Australian Chart of Accounts for QuickBooks with GST Codes (Free)

This is an Australian chart of accounts built for QuickBooks Online, using QuickBooks’ own GST code names. It comes as a readable CSV that maps every account to its GST code, plus an import CSV for the account structure. Because of how QuickBooks handles the import, the two files do different jobs, and it pays to know which before you start.

Why the structure and the GST codes are separate

QuickBooks Online’s chart-of-accounts import carries four columns only: Account Number, Account Name, Type, and Detail Type. There is no tax column in the import. QuickBooks still supports account-level GST defaults, but you set them separately from the import. So the workflow is two steps:

1. Import the structure with the CSV, which creates the accounts with the right Type and Detail Type.
2. Set the GST codes from the CSV mapping, using the batch Set default GST code action in the chart of accounts.

The readable CSV is therefore the important one for GST: it lists every account with its default QuickBooks GST code and the alternatives, ready to apply in bulk.

Sales codes and purchase codes are different lists

This is the QuickBooks-specific point that trips people moving from other software. When you set up GST, QuickBooks Online Australia generates two separate sets of codes. Sales forms use GST, GST free, GST free export and Input tax. Purchase forms use GST on non-capital, GST on capital, GST-free non-capital, GST-free capital and Input tax. Out of Scope covers both directions. Because a chart-of-accounts account is overwhelmingly used on one side, the mapping assigns the purchase-side code to expense and asset accounts and the sales-side code to income accounts.

The treatments the mapping encodes

GST is a flat 10%, so the work is choosing the treatment, not the rate:

• Most expenses map to GST on non-capital; equipment, computers and vehicles map to GST on capital so they report at the capital acquisitions label on the BAS.
• Bank and merchant fees, and interest income, map to Input tax, the input-taxed treatment that blocks the credit.
• Wages, superannuation, depreciation and ATO payments map to Out of Scope.
• Client entertainment maps to Out of Scope, because the GST credit is blocked and the cost is usually non-deductible, with a note that it can attract fringe benefits tax.

The default GST code prefills, it does not lock

A default GST code on an account simply prefills the transaction line, and you can override it per line whenever a transaction needs a different treatment. That is why the CSV lists alternatives: a travel account maps to GST on non-capital for domestic fares but shows GST free export for an international airfare in the same account.

How to use it

1. Open the CSV and adapt the account names to the business.
2. In QuickBooks Online, go to Settings, then Import data, then Chart of Accounts, and upload the CSV for the structure.
3. On the wizard, confirm the Type and Detail Type for each account.
4. After import, bulk-assign the default GST codes from the CSV mapping.

Keeping the codes right on every transaction afterwards is the recurring work:

• Dext extracts the GST and suggests a code from the supplier.
• ExpenseFlow reads each receipt and tax invoice, applies the correct Australian GST code for the supply including the input-taxed and GST-free cases, and posts it into QuickBooks Online against the right account, so coding stays consistent as volume grows.
• Hubdoc pulls recurring bills in with their GST itemised.

The chart uses range-based numbering (assets 1000s, liabilities 2000s, equity 3000s, income 4000s, cost of sales 5000s, expenses 6000s), and the import sets each account’s QuickBooks Type and Detail Type. On the wizard those appear as dropdowns, so a Detail Type label that differs in your file is confirmed on screen rather than edited blind.

Using Xero instead? See the Australian chart of accounts for Xero, where the import sets the GST codes directly. For the codes themselves, see the Australian GST codes in QuickBooks reference.