Audit Lowe Down – Costs incurred in acquiring / forming a business

Lowe Lippmann Chartered Accountants

Costs incurred in acquiring / forming a business.


Further to the recent blog about capitalisation of costs when acquiring an asset, we have received a number of questions in relation to costs incurred in setting up / purchasing a business.


Formation costs on establishing a business:

These costs would include:

  • Incorporation fees
  • ASIC registration fees
  • Legal fees
  • Business name registration
  • Pre-operating costs
  • Pre-opening costs.


The relevant standard for these costs is AASB 138 Intangible Assets and paragraph 69a confirms that these start-up costs are expensed when incurred. There is no identifiable asset controlled by the entity when the costs are incurred as the entity does not exist.


Business acquisition costs

These costs would include:

  • Legal and accounting fees
  • Due diligence and valuation costs
  • Stamp duty
  • Advisory or brokerage fees
  • Project management costs related to the acquisition
  • Internal costs allocated to the transaction


In contrast to the asset acquisition discussed previously, AASB 3 Business Combinations requires all acquisition costs to be expensed as incurred. This means that they are not included as part of the consideration paid and therefore do not affect calculated goodwill.


Entities purchasing businesses should be aware that these costs are not able to be capitalised as they can often be substantial, and purchasers often do not expect the costs to be taken directly to the income statement


Please do not hesitate to contact your Lowe Lippmann Relationship Partner if you wish to discuss any of these matters further.

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Practice Update – September 2025

September 8, 2025
ATO to include tax 'debts on hold' in taxpayer account balances From August 2025, the Australian Taxation Office ( ATO ) is progressively including 'debts on hold' in relevant taxpayer ATO account balances. A 'debt on hold' is an outstanding tax debt where the ATO has previously paused debt collection actions. Tax debts will generally be placed on hold where the ATO decides it is not cost effective to collect the debt at the time. The ATO is currently required by law to offset such 'debts on hold' against any refunds or credits the taxpayer is entitled to. The difficulty with these debts is that the ATO has not traditionally recorded them on taxpayer's ATO account balances. Taxpayers with 'debts on hold' of $100 or more will receive (or their tax agent will receive) a letter before it is added to their ATO account balance (which can be viewed in the ATO's online services or the statement of account). Taxpayers with a 'debt on hold' of less than $100 will not receive a letter, but the debt will be included in their ATO account balance. The ATO has advised it will remit the general interest charge ( GIC ) that is applied to 'debts on hold' for periods where they have not been included in account balances. This means that taxpayers have not been charged GIC for this period. The ATO will stop remitting GIC six months from the day the taxpayer's 'debt on hold' is included in their account balance. After this, GIC will start to apply.

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