GST on eBay Fees in Australia: Which Fees Carry It, the Exemption, and Who Claims It Back (2026)

Yes, eBay fees have GST. If your registered address is in Australia, every fee eBay shows you has 10% GST inside it: the 13.4% Pro Starter final value fee is really 12.18% plus GST, and the 30 cent order fee is 27 cents plus GST. eBay’s own rule is that a business registered for GST with an ABN pays no GST on eBay fees, so a registered seller either applies the exemption and is invoiced net of tax, or claims the GST back on the BAS. An ABN alone doesn’t qualify. A seller based outside Australia is generally not charged Australian GST on fees at all. And a business buying on eBay can claim GST only where it was actually in the price and the right document is in hand.

Divide any eBay fee by 11 and that is the GST in it: about A$1,500 a year for a seller doing A$120,000, and whether it is switched off, claimed or simply paid comes down to one setting on the account and one question about registration. We’ve covered whether eBay collects GST on your sales; this is the fees side, built to the same shape as our Shopify fees article.

Who you are	GST on your eBay fees?	What to do
Australia-registered seller, under A$25,000 in the past 12 months, no Pro plan	No final value fees to carry it; 10% inside the fees you do pay (upgrades, 3% international, disputes)	Nothing to claim unless you’re GST-registered
Australia-registered, GST-registered, exemption lodged with eBay	None: invoices issued net of tax	Lodge the exemption the day registration comes through
Australia-registered, GST-registered, no exemption lodged	10% inside every fee	Claim it at 1B against eBay’s invoice (fee ÷ 11)
Australia-registered, ABN but not GST-registered	10% inside every fee	It’s a cost: no credit without registration
Seller registered outside Australia	Generally no Australian GST; eBay says local GST or VAT may apply instead	Read your fee invoice; your Australian GST question is the sales
Business buying on eBay	Depends on where the item is and who the seller is	Section 5

(General information for FY 2026–27, not tax advice for your circumstances. eBay’s fee pages and tax policy were read on 12 October 2026 and carry eBay’s own “last updated 9 October 2026” date; eBay changes its fees from time to time, so read your own invoice. The ATO rules are its published settings on the same date. The A$75,000 GST registration threshold is not indexed and may change.)

1. Do eBay fees have GST in Australia, and why doesn’t an ABN alone remove it?

Yes. eBay’s fee page says it plainly: “If your registered address is in Australia, Australian GST of 10% is payable on your eBay fees.” The fees on the page are “displayed inclusive of Australian GST”, so the 10% is inside the headline number, not added on top. And eBay’s tax policy gives the way out: “If you are carrying on a business and have registered for GST with an Australia Business Number (ABN), then no GST is payable on your eBay fees.”

The exemption is an application, not an automatic setting: “You can apply for a tax exemption by confirming you are registered for GST in Australia and providing a valid ABN.” Once approved, “your seller invoice will show your tax registration number, and be issued net of tax.” eBay doesn’t say it reaches back to invoices already issued, so lodge it the day your GST registration comes through. If you later cancel the registration, eBay expects to hear about it, because “tax will be payable on your eBay fees” again.

Why an ABN by itself isn’t enough. You contract with eBay Marketplaces GmbH in Bern, an overseas supplier of an electronic service. Such a supplier charges Australian GST when its customer is an “Australian consumer”: in the GST Act, an Australian resident who is not registered for GST, or is registered but isn’t buying for their enterprise. A GST-registered business buying a selling service is not one, so no GST applies. A business with an ABN and no registration is one, so the 10% is correct and, with no credit available, stays a cost. The ATO’s instruction to business purchasers is to do both: “give them your Australian business number (ABN)” and “state that you are registered for GST”. That is eBay’s form, almost word for word.

One caution: “Penalties can apply if you provide false information to a supplier, such as quoting an ABN when you are not GST-registered.” And no, there is normally no reverse charge once you’re registered; it only bites where you “would not have been entitled to claim a full GST credit”, such as private use.

2. What are eBay’s selling fees in Australia, and how much of each one is GST?

Since 12 May 2026 it is “free for Australia-based sellers with up to $25,000 in sales over the past 12 months” to sell on eBay.com.au, with no final value fees. Above that, or on any Pro plan, the fee is a percentage of the total sale plus a fixed amount per order, and every figure eBay publishes includes 10% GST. Divide by 1.1 for the fee itself; divide by 11 for the GST inside it.

The free tier is recalculated monthly over the preceding twelve months; cross A$25,000 and eBay moves you to Pro Starter from the first of the following month. (Free-tier buyers pay eBay a 4–8% buyer protection fee inside the price; that is the buyer’s charge, not a seller fee.)

