How to Track Expenses as an Australian Reseller

Categories of Deductible Expenses

Australian resellers can deduct a wide range of business expenses. Understanding the categories helps you ensure nothing slips through the cracks:

• Platform fees: eBay final value fees, Depop selling fees, Shopify subscriptions, payment processing fees
• Postage and shipping: Australia Post charges, courier fees, satchel purchases
• Packaging: Boxes, bubble wrap, tape, tissue paper, thank-you cards
• Storage: Self-storage units, or a proportion of your home if you use a dedicated space
• Phone and internet: The business-use proportion of your monthly bills
• Accounting and software: Accounting software subscriptions, bookkeeping services
• Photography: Equipment, props, lighting, and editing software used for listings
• Vehicle costs: Fuel and car expenses for sourcing trips (using the cents-per-km method or logbook method)

Evidence the ATO Accepts

For expenses under $82.50 (including GST), you can claim without a tax invoice, but you still need some form of evidence — a bank statement entry, a receipt, or a credit card statement. For expenses over $82.50, you need a proper tax invoice. Digital records are perfectly acceptable; you don't need paper receipts. Many resellers use their phone to photograph receipts immediately after purchase.

Real-Time vs End-of-Year Tracking

Tracking expenses in real time — as they happen — is dramatically more accurate than trying to reconstruct them at the end of the year. Set up a system where every business purchase is recorded within 24 hours. This could be as simple as a notes app on your phone, a dedicated spreadsheet, or proper bookkeeping software.

End-of-year tracking inevitably leads to missed deductions. A $15 roll of bubble wrap purchased in September will be long forgotten by June. Over a year, those forgotten small expenses add up to hundreds of dollars in lost deductions.

Common Mistakes Resellers Make

The most common expense tracking mistakes include: forgetting to claim platform fees (which can be 10-15% of every sale), not tracking the business proportion of shared expenses (phone, internet, car), losing receipts for cash purchases (like op shop stock), and not separating personal and business bank transactions. A dedicated business bank account solves the last problem and makes everything else easier. For the complete picture on reseller tax obligations, see our guide.