QLD: Should a body corporate budget show amounts inclusive or exclusive of GST?

Question: Should a body corporate budget prepared for a GST-registered scheme in QLD show all income and expenses inclusive of GST to avoid confusion among owners?

We are a BFP registered for GST in Qld. When our body corporate manager prepares our budget, they include their administration fees, excluding GST, for both the budget and actual amounts spent. The also do this for the income, levies and other payments.

We find this confusing. Owners think they should be paying less levies, as the actual total amount spent does not reflect the full amount, inclusive of GST. Should amounts listed in the proposed budget and actuals be inclusive of GST? We receive questions from owners about the budget, and no one seems to understand it.

Answer: Generally, strata financials are presented as ex GST.

Generally, strata financials are presented as ex GST, but if you ask your management company to present them as inc GST, they should be able to make that adjustment for you. No standard of presentation is required.

Managers should also be able to answer most financial questions. As answers can be technical and require reference to documents, it is fair if they ask for these to be in writing rather than have to answer on the spot in a conversation.

So, if an owner has a question, they should put it clearly in writing, and the manager should be able to respond. If they can’t, then it is probably a sign that the matter requires further investigation.

That said, I can understand some of the confusion around GST. Even though it is something we deal with every day, errors around its application are fairly common. Even when there hasn’t been an error, owners are often confused by the documentation. This seems to be the case with your building.

If this is a regular problem, speak to your manager about changing the communication around the documentation so that it is clear for owners. If necessary, write a simple explanation to go out with notices or minutes so that people are clear on what to expect.

William Marquand
Tower Body Corporate
E: willmarquand@towerbodycorporate.com.au
P: 07 5609 4924