ATO’s View on Airbnb, Uber and Youtube

 The ATO is reminding Australians that it is paying close attention to undeclared income from secondary work, including from the sharing or ‘gig’ economy this tax time.

When a taxpayer reaps some monetary benefit from a skill, passion or hobby separate to the income they earn in their ‘day job’ being their main employment or business, it is commonly known as a taxpayer’s side hustle.

Examples include:

• Instagram or TikTok ‘influencer’ paid (in cash or in kind) to promote products and brands;

• A family earning rental income from listing all/parts of their home on Airbnb or Stays;

• A tradesperson earning extra handy man fees on Airtasker;

• A student delivering goods through Eat Now, Sherpa, UberEats, Menulog etc.;

• A driver using their car to ride-share/ride-source through Uber, Didi, Hop, Shebah etc;

• A person selling old household items on EBay, Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace;

• Youtubers or bloggers receiving commissions for sales/advertising of products.

With the ATO’s data-matching capabilities greater than ever before, it is more important than ever to ensure that income that is properly characterised as assessable is reported in the taxpayer’s tax return.

“Generally, when you provide your labour, skills or goods for a fee, you need to report this income in your tax return. This applies regardless of whether you’re using a digital platform or more traditional means, such as word of mouth.”

If you declare side hustle income, the good news is you can also claim deductions for expenses if you have kept your receipts and it directly relates to earning this side hustle income.

There may also be instances whereby this income could be considered income earned from ‘hobby activities’ and is therefore non-assessable for tax purposes. A common example of this is the sale of old household items via ebay, Facebook Marketplace or Gumtree.

Need Cordner Advisory to help?

If you have concerns or require further information in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact our team who can provide you with guidance. Contact us on ((07) 3067 6691 to speak to one of our trusted advisors today.

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