For educational purposes only. Not tax, legal, or financial advice. Tax laws change frequently. Consult a registered tax agent or CPA for your specific situation.
Australian wedding businesses pay income tax on full-year profit despite seasonal peaks from October to April. GST registration is compulsory at $75,000 turnover, and non-refundable booking deposits trigger GST when received, not when the wedding occurs. Marriage celebrants must hold federal registration under the Marriage Act 1961, and client entertainment costs (venue tastings, supplier lunches) are not deductible and carry no GST credits.
Last reviewed:
Guidance, not advice. We explain the rules, we don't assess your situation. Always seek financial or tax advice from your accountant, or contact ATO. Read our editorial scope →
Wedding businesses in Australia face a seasonal income pattern (October to April peak, quiet winters) but income tax is calculated on total profit for the full 1 July to 30 June income year. Most operators are sole traders taxed at individual marginal rates, though Pty Ltd structure suits those with higher profits or significant equipment liability. GST registration is compulsory at $75,000 turnover, and critically, GST applies when a non-refundable deposit is received, not when the event occurs. Marriage celebrants must hold federal registration under the Marriage Act 1961, and their deductions are governed by ATO ruling IT 2409. Client entertainment (venue tastings, supplier lunches) is not deductible and carries no GST credits.
What business structure do Wedding Industry use?
The common patterns for Wedding Industry are: Sole trader: simplest setup, ABN registration only, suits one-person operators (photographers, celebrants, DJs, florists) under roughly $100k profit, Pty Ltd company: limited liability for equipment-heavy businesses, 25% base rate entity tax, salary-plus-dividend extraction from around $100k+ profit, common for larger planning firms or photography studios, Partnership: used when two people run the business together (husband-wife photography teams, co-owned florist studios); each partner declares their share of partnership income. The right structure depends on revenue, liability exposure, and personal circumstances, covered below.
When do deposits and booking fees trigger a GST obligation?
For GST-registered wedding businesses, the timing of GST depends on the nature of the deposit. A non-refundable booking fee that you are contractually entitled to keep is assessable income when received, and GST applies at the time of receipt, not when the wedding takes place. You must account for the GST component on your next BAS.
A genuinely refundable security deposit held on trust and fully refundable if conditions are met may not be income until it is applied against fees or forfeited. The distinction is critical for cash-flow planning: if you collect $5,000 non-refundable booking fees in June for weddings happening in November, the GST on those $5,000 is reportable on your June-quarter BAS.
If a wedding is cancelled and you retain the booking fee as a cancellation charge, GST continues to apply because the underlying supply was taxable. If you refund the deposit, you make a decreasing adjustment on your BAS to recover the GST you previously remitted.
For operators using cash-basis accounting (most small wedding businesses), income is derived when payment is received. This means deposits received in a quiet winter month still count as that quarter's income.
Non-refundable deposits are assessable when received and attract GST at that point. Refunded deposits allow a decreasing adjustment on the next BAS. Retained cancellation fees remain subject to GST.(A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 Division 99 (adjustments); ITAA 1997 s 6-5; ATO guidance ATO GST and cancellations guide)
How does the principal vs agent distinction affect wedding planners?
How you structure supplier relationships determines both your assessable income and your GST position. If you act as principal (you contract with the couple, then subcontract suppliers like florists, caterers, and entertainers), the full fee charged to the couple (including cost recovery for suppliers) is your assessable income, and the supplier payments are your deductible expenses.
If you act as agent (suppliers contract directly with the couple and you simply arrange the booking), only your commission or coordination fee is assessable income. The supplier payments flow through but are not your income or expense.
The distinction must be documented clearly in your engagement letter or contract with the couple. Acting as principal gives you more control and higher reported revenue (offset by higher deductions), while acting as agent gives a cleaner picture of your actual margin. For GST purposes, a principal charges GST on the full package; an agent charges GST only on the commission.
Getting this wrong understates or overstates your GST obligations. The ATO looks at the substance of the arrangement, not just the label in the contract.
Wedding planners acting as principal declare full client payments as income and deduct supplier costs. Those acting as agent declare only their commission. GST follows the same split.(A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 Division 153 (agents); ATO guidance ATO principal vs agent guidance)
What equipment depreciation rules apply to photographers and DJs?
Cameras, lenses, lighting rigs, drones, audio equipment, DJ controllers, speakers, computers, and editing workstations are capital assets. For small business entities (turnover under $10 million), the instant asset write-off threshold is $20,000 per asset for 2025-26. Each item costing less than $20,000 can be written off in full in the year of purchase.
