Aggregated turnover is borrowed from the small business rules in Division 328, but the R&D rate table applies it to the claim year itself. The figure is often settled only once the year's accounts close.
How it is worked out
Three amounts are added, then group dealings removed:
- the company's own annual turnover for the year;
- the annual turnover of each entity connected with it;
- the annual turnover of each affiliate.
Annual turnover is ordinary income earned in the ordinary course of business, worldwide, without GST. Income from an associate is counted at arm's length value. A business that ran for only part of the year uses a reasonable estimate of a full year. Amounts that flow between the company and its connected entities or affiliates are taken out, and so is anything a related entity earned while it was not connected or affiliated.
How it affects your claim
Below $20 million, and with no control by exempt entities, the company gets the refundable offset. At $20 million or more it gets the non-refundable offset, with the intensity premium. Because a parent or sister company can push the total over the line, the test catches many small Australian subsidiaries of larger groups; see companies nearing $20 million turnover.
Common mistakes
- Using last year's turnover. The table asks for the income year being claimed.
- Leaving out a foreign parent or an entity that joined the group mid-year.
- Counting intra-group fees twice instead of removing them.
The 2026-27 Budget package proposes lifting the threshold to $50 million from 1 July 2028, with refundability limited by company age; it is proposed, not law, and Treasury consulted on draft legislation from 10 to 28 September 2026 (see the $50 million turnover threshold).