The $20,000 question nobody asks until settlement

Two identical excavators, both advertised at $200,000. One costs you $200,000 and the other costs $220,000. Here is how to tell which is which before you shake hands.

Machinery in Australia is usually advertised excluding GST. Light commercials are more often advertised including it. Nobody announces which convention they are using, and the number on the screen looks the same either way.

On a $200,000 excavator that is a $20,000 difference. It is the single most common surprise in used equipment buying, and it almost always surfaces at the worst possible moment — when the finance is approved for one figure and the invoice arrives with another.

Why it happens

A dealer selling to businesses assumes the buyer is registered for GST and will claim the credit back, so quoting ex-GST shows the real cost of ownership. A dealer selling utes and vans to a mixed market quotes the drive-away figure because that is what the buyer will actually pay. Both are reasonable. Neither is signposted.

What to do about it

• Ask the question in writing before you negotiate, not after. "Is that price plus GST?" costs nothing to ask and settles it.
• Check whether on-road costs are included on anything registrable — stamp duty and registration on a $200,000 prime mover is not a rounding error.
• If you are financing, tell your broker the GST basis. Most commercial facilities finance the ex-GST amount and you fund the GST yourself until the credit comes back, which is a real cash-flow event in the first quarter.
• Get the figure confirmed on the invoice or purchase order, not in a text message.

We show GST treatment exactly as the dealer stated it on every listing, and where a dealer has not said, we label it "GST not stated" rather than guessing. That is deliberate. Converting between the two on your behalf would mean publishing a number the seller never advertised.