Quick answer
If your business isn't registered for GST, you won't have BAS to show a lender, and that's normal for businesses under the $75,000 GST turnover threshold. Lenders then rely on business bank statements, invoices, platform or card settlement reports and your individual tax return. Keeping business income in a dedicated account is the single most useful thing you can do.
Key points
- No BAS usually means you're under the GST threshold. That's not a red flag.
- Bank statements become your main proof of turnover.
- Invoices, settlement reports and platform payout summaries back up the statements.
- If turnover has passed $75,000, the ATO says to register for GST within 21 days.
- GST threshold
- $75,000 turnover ($150,000 non-profit)
- Register within
- 21 days of passing the threshold
- Main evidence
- Business bank statements
Why don’t some businesses have BAS?
A business activity statement is how GST-registered businesses report GST, and often PAYG withholding and instalments, to the ATO. If you’re not registered for GST, you usually don’t lodge BAS at all.
According to the ATO, most businesses must register for GST once their GST turnover reaches $75,000 ($150,000 for non-profit organisations), and must do so within 21 days of passing the threshold. Below that, registration is optional. There’s one notable exception: taxi, limousine and ride-sourcing drivers must register regardless of turnover.
So a missing BAS often just means a smaller or newer business. Lenders see this all the time. It does mean one of the easiest pieces of low doc evidence isn’t available, so the rest of your file needs to work a little harder.
What proves turnover when there’s no BAS?
| Evidence | What it proves | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Business bank statements | Money actually received, month by month | Use a dedicated account so business income isn’t mixed with personal |
| Invoices to customers | Who pays you, how much and how often | Show regular customers, not just one-off jobs |
| Card terminal settlement reports | Card sales before they land in the bank | Match settlement totals to deposits |
| Platform payout summaries | Income earned through apps and marketplaces | Download them for the same months as your statements |
| Individual tax return and notice of assessment | Income reported to the ATO | Sole traders report business income on their own return |
| Contracts | Income that’s coming | Useful if you’ve recently won regular work |
Bank statements lead the way because they come straight from your bank. Everything else is supporting evidence that makes the statements easier to read. The bank statement snapshot shows the headline numbers a lender will pull from yours.
Why does a separate business account matter so much?
Without BAS, the lender is trying to see your business income inside your bank statements. If wages from a part-time job, family transfers and personal spending all run through the same account, that’s hard to do.
business.gov.au says partnerships, companies and trusts must have a separate business bank account, and that it’s a good idea for sole traders because it helps you clearly show your business finances separate from your personal ones. From a lending point of view, three to six months of clean business-only deposits can be worth more than a much longer period of mixed transactions.
If you haven’t separated accounts yet, start now. It won’t help this month, but it will help every month after.
What if you work through platforms?
Delivery riders, marketplace sellers, short-stay hosts and many others earn through apps. The ATO’s sharing economy reporting regime requires electronic distribution platforms to report information about suppliers who earn through them. Ride-sourcing and short-term accommodation came first, from 1 July 2023, and all other reportable transactions followed from 1 July 2024. Platforms report twice a year.
For a lender, the useful part is simpler: your platform dashboard usually lets you download payout summaries. Put those next to your bank statements and the income story is clear. Note the ride-sourcing rule above: if you drive for a ride-sourcing platform, you should be registered for GST and lodging BAS regardless of turnover.
Illustrative example: under the threshold, steady work
Illustrative only; not a real business.
A freelance bookkeeper (fittingly) works from home for eight regular small-business clients. Turnover is around $68,000 a year, so she isn’t registered for GST. She wants $25,000 to replace her laptop, upgrade her software subscriptions and fund a short course.
Her file: twelve months of statements from a business-only account, showing monthly deposits from the same eight clients; copies of recent invoices; her last two notices of assessment. There’s no BAS and no property. A statement-based lender can see the regular client payments and size a modest unsecured facility on them.
What if you’ve passed the threshold without registering?
This happens more often than people admit, usually because the business grew quickly. A lender will notice if your statements show turnover well above $75,000 and you have no GST registration.
The fix is the same as for any overdue obligation: get advice from a registered tax or BAS agent, register, work out any GST that should have been charged, and get a short letter confirming what’s being done. Our page on overdue lodgements covers how lenders treat catch-up plans.
What about larger amounts?
Unsecured, cash-flow and line-of-credit options are typically $5,000 to $500,000 and are sized on the turnover your statements show. A business under the GST threshold will generally sit toward the smaller end of that range, which is appropriate.
If you need more, property security changes things. Property-secured loans by first mortgage, second mortgage or caveat run from $20,000 to $5,000,000, and the equity carries most of the weight. See using property equity as evidence.
A quick test before you apply
Add up your business deposits for the last six months and divide by six. If the result is broadly what you’d tell a lender your monthly turnover is, your statements are doing their job. If it’s well below, work out why before you apply: income into another account, cash spent before banking, or a quieter patch. The bank statement snapshot does the maths for you.
Check what your statements can support
Not lodging BAS doesn’t make your business unfundable. It just means your bank statements are front and centre. Send us a quick enquiry and a real person will look at what you’ve got. There’s no credit check when you first enquire, and your details aren’t sprayed across a list of lenders.
Please be accurate about turnover and whether you’re registered for GST. It helps us point you to the right lender first time. See if you qualify in about a minute.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to be registered for GST to get a business loan?
No. Plenty of lenders fund businesses that aren't registered for GST. You'll just prove turnover with other evidence, mainly bank statements.
What's the GST registration threshold?
The ATO says you must register for GST when your GST turnover is $75,000 or more ($150,000 for non-profits), within 21 days of passing it. Taxi, limousine and ride-sourcing drivers must register regardless of turnover.
My turnover has gone past $75,000 but I haven't registered. What now?
Talk to a registered tax or BAS agent about registering and any GST that should have been charged. A lender will want to know it's being dealt with, and a letter from the agent helps.
I work through apps and platforms. What evidence counts?
Payout summaries from the platform, matched to deposits in your bank statements. Since 1 July 2024, the ATO's sharing economy reporting regime has required platforms to report most supplier income to the ATO twice a year.
Can I borrow a large amount without BAS?
Unsecured options are sized on turnover, so the amount tracks what your statements show. For larger amounts, property security from $20,000 to $5,000,000 is usually the route.