How Much Does an ABN Cost? ($0 — and Who Charges You Anyway)

An ABN costs nothing. Applying through the Australian Business Register (ABR) or the Business Registration Service is free, updating and cancelling it are free, and an ABN never expires, so there's no renewal fee. Anyone charging you for one is either a private website selling a form the government gives away, or a scammer.

The short answer: $0, from the government, for life

business.gov.au states plainly that registering for an ABN through the ABR is free. Every step of the ABN's life is free when you deal with the ABR directly (as at 18 October 2026):

There's no annual charge and no certificate to buy, and a second ABN for a company or trust you start later is free too. If the ABR can identify you from your details, your 11-digit number appears on screen when you finish the online application. If it needs a closer look, you get a reference number and the ABR aims to review within 20 business days.

Paid ABN websites vs the free ABR

Search "register ABN" and some results are private websites with official-sounding names and .com.au addresses. They charge to lodge the same free application. Here's what a selection published on 18 October 2026, alongside the official route:

These are lawful businesses offering a paid service, not scams. But the table shows what you'd pay for something free. What you're actually buying:

• Data entry. They ask the questions the ABR asks, then lodge the same application. There's no fast lane: details the ABR can't verify go to the same review queue either way.
• A layer between you and the ABR. These sites collect your TFN, date of birth and identity details on a page that isn't government-run. That's a lot of trust to extend to a business you found through an ad.
• Sometimes, reminders and support. Some people value that. Just know it's optional.

The tell for the official route: the address ends in .gov.au, and the ABN application never asks for a card. If a site claims to be a tax agent, check its number on the Tax Practitioners Board register. Our ABN registration guide has a checklist for telling the official application from a lookalike.

When paying might make sense

Almost never for the ABN itself. The genuine exceptions are when an accountant is setting up a company or trust for you and the ABN is one line in a bigger job covering structure advice and ASIC paperwork, or when your application has gone to review and you'd rather your tax agent handle the back-and-forth. The ABR lets registered tax and BAS agents apply for clients through its tax professional services. Either way, you're paying a professional you'd have chosen anyway, not an anonymous website. Our guide to BAS agents vs tax agents explains who can do what.

The fake "ABN renewal" letters

Once you have an ABN, your details become public on ABN Lookup, and the mail starts: letters and emails styled as invoices, complete with reference numbers and due dates, demanding a fee for "ABN renewal" or an "ABN certificate". Two facts protect you:

1. An ABN never expires. There's nothing to renew, so every "ABN renewal" demand is misleading by definition.
2. The only recurring fee anywhere near your ABN is a business name renewal, and it comes from ASIC: $47 for one year or $108 for three (as at 18 October 2026). ASIC warns that private providers send unsolicited renewal notices with a fee on top, that you don't have to use them, and that its business name emails come from ASIC.Transaction.No-reply@asic.gov.au. Our business name renewal guide shows how to check a notice.

If you've received one, check your ABN status free on ABN Lookup, report it to Scamwatch, and call your bank if money has already gone. The ABR can review whether you're still entitled to an ABN and cancel it if you're not, but it doesn't invoice you to keep one. If you're still trading and yours has been cancelled, you apply to have it reissued, free.

What does cost money around an ABN

The ABN is free, but the things people register alongside it aren't always. Here's the list (as at 18 October 2026):

Trading as a sole trader under your own name? Your total government cost to start is $0; a business name takes it to $47. A company changes the picture: our company setup costs guide breaks down the ASIC fees and published provider prices, and the family trust setup costs guide does the same for trusts. Not sure which structure fits? Start with sole trader vs company.

GST registration is free, but it commits you to lodging a business activity statement. Below the $75,000 threshold it's optional, and if you choose to register you generally stay registered for at least 12 months. Read the BAS and GST guide before you tick that box.

How to get your ABN free

1. Confirm you're entitled. You need to be carrying on, or starting, an enterprise: genuinely running a business, not working as an employee under a "contractor" label.
2. Gather your details. Your business structure, your TFN (and those of any partners, directors or trustees), the entity's legal name, your main business activity, the physical address of each business location, a postal address, email and phone, and the date you need the ABN (no more than six months ahead).
3. Go to abr.gov.au, or register.business.gov.au to add a business name or GST in the same session. Neither asks for a card unless you're paying an ASIC fee.
4. Answer honestly and submit. If your details verify, your ABN appears on screen. If not, you get a reference number and the ABR aims to review within 20 business days. Don't lodge a second application while you wait.
5. Put it to work. Add the ABN to your invoices (without it, businesses paying you more than $75 generally must withhold tax at the top rate) and connect it to your accounting software.

The full walkthrough, including what triggers a review, is in our step-by-step ABN registration guide. Starting out on your own? How to become a sole trader covers everything else you need on day one.

Key takeaways

• An ABN costs $0 from the Australian Business Register to apply, update, cancel or have reissued, and it never expires, so there's no renewal fee.
• Paid ABN websites charged about $49 to $79 for the ABN alone on 18 October 2026; they're no faster and no more likely to be approved.
• Any invoice for an "ABN renewal" is a scam or a misleading private service. The only genuine recurring fee nearby is ASIC's business name renewal: $47 for a year or $108 for three (as at 18 October 2026).
• The real costs sit around the ABN, not in it: a business name ($47 or $108), company registration ($636 plus a $342 annual review), or a trust deed.
• GST registration is free but brings BAS obligations: optional under $75,000 turnover, compulsory above it.
• Do it yourself at abr.gov.au; pay an accountant for structure advice, not form-filling.

Where to get help

• Australian Business Register: apply for, update or cancel an ABN, free.
• ABN Lookup: check any ABN's status, including your own.
• Business Registration Service: ABN, business name and GST in one application.
• ASIC: current business name and company fees, and warnings on unsolicited renewal notices.
• Tax Practitioners Board register: check whether a paid service is a registered agent.
• Scamwatch (ACCC): report fake renewal letters and lookalike sites.
• Your accountant: for structure advice before you register, especially if a company or trust is on the table.