Small business benchmarks are a guide to help you compare your business's performance against similar businesses in the same industry.
ATO uses benchmarks and other risk indicators to identify businesses that may be avoiding their tax obligations by not reporting some of their income.
The small business benchmarks also helps to compare your business's performance against others in your industry.
You can also use benchmarks:
- to see how your business is tracking against the benchmarks at least once a year, before lodging your tax return
- as a guide to help you set up and understand industry standards if you are new to business.
Key Type of Benchmarks
The main performance benchmark that ATO uses is tax return benchmark ranges. They get it from information provided by businesses on their tax returns
Tax return benchmark ranges include:
- cost of sales to turnover (excluding labour) - divide cost of sales from turnover and multiply by 100
- total expenses to turnover - divide total expenses from turnover and multiply by 100
The Small Business Benchmark Table
Start typing your business industry to filter the table: