1 ABN, 2 business names?

[nique]

Hi everyone,
I currently have 2 small business names registered, I have one ABN number for the first small business which im hoping to expand soon & a second business name that i've not used,I sell the same products for both.
The second business name is not linked up to my ABN and this second business would be more of a hobby earning under $5000 a year.

My questions are do i need to register a second ABN number even though im selling the same porducts? If not how do i go with tax receipts to my customers from the second business as my ABN is registered to my other business name? Can i reference my second business somehow to my ABN on the Tax receipt?

Hope this makes sense as this is all new to me and a little confusing.

[peppie]

A bit of common misconception and one which I fell for some time back. Even a business course I did was not aware of the difference for a solo trader.

If you work solo the ABN you have is linked to your name first and not your business name. The ATO regards you as the entity and your business name/s is one or more of your identities.

If your were working under a company structure the company is the entity and thus has it's own ABN. Which is totally separate from any ABN you may personally have.

If you go to the ATO site and you search for an ABN you should find it listed against your name and your trading/business name as well. You an also register any other business names against the same ABN and a search would show all of them under the same ABN.

I know this to be the case because I have 2 business names and only one ABN for both.

[Numberz]

In fact if you operate both businesses as a sole trader you wouldn't be able to register a new ABN because, as peppie says, it is linked to you as an individual, not the business.

There have been threads on this subject before so you could use the search box on the right to see other responses......

Cheers

[EFTPOSCO]

Depending how big your other small business is, it may benefit you to register company. This company can then t/as Trade As either business name or both, this way there are a few tax benefits. Best to consult an accountant for this however.

[fft]

what if you are a partnership? will the abn be in both names, plus the business name, and whatever other business names we might want to add?

[EFTPOSCO]

Originally Posted by fft

what if you are a partnership? will the abn be in both names, plus the business name, and whatever other business names we might want to add?

Hi there,

We deal with this daily! When you first register for an ABN you at that time need to stipulate the if is a sole trader or partnership, if you originally set this up in one persons name it will stay that way, you will need to apply for one in both names. If you register a trading name the ABN is not for the trading name but for the owning entity, i.e. if is sole trader (one person) partnership, or company, then the ABN needs to be in this entities name, if you regsitered a trading name as a partnership you will need to apply for a joint ABN (all future trading names can be under this if you like), if a company (as in a Pty Ltd) the company will need to apply for and ABN (you canot use the sole trader one). The Other exception would be if you have a trust account set-up then you can use the ABN associated with the trust.

Hope this helps.

and finally if you need eftpos facilities set up www.eftposconneciton.com.au let us know if you found us through this feed and we can offer some pretty good discounts ;-)

[22523#deleted]

This can become confusing to those who dont deal with this situation regularly.
As stated by others, the ABN belongs to the Person (Sole Trader), or Persons (in a Partnership), or company etc....

eg. Hellen Perry - Sole Trader owns ABN 123455678 and every business and or business name she operates as a sole trader uses this same ABN.

eg2. Hellen Perry + Jason Jones in partnership have ABN 987654321, for every business & bus name they operate together, they use the partnership ABN.

eg3. Hellen Perry starts another partnership with Fiona Monk, so a new ABN is needed for this new partnership.

I hope this is easier to understand.

[fft]

thanks Debonair!

this sums up neatly what i just puzzled together in the last hour of searching various sites!