Invalid ABN? The ATO requires you to withhold 47% of the payment. ABNVerify checks ABN status, GST registration, and links to every state's builder's licence check — in one place.
Check an ABN →ABN Lookup API · ATO Withholding Rules · State Licence Links
47%ATO Withholding — Invalid ABN
$75kGST Registration Threshold
5State Licence Links
FreeNo Signup
LiveABN Register Data
Why ABNVerify
Three checks. One tool. Under 10 seconds.
Before paying a subcontractor, you need to verify three things: their ABN is active, whether they're GST registered, and whether they hold a valid licence for the work. Currently, that means visiting the ABN Lookup at business.gov.au, then a separate website for each state's licensing board — four different government websites, every time.
ABNVerify pulls ABN and GST status from the Australian Business Register in real time and adds what the official tool doesn't have: the ATO withholding rule explanation if the ABN is cancelled, direct links to every state licensing board, and a pre-engagement checklist you can print as a compliance record before paying.
For construction businesses engaging 10–50+ subcontractors a year, this is a workflow you're running every week. ABNVerify is designed to be bookmarked and reused — with a recent-checks history that shows when you last verified each subcontractor and flags any that are due for re-checking.
The 47% withholding rule — what it means for your business
Under Australian tax law, if a business makes a payment to another entity that has not quoted a valid ABN, the payer is required to withhold 47% of the payment (the top marginal tax rate) and remit it to the ATO. This is called the "no-ABN withholding" rule.
In practice, this means: if a subcontractor invoices you $10,000 for labour and their ABN is cancelled, you are legally required to pay $5,300 to the subcontractor and $4,700 to the ATO. If you pay the full $10,000 to the subcontractor, you have a $4,700 liability to the ATO — and the ATO will recover it from you.
This is not a theoretical risk. The ATO regularly audits construction businesses and reviews payment records. A pattern of payments to subcontractors without verifying ABN status is exactly the kind of compliance gap the ATO targets in construction enforcement campaigns.
The simple protection: check the ABN before you process the payment. If the ABN is active, pay normally. If it's cancelled, withhold 47% and remit to the ATO — or resolve the issue with the subcontractor before paying.
ABNVerify makes this check instant. It also shows GST registration status — because if a subcontractor is not GST registered, their invoices should not include GST, and paying GST to an unregistered entity creates separate complications.
State builder's licence checks — why you need both
The ABN Lookup database does not include state builder's licence information. Licence status is held separately by each state's licensing body, and the databases don't talk to each other. A subcontractor can have an active ABN and a cancelled licence — the ABN check will not tell you this.
ABNVerify provides direct links to every state's builder licence check portal:
Queensland — QBCC (Queensland Building and Construction Commission)
New South Wales — BPB (Building Professionals Board / NSW Fair Trading)
Victoria — VBA (Victorian Building Authority)
Western Australia — BSCL (Building Services Board)
South Australia — CBS (Consumer and Business Services)
Tasmania — Building and Plumbing Commission
ACT — Access Canberra
Northern Territory — NT Building Advisory Services
A complete pre-engagement check covers both: ABN status via the Australian Business Register, and licence status via the relevant state board. ABNVerify is the only tool that brings these together for construction businesses in a single, bookmark-friendly workflow.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you pay the full invoice amount to a subcontractor with a cancelled or invalid ABN, you have a liability to the ATO for the withheld amount — 47% of the gross payment. The ATO does not pursue the subcontractor for this; they recover it from you, the payer. For a $10,000 invoice, that's a $4,700 ATO liability. Always check ABN status before processing payment. If you discover the ABN is cancelled after the fact, contact your accountant or tax adviser immediately.
ABNVerify cannot directly query state builder's licence databases — each state runs its own separate licensing system that is not accessible via a single API. What ABNVerify does is provide direct links to every state's licence check portal as part of the result, so you can complete the licence check in one additional click without having to find the right government website. QBCC, BPB NSW, VBA VIC, BSCL WA, CBS SA, and all other state/territory licensing boards are linked.
ABN status and GST registration are separate. A subcontractor can have an active ABN but not be registered for GST — in which case their invoices should not include GST. If you pay GST to an unregistered supplier, you cannot claim an input tax credit on that amount, and the subcontractor may be required to remit the GST to the ATO anyway. Businesses with turnover over $75,000 are required to register for GST. ABNVerify shows both ABN status and GST registration status in the same result.
The ATO recommends checking before each payment. At minimum, check when first engaging a new subcontractor and at the start of each financial year. ABN and GST status can change without notice — a cancellation can happen any time. ABNVerify's Recent Checks history shows the date of your last verification for each ABN and flags any checks older than 90 days, so you know which subcontractors are due for re-verification before your next payment run.
ABNVerify uses the same underlying data — the Australian Business Register — but presents it with construction-specific context. The official ABN Lookup at business.gov.au is a general business tool with no ATO withholding explanation, no GST context, no state licence links, and no pre-engagement checklist. ABNVerify is built specifically for builders and construction businesses who need to verify subcontractors as part of a regular workflow — not a once-a-year lookup.