Items above $20,000 go into the simplified depreciation pool: 15% in the first year, 30% of the remaining balance in subsequent years. A $25,000 camera and lens kit would attract $3,750 depreciation in year one, then 30% of the $21,250 balance ($6,375) in year two, and so on.
Software subscriptions (Adobe Creative Cloud, Lightroom, client gallery platforms, DJ music licensing, video editing suites) are not capital; they are deductible as running expenses in the year incurred.
Florists should treat perishable stock (flowers, foliage) as trading stock or cost of sales, not as depreciable assets. Non-perishable equipment (coolers, delivery vans, display furniture) follows the standard depreciation rules.
Small businesses can write off assets under $20,000 instantly (2025-26). More expensive items are depreciated through the simplified pool. Software subscriptions are running expenses, not capital.(ITAA 1997 Division 328 (simplified depreciation for SBE); Division 40 (decline in value); ATO guidance ATO instant asset write-off guide)
What specific rules apply to marriage celebrants?
Marriage celebrants must hold federal registration under the Marriage Act 1961. Ceremony fees, rehearsal fees, associated services (drafting vows, travel charged to clients), and GST on those fees if registered are all assessable business income.
Deductions are governed primarily by ATO ruling IT 2409 and its addendum, which is the key industry-specific interpretation. Deductible items include: registration and annual celebrant fees under the Marriage Act, professional indemnity insurance, stationery, advertising, website costs, phone and internet (business portion), home office running costs, travel to and from wedding venues, and required ongoing professional development.
Items that are not deductible include: conventional clothing and footwear (even if purchased specifically for ceremonies), hair and makeup (even for weddings), grooming costs, and garden maintenance at home (even if ceremonies are held there). The ATO draws a firm line between professional expenses and personal presentation costs, regardless of how closely tied to the ceremony they appear.
Celebrants working from home can claim running expenses using the fixed-rate method (70 cents per hour) or actual-cost method, plus a proportion of occupancy expenses if a dedicated office is used (with CGT implications on sale of the home).
Marriage celebrants must register under the Marriage Act 1961. IT 2409 governs deductibility: professional costs are deductible, personal presentation costs (clothing, grooming, garden maintenance) are not.(Marriage Act 1961; ATO IT 2409 and addendum; ATO guidance ATO civil marriage celebrant deductions guide)
Contractor vs employee: the written contract is decisive
The High Court reset the contractor/employee test in 2022. Where there is a comprehensive written contract that is not a sham, classification turns principally on the rights and obligations established by that contract — not on the day-to-day conduct of the parties. Get the engagement contract right at the start; do not rely on post-contract behaviour to recharacterise the relationship later.
This matters because misclassification exposes the engager to PAYG withholding shortfalls, super guarantee charge (with the contractor-deemed-employee extension under SGAA 1992 s 12(3)), and payroll tax. It also affects whether the worker can deduct business expenses and whether PSI rules engage.
Contractor vs employee classification is determined principally by the rights and obligations in the written contract, not by post-contract conduct.(CFMMEU v Personnel Contracting Pty Ltd [2022] HCA 1; ZG Operations Australia Pty Ltd v Jamsek [2022] HCA 2 (companion case); ATO guidance TR 2023/4 (employee vs independent contractor))
Home running costs: PCG 2023/1 fixed-rate vs actual cost
Most workers in this trade do some admin from home — quoting, invoicing, scheduling, BAS prep. From 1 July 2024 the ATO fixed-rate method is 70c per hour worked from home and covers electricity, gas, internet, mobile, stationery and computer consumables. You cannot also claim those bills separately under the fixed rate. You can still separately depreciate office furniture and equipment used at home.
FY 2024-25 and FY 2025-26 rate: 70c/hr. FY 2022-23 and FY 2023-24 rate: 67c/hr. The fixed rate requires a contemporaneous record of actual hours worked from home — a timesheet, calendar or app log. Estimates and four-week samples are no longer accepted for the fixed rate method (they remain valid for the actual cost method).
