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[Jrap]

Hello friends I live in Australia and would quite like to sell my games someday.

The trouble is, be it newgrounds or itch.io or kongregate or gumroad or paypal in general there always seems to be some large tax-related kerfuffle.

Now I know you aren't all tax experts but I figured someone with experience in selling their games could get me on the right track, and maybe I can compile a guide for people in a position similar to mine.

-If I sell my games online do I need to do anything tax-wise?

-Some posts suggest you must pay tax dependent on your customer's location?

-Do I need an ABN? (Australian Business Number)

-The ATO specifies your first 18.2k of earnings as tax-free, but would that include the international taxes required by the territories customers live in?

-Will whether or not I have a 'legitimate business' effect what I need to do? (this term is used a lot in the posts I've read about this, it's something like a general term that takes into account earnings, where you're working from, and if you run your business 'like a business')

-It seems to me that on sites like itch.io people are selling games and making money and not giving a damn about tax evasion, what is their deal?

-Let's say I'm Jason Rohrer, selling the castle doctrine from my own site, SURELY I'm not responsible for paying tax to each country customers come from?

Thank you in advance, I think the bolded questions are all I need to get started.

[jgrams]

I'm in the US, so I don't know anything about the details of the Australian tax situation, but...

Over here, the first piece of advice you give to someone in that situation is: talk to someone who deals with taxes for a living: don't just take advice from other business owners (or random people on the internet). I know plenty of people here who are licensed CPAs but still hire another accountant who specializes in taxes, as keeping up with the tax code is a full-time job.

So if I were you, I'd look into what your options are locally. Dunno if Australia has anything like our Small Business Administration which is about helping small business get set up, but maybe you have a local Chamber of Commerce or other association of local business owners who get together to network and such. Or...walk into some small business, find the owner and ask for a recommendation for an accountant. Stuff like that. In my experience most small business owners are fairly supportive of other folks who are starting up businesses...

Dunno which part of Australia you're in, but this looks like a good general checklist: http://www.smallbusiness.wa.gov.au/business-starters-checklist, and this link from there might also be useful https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/life-events-and-you/life-events/choosing-an-accountant.

--Josh

[Jrap]

I'm in the US, so I don't know anything about the details of the Australian tax situation, but...

Over here, the first piece of advice you give to someone in that situation is: talk to someone who deals with taxes for a living: don't just take advice from other business owners (or random people on the internet). I know plenty of people here who are licensed CPAs but still hire another accountant who specializes in taxes, as keeping up with the tax code is a full-time job.

So if I were you, I'd look into what your options are locally. Dunno if Australia has anything like our Small Business Administration which is about helping small business get set up, but maybe you have a local Chamber of Commerce or other association of local business owners who get together to network and such. Or...walk into some small business, find the owner and ask for a recommendation for an accountant. Stuff like that. In my experience most small business owners are fairly supportive of other folks who are starting up businesses...

Dunno which part of Australia you're in, but this looks like a good general checklist: http://www.smallbusiness.wa.gov.au/business-starters-checklist, and this link from there might also be useful https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/life-events-and-you/life-events/choosing-an-accountant.

--Josh

Those links do look super helpful! The questions were just a general starting point for me, as no matter what happens I'll be going down to city hall at some point anyway. I'm just dumbfounded by people selling their stuff for actual money without a thought to the consequences.

Thanks bud, I'll be down there at a window getting weird 'video games???' looks before you know it.

[ColeyWoley]

I'm also in Australia, but I'm just another indie trying to muddle through my accounting obligations, so fair warning, I'm probably making mistakes about all sorts of stuff.

Everyone says get an accountant, and now that I can pay one, I have one!  And he's great.  He does the accounts for a bunch of Aussie indies and he knows all the stuff.

BUT when we first started out there is no way I could have afforded him.  So instead I googled stuff and muddled through.  All the info is out there.

First thing, you need an ABN in Australia.  You can register as a sole-trader though, which keeps it simple.  Its not necessarily the best way to structure a business, but it is the simplest.  There's lots of info on the ATO website, and if you're confused about anything,  call them - they're really helpful.

As far as paying tax in other countries goes (or even in Australia), I *think* a bunch of countries have tax treaties or something, which is why you only need to do an Australia tax return.  Or maybe its just we're not making enough money for it to matter

Good luck to you!  If you can afford an accountant, get one of them.  They're great!

[Jrap]

I'm also in Australia, but I'm just another indie trying to muddle through my accounting obligations, so fair warning, I'm probably making mistakes about all sorts of stuff.

Everyone says get an accountant, and now that I can pay one, I have one!  And he's great.  He does the accounts for a bunch of Aussie indies and he knows all the stuff.

BUT when we first started out there is no way I could have afforded him.  So instead I googled stuff and muddled through.  All the info is out there.

First thing, you need an ABN in Australia.  You can register as a sole-trader though, which keeps it simple.  Its not necessarily the best way to structure a business, but it is the simplest.  There's lots of info on the ATO website, and if you're confused about anything,  call them - they're really helpful.

As far as paying tax in other countries goes (or even in Australia), I *think* a bunch of countries have tax treaties or something, which is why you only need to do an Australia tax return.  Or maybe its just we're not making enough money for it to matter

Good luck to you!  If you can afford an accountant, get one of them.  They're great!

Thank u friend. My game plan is to go down to service Tas with a speech along the lines of 'oh god help me'. Their walls are covered in ATO, ABN, WTF and SBO pamphlets so someone down there has to know what's up. Sounds like there's no way to DIY this so it looks like actual human interaction is my only option.

Thanks again.