With the increased popularity in “sharing economy” accommodation Airbnb and similar properties are predicted to be in the firing line this year with the ATO.
It comes as no surprise the ATO have recently commenced the ‘sharing economy (accommodation) data matching program’. Through this program the ATO will be collecting information from rental platforms such as Airbnb and your financial institutions.
The type of information that will be gathered by the ATO under the sharing economy (accommodation) data matching program include the following:
Details of the listing owner and the property
- Name
- Contact details
- Rental properties address
- Type of listing (whole house or single room)
Property activities
- Listing dates, rates, enquiries & responses
- Conversion dates
- Host block out times
- Price per night
- Changes to the listing such as price and property condition changes.
Financial transactions
- Number of nights booked
- Payment method
- Gross rental income
Information from the financial institution
- Host’s account details
- Date and total amount paid to the host.
So far is estimated that records relating to up to 190,000 individuals will be obtained by the ATO from the new sharing economy (accommodation) data matching program.
The above data collected by the ATO will be electronically matched against ATO records to identify individuals that have been using these online accommodation services to advertise their properties. The ATO are trying to warn individuals who are not meeting their registration, reporting, lodgment and/or payment obligations will be caught and penalized.
However it’s not all bad. If you are hosting on Airbnb or a similar website you are eligible to the same type of deductions as a traditional rental property. Some tax deductible expenses you may incur are:
- Fee’s charged by Airbnb or other websites
- Cleaning and laundry costs
- Gardening
- Linen for guest use only
- Food for guests
- Internet
- Games and entertainment for the guests.
If you are one of the 90,000 and growing who have accommodation listed on Airbnb or similar websites, please be conscious of what you are including in your tax return this year as the ATO are targeting you this year.
To ensure your tax return is being completed accurately call Taxwise on 08 9248 8124 to schedule in your tax return appointment with a property specialist today.
