit. Expenses are dealt with elsewhere on the BAS and in your tax records.
• Using the wrong dates or accounting basis. Paid invoices, unpaid invoices, deposits and refunds can be treated differently depending on whether you report on a cash or non-cash basis.

Check G1 before you lodge

Before copying your figure into myGov, the ATO online service, or a paper BAS, run a quick sense check. Compare the G1 amount against your sales records for the quarter. If it is far lower than the income deposited to your business account, check for missing sales. If it is much higher, look for personal transfers, duplicated invoices, loans or amounts from another period.

Then compare G1 with 1A. For a business that only makes taxable sales at 10% GST, 1A will often be roughly one-eleventh of G1. It will not be exact if you have GST-free sales, refunds, mixed supplies or asset sales, but the comparison can reveal an obvious typing error.

Also keep your working papers. Save the sales report, spreadsheet or calculation notes you used for the quarter. If you need to check a figure later, you want a clear trail from the BAS label back to the transactions behind it.

For sole traders who prefer Excel over complicated accounting software, BASCalc follows the BAS layout and calculates figures for labels such as G1, 1A, 1B and PAYG after you enter your income and expense amounts. You still control the records and review the totals, but you do not have to rebuild the same formulas every quarter.

When you should get advice before entering G1

Most simple service businesses can work through G1 with organised sales records and a clear understanding of their GST basis. But get qualified tax or accounting advice if your quarter includes overseas sales, property transactions, unusual grants, crypto transactions, financial supplies, a business restructure or anything you cannot confidently classify.

A BAS calculator can help you calculate and organise figures. It does not replace professional tax advice on whether a complex transaction should be reported in a particular way.

The best G1 figure is not the one you rush into the form. It is the one you can trace back to your records, explain in plain English, and enter with confidence.