The fixed-rate method for home office running costs is 70c per hour from 1 July 2024 and requires a record of actual hours worked from home.(PCG 2023/1 (as amended); ITAA 1997 s 8-1; ATO guidance TR 93/30; TR 2024/3)
Allowable expenses
Category
Examples
Tax treatment
Camera and audio equipment
Camera bodies, lenses, lighting, drones, DJ controllers, speakers, microphones, computers, editing monitors
Instant write-off up to $20,000 per item (2025-26 SBE); items above threshold into simplified depreciation pool at 15%/30%
Software and subscriptions
Adobe Creative Cloud, Lightroom, gallery platforms, DJ music licensing, video editing suites, CRM, website hosting
Fully deductible as running expenses in the year incurred
Cost of goods sold or trading stock. Normal wastage absorbed into cost of sales. GST credits claimable on supplier invoices
Insurance
Public liability, professional indemnity, equipment cover, event cancellation insurance, income protection
Fully deductible as business operating expense
Vehicle and delivery costs
Fuel, servicing, registration, insurance, tolls, parking (not fines) for travel to venues, client meetings, flower markets
Logbook method (actual costs x business-use %) or cents-per-km (88c/km, max 5,000 km). Parking fines are not deductible
Celebrant registration
Marriage Act registration fee, annual celebrant fees, required professional development
Deductible as ongoing regulatory costs under IT 2409
Home office
Electricity, internet, phone, office furniture, proportion of rent/mortgage interest if dedicated office
Running costs: fixed-rate method (70c/hour) or actual cost. Occupancy costs deductible for dedicated office but create CGT risk on home sale
Marketing and advertising
Wedding directory listings, social media advertising, sample albums, portfolio printing, trade show stands
Fully deductible as business operating expense
Accounting, legal, admin
Accountant fees, contract drafting, business insurance, bank and merchant fees, stationery
Fully deductible as business operating expense
Vehicle and travel costs
Wedding photographers, florists doing deliveries, and mobile DJs should use the logbook method if travel is substantial: keep a 12-week representative logbook, then apply the business-use percentage to all running costs for the year. Seasonal variation matters: if your logbook period falls in quiet winter months, it may not represent your peak-season travel pattern, so time the 12-week period to capture a mix of busy and quiet weeks. For florists making early-morning market runs and same-day venue deliveries, business use is typically 60 to 80%. Cents-per-km (88c/km, max 5,000 km) caps the deduction at $4,250, suitable for celebrants or planners with modest travel. Tolls and business parking are deductible regardless of method. Parking fines and traffic infringements are never deductible.
Capital allowances and equipment
The instant asset write-off for small business entities (turnover under $10 million) is $20,000 per asset for 2025-26. A $7,500 camera body, a $3,000 lens, a $5,000 DJ speaker and controller setup, or a $12,000 delivery van fit-out for a florist can each be written off in full in the year of purchase. A $25,000 cinema-grade video camera above the threshold goes into the simplified depreciation pool: $3,750 in the first year (15%), then 30% of the declining balance in subsequent years. Software subscriptions (Adobe CC at roughly $80 per month) are not capital and are deducted as running expenses.
Common ATO audit triggers for Wedding Industry
Deposits received in one financial year for weddings occurring in the next year, not declared as income in the year of receipt (cash-basis operators)
Client entertainment claimed as a business deduction (venue tastings, supplier lunches, client dinners are not deductible)
Conventional clothing purchased for weddings claimed as work uniform (suits, dresses, shoes are not deductible)
High equipment claims without receipts, asset register, or evidence of business use (personal camera gear claimed as 100% business)
Cash payments from clients not declared (ATO cross-references bank deposits and industry benchmarks for wedding operators)
Home office claims without a diary of hours worked or floor-area calculation
Frequently asked questions
Do I owe GST on a deposit received months before the wedding?+
If the deposit is a non-refundable booking fee that you are contractually entitled to keep, GST applies when you receive the payment, not when the wedding occurs. You must include the GST component on your BAS for the period you received the deposit. If the wedding is later cancelled and you refund the deposit, you make a decreasing adjustment on your next BAS to recover the GST. If you retain the fee as a cancellation charge, GST continues to apply.
Can I claim the suit or dress I wear to weddings as a work expense?+
No. Conventional clothing (suits, dresses, shoes, accessories) is not deductible even if purchased specifically for work events. The ATO only allows deductions for protective clothing, compulsory uniforms with employer logos, or occupation-specific clothing that is not suitable for everyday wear. A photographer's suit or a celebrant's formal outfit does not qualify. Hair, makeup, and grooming costs are also not deductible.
How do florists handle flower wastage for tax purposes?+
Flowers and perishable materials purchased for events are treated as cost of goods sold or trading stock. Normal wastage (unsold or spoiled flowers) is absorbed into your cost of sales and reduces your profit naturally. You do not need to separately claim a deduction for normal spoilage. If you do a year-end stocktake and closing stock is lower than opening stock, the difference increases your deductions. You cannot deduct wastage from private or non-business use of flowers.
Is client entertainment deductible for wedding planners?+
No. Meals, drinks, event tickets, and other entertainment provided to clients or potential clients are not deductible and you cannot claim GST credits on them. This applies even if the entertainment directly leads to a booking. The ATO treats client lunches, venue tastings with couples, and supplier schmoozing as entertainment under the non-deductible entertainment provisions. The only exception is entertainment provided to employees as a fringe benefit (which has its own FBT consequences).