No. The prices Microsoft displays on its Australian pricing pages exclude GST. Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot is listed at AU$35.20 per user per month, but an Australian business pays $38.72 once 10% GST is added at checkout. GST-registered businesses can generally claim that GST back. Prices checked July 2026.
The gap between the advertised price and the amount that actually leaves the bank account is one of the most common Microsoft 365 billing questions Frontrow hears from Australian businesses, and it catches out plenty of first-time buyers at budget time. This guide sets out exactly how the pricing works, what each plan currently costs with GST included, and what a typical 10-person business should expect to pay. Every figure was checked against Microsoft's Australian pricing page in July 2026, after the 1 July price update took effect.
Why doesn't the Microsoft 365 price on the website match my invoice?
Because Microsoft quotes business pricing exclusive of GST. The fine print on Microsoft's Australian plans page says it plainly: "Prices shown here and on following pages do not include GST. The 'Payment and Billing' page will show amounts payable including GST (if applicable) before you purchase."
This is standard practice for business-to-business software in Australia. Products aimed at businesses are commonly advertised ex-GST because most business buyers are GST-registered and treat the GST as a pass-through, not a cost. Consumer products, by contrast, are usually advertised with GST included. Microsoft 365 business plans sit firmly in the first camp, so the number on the pricing page is always 10% lower than the number on the invoice.
What are the current Microsoft 365 prices in Australia with and without GST?
As listed on Microsoft's Australian pricing page in July 2026, the business plans below are per user per month on an annual commitment, paid yearly. The ex-GST figure is what Microsoft displays; the inc-GST figure is what gets billed.
- Microsoft 365 Business Basic: $10.50/user/month ex-GST ($11.55 inc GST)
- Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot: $35.20/user/month ex-GST ($38.72 inc GST)
- Microsoft 365 Business Premium with Copilot: $47.90/user/month ex-GST ($52.69 inc GST)
- Microsoft 365 Apps for business: $15.80/user/month ex-GST ($17.38 inc GST)
- Business Basic (no Teams): $8.10/user/month ex-GST ($8.91 inc GST)
- Business Standard with Copilot (no Teams): $30.40/user/month ex-GST ($33.44 inc GST)
- Business Premium with Copilot (no Teams): $43.10/user/month ex-GST ($47.41 inc GST)
Two things worth noting about that list. First, following the July 2026 line-up change, Business Standard and Business Premium now carry "with Copilot" branding on the Australian pricing page, reflecting the Copilot capability Microsoft has folded into those tiers. Second, these are the paid-yearly rates. Month-to-month billing, where offered, costs more per user, so confirm the exact rate at the payment step before committing.
What does Microsoft 365 actually cost for a 10-person business?
Here is the worked example Frontrow walks new clients through. Take a 10-seat business on Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot at the July 2026 list price of $35.20 per user per month ex-GST, paid yearly:
- Monthly licence cost ex-GST: 10 seats × $35.20 = $352.00
- GST at 10%: $35.20
- Monthly amount billed inc GST: $387.20
- Annual cost ex-GST: $4,224.00
- Annual amount billed inc GST: $4,646.40
Which figure belongs in the budget depends on what the budget is for. Cash-flow forecasts should use the inc-GST figure, because that is what leaves the account. Profit-and-loss budgets and any comparison between plans or suppliers should use the ex-GST figure, because a GST-registered business recovers the GST and it never lands as an expense.
Can my business claim the GST back on Microsoft 365?
If the business is registered for GST, yes. The 10% GST charged on Microsoft 365 subscriptions is an input tax credit, claimed through the business activity statement in the usual way, provided the business holds a valid tax invoice. The practical effect is that the ex-GST price on Microsoft's page is the true net cost of the licence for a registered business.
Businesses that are not registered for GST, typically those under the $75,000 turnover threshold that have chosen not to register, cannot claim the credit. For them the GST is a real cost, and the inc-GST figures above are the right ones to budget against. Sole traders in this position comparing plans should do the comparison on inc-GST numbers.
Where do I find a tax invoice for Microsoft 365?
Invoices for subscriptions bought directly from Microsoft live in the Microsoft 365 admin centre. Go to Billing, then Bills & payments, and download the invoice for the relevant period. The invoice shows the GST as a separate line, which is what the bookkeeper or accountant needs to support the input tax credit claim. If the subscription is bought through a Microsoft partner rather than directly, the partner issues the tax invoice instead, and it should equally show GST as its own line.
What changed with Microsoft 365 pricing on 1 July 2026?
Microsoft applied a commercial price update on 1 July 2026, its first broad list-price rise on these plans in several years. The announced USD list movements were Business Basic from US$6 to US$7 and Business Standard from US$12.50 to US$14 per user per month, with Australian dollar pricing set under Microsoft's regional pricing model rather than by direct currency conversion. The AUD figures earlier in this guide are the post-rise prices as displayed on Microsoft's Australian page in July 2026.
What did not change is the GST treatment. GST remains 10%, it remains excluded from every displayed price, and it remains claimable for registered businesses. A price rise never alters the GST rule; it just changes the base the 10% is calculated on.
Should Australian businesses buy Microsoft 365 direct from Microsoft or through a partner?
The licence is the same either way, and both routes quote ex-GST and add the 10% on the invoice. The difference is what sits around the licence. Buying direct suits a business that is happy to self-manage. Buying through a Microsoft partner adds a layer of advice: which tier each role genuinely needs, whether the no-Teams variants fit, when an annual commitment beats monthly flexibility, and whether seats are sitting idle on plans the business is paying for but not using.
That last point is usually worth more than the GST question. In Frontrow's experience reviewing Australian tenants, licence waste from over-tiered or unused seats routinely dwarfs any billing-structure detail. A 10-seat business paying Business Premium rates for three mailboxes that only need Business Basic is losing about $1,346 a year ex-GST on those seats alone. Frontrow runs this kind of licence review as a standard part of its managed service for Australian organisations, and it is the first place to look before any conversation about price rises.
Prices in this guide were checked against Microsoft's Australian pricing page in July 2026. Microsoft adjusts pricing from time to time, so treat the checkout page as the final word on the exact amount payable — it always shows the GST-inclusive total before purchase.