How to get a cancelled ABN back

A cancelled ABN can usually be brought back. If you are trading again, you can ask for your old number to be reinstated instead of applying for a new one, which keeps your history in one place and spares you from changing the number on everything.

ABNs get cancelled in one of two ways. You can cancel it yourself, and you are meant to when you stop trading, so people do it when they close a business, take a job or move overseas. Or the ATO cancels it, for example when it believes you are no longer carrying on an enterprise. Some people only find out when a client mentions that the ABN shows as cancelled, or an invoice gets queried.

The number is not handed to anyone else. It stays linked to you, and that is why it can be revived.

You can see the status of any ABN on ABN Lookup, where a cancelled one shows as cancelled along with the date. If you have lost track of your old number, or are not sure what the entry means, our team can look it up for you on 1300 070 000, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm Melbourne time.

What to have ready

• your old ABN
• your full name and date of birth exactly as the ATO has them
• your address
• your tax file number
• a plain description of what the business does now, something like "mobile dog grooming" rather than "services"

Reinstatement is for people who are actually trading again, or about to, and the ATO may ask you to confirm that you are carrying on an enterprise. The description is how you show it.

The identity details matter more than they look. Most delays come from details that do not match the ATO's records, such as a dropped middle name or a surname that has changed.

How we handle it

We offer ABN reactivation on our ABN registration page. You give us the details from the list above, pay, and we put the reactivation request in for you, using your old number so the same ABN comes back rather than a new one. If it turns out a fresh ABN makes more sense, for example because you are now trading through a company, we apply for new ABNs for sole traders and companies as well.

Getting the ABN back does not bring your GST registration back with it. GST is a separate registration, and when an ABN is cancelled the GST registration usually goes too. For most businesses GST becomes required once turnover reaches the GST threshold. This is general information only, so have a word with your accountant about your own situation before you put GST on an invoice.

Do not invoice until the ABN is active again. Invoice a business client while your ABN is cancelled and they may have to withhold tax from the payment, because the ABN you quoted is not valid. An accounts team can check ABN Lookup in seconds before paying a new supplier, so a cancelled status is easy to spot. You can get the withheld amount back, but only later, through your tax return.

If you trade under a business name, check that too. A name can lapse during the same quiet period the ABN was cancelled. If it is still current, it can be renewed with us by searching it in our renewal box and choosing one or three years. If it has lapsed, you can search it on our site to see if it is available and register it again against your reactivated ABN.