The Pro plans, as published on 9 October 2026, with the GST pulled out:

Pro plan	Monthly (incl. GST)	Monthly ex GST	Per order (incl. GST)	Final value fee, most categories, up to A$4,000 (incl. GST)	Same fee ex GST	Over A$4,000
Pro Starter	none	none	A$0.30	13.4%	12.18%	2.5%
Pro Basic	A$27.45	A$24.95	A$0.33	11.44%	10.40%	2.75%
Pro Featured	A$82.45	A$74.95	A$0.33	10.34%	9.40%	2.75%
Pro Anchor	A$604.95	A$549.95	A$0.33	9.68%	8.80%	2.75%

Pro Starter is 13.4% in every category; the paid plans vary by category tier, from 6.82% on home appliances (Anchor) to 13.09% on fashion and collectables (Basic), all on the total the buyer pays, postage included. Other fees carry GST the same way: the international sales fee (1.1% Pro, 3% free tier), the A$24.20 dispute fee, the 5.5% below-standard fee and listing upgrades.

Worked, Pro Starter. Priya sells kitchenware from Melbourne: A$120,000 of sales in a year across 2,400 orders. Final value fees 13.4% × A$120,000 = A$16,080; order fees 2,400 × A$0.30 = A$720; total A$16,800, GST-inclusive. The GST inside is A$16,800 ÷ 11 = A$1,527.27, and the fee itself is A$15,272.73. On a single A$50 order the fee is A$7.00, of which 64 cents is GST.

With the exemption lodged, Priya’s invoice shows A$15,272.73 and no GST. Without it, she pays A$16,800 and the next section is about getting A$1,527.27 back.

3. Can a GST-registered seller claim the GST on eBay fees back, and is the exemption or the BAS claim the better route?

Yes, if you hold GST registration and the fees are for your business: the GST inside eBay’s fees is an input tax credit at 1B on your BAS, claimed within four years. The ATO’s conditions are that you are registered, you “intend to use your purchase solely or partly for your business”, “the purchase price included GST”, you are liable to pay for it, and you “have a tax invoice from your supplier (for purchases more than A$82.50)”. The exemption and the claim arrive at the same net cost; the exemption is the one that needs no paperwork every quarter.

The document is the part to get right. eBay Marketplaces GmbH holds ABN 64 652 016 681 and has been registered for GST since 1 June 2018, so it can issue a valid tax invoice. Check that the monthly seller invoice shows eBay’s ABN and the GST amount, because the ATO’s general rule for imported services is that “A supplier is not required to provide a tax invoice”, and without one “you may not be entitled to a GST credit”. If the Seller Hub document doesn’t read as one, ask: a supplier has 28 days, and you claim once you hold it.

Timing. Cash basis: the period you paid; accruals: the period the invoice was issued. A missed credit can go in a later BAS, but the entitlement ends “4 years after the lodgment due date of the BAS for the tax period in which you could have first claimed the GST credit”, with no discretion to extend.

Which route. Both leave Priya A$1,527.27 better off. The exemption means the GST is never charged and nothing to document or forget; the BAS claim means the money leaves across the year and comes back a quarter at a time, against an invoice she has to keep. Lodge the exemption; use the claim for the invoices issued before it took effect.

Not registered? Then the A$1,527.27 is a cost. Under the A$75,000 threshold (not indexed, so confirm the current figure) you may register voluntarily to get it back, but registration also means charging GST on your Australian sales and lodging a BAS, which on A$120,000 of sales is a far bigger number than the fee credit. That is a registration question, and it comes first.

4. Does eBay charge Australian GST on fees to a seller based outside Australia?

Generally not. eBay’s fee page says that if you live outside Australia, “local Goods and Services Tax (GST), Value Added Tax (VAT) or similar consumption tax might apply, instead of Australian GST.” Its separate table for “sellers residing outside Australia” lists the same A$0.30 per order and 13.4% up to A$4,000 plus 2.5% above, and the only firm instruction is the one we’d give anyway: read your fee invoice.

The law points the same way. eBay Marketplaces GmbH is a non-resident supplying an electronic service, and that supply is connected with Australia only where the customer is an Australian consumer; a seller resident in Manchester or Shenzhen isn’t one. Even where a supply to a non-resident is otherwise connected, section 38-190 of the GST Act makes “a supply that is made to a non-resident who is not in the indirect tax zone when the thing supplied is done” GST-free, unless it is work physically performed on goods in Australia. The switch-off in subsection (3) applies where the supply “is provided, or the agreement requires it to be provided, to another entity in the indirect tax zone”, and a marketplace listing service is provided to you, not to your Australian buyer. We say “generally” because the facts matter, and what eBay actually charged is on the invoice, not in the statute.

Don’t carry the Amazon answer across. For non-resident Amazon sellers, FBA storage, pick-and-pack and shipping carry 10% GST registered or not, because Amazon delivers the goods to a buyer in Australia and the ATO treats that service as provided to the buyer: exactly the subsection (3) case. eBay doesn’t fulfil your orders. An Australian 3PL’s fees are work on goods in Australia and do carry GST; your eBay fees don’t change. Our Amazon fees article has that split.

Two practical notes. A non-resident on standard GST registration with an ABN can lodge eBay’s exemption like anyone else; if the invoice already shows no GST, there is nothing to lodge. And if Australian GST was charged anyway, you hold eBay’s tax invoice and the credit in section 3 is yours. Your real Australian GST question is the sales side: who collects on your Australian orders, and whether the stock is here when it sells.

5. Can I claim GST on eBay purchases for my business?

Only where GST was actually in the price, the purchase is for your GST-registered business, and you hold the right document. eBay says “Australian Goods and Services Tax (GST) generally applies to purchases delivered to Australian buyers”, but who charged it, and who can give you a tax invoice, depends on where the item was.

The item is in Australia. eBay: “If the item’s located in Australia, the listing price is GST-inclusive, where applicable.” The seller is the supplier. If they are a GST-registered business, ask them for a tax invoice (eBay’s instruction is to “contact the seller”); over A$82.50 you need it, showing the seller’s ABN and the GST. Check the seller on ABN Lookup first: a private or unregistered seller has no GST in the price, and there is nothing to claim.
The item came from overseas and the order is A$1,000 or less. eBay is the platform that collects: “eBay is required to collect GST on orders up to AU $1,000 imported into Australia”. A registered business “should not be charged GST if you provide your ABN and state you are GST-registered”, though the ATO concedes some platforms “may not be able to differentiate between business and consumer purchasers at the checkout”. If you were charged, first “seek a refund from the supplier”, eBay, by giving your ABN and stating you’re registered. Failing that, you may claim the credit in your BAS if you would otherwise be entitled, you hold a valid tax invoice showing eBay’s ABN (eBay says you “can view and download a tax invoice from the Order details page”) or the amount was A$82.50 or less, and eBay hasn’t refunded you.
The item came from overseas and the order is over A$1,000. “The GST is generally collected at the Australian border.” The credit belongs to whoever is the importer on the declaration, which for a business buyer is usually you. Our import GST article covers the calculation and the document.

Buying for yourself rather than the business? Then nothing above applies, and the ATO asks you not to quote your ABN at checkout, because doing so for a private purchase triggers the reverse charge.

Where it’s worth getting help

The mechanics are simple enough to do yourself: register for GST if you should be, lodge eBay’s tax exemption with your ABN, and for the months before it took effect, divide the invoice by 11 and claim at 1B.

The judgment calls are these:

Registering voluntarily under A$75,000. The fee credit is real, but registration means charging GST on your Australian sales and lodging a BAS. Whether the credits outweigh that is a numbers question on your margin.
The months before the exemption. Invoices already issued stay as they are, so those credits have to be claimed against a document that reads as a tax invoice, inside the four-year window.
Overseas seller with Australian stock. Your eBay fees, your 3PL’s fees and your sales each carry a different GST answer, and the registration type decides which credits you can recover.
Business buying on eBay. Whether your ABN was quoted at checkout, whether eBay refunds or you claim, and whether the seller was ever registered all change what the BAS can carry.

That’s the difference between doing it and doing it right the first time: the seller who lodged the exemption on day one and never thought about it again, versus the one who paid 10% on fees for two years, found the invoices didn’t read as tax invoices, and then registered for the wrong reasons.

If you’d like that looked at properly, our initial assessment form scopes it in about twelve questions, and our GST registration check tells you whether registration is required or merely optional, without needing a meeting.

FY 2026–27. General information, not tax advice for your circumstances. eBay’s fees, tax policy and contracting entity are as published on eBay.com.au at 12 October 2026 (eBay’s pages dated 9 October 2026) and change from time to time; read your own invoice. The ATO’s GST credit, tax invoice and imported-services rules are its published settings on the same date. The A$75,000 GST registration turnover threshold is not indexed and may change; confirm the current figure.