If you’ve made money via sharing economy services like Airbnb, Stayz, or Uber, you must disclose it on your tax return. To guarantee compliance with tax requirements, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has stepped up its examination of revenue earned via these channels. 

Platforms that enable ride-sharing, taxi travel, and short-term accommodation (less than 90 days) must disclose transactions made using these services to the ATO under the sharing economy reporting framework starting on 1 July 2023. 

The ATO will therefore have a complete dataset to compare against taxpayer income tax returns for the first time in the 2023–24 tax year.

All other sharing economy platforms will likewise be obliged to begin tracking their transactions from 1 July 2024.

Along with the ATO’s data-matching initiatives, this new reporting system implies that should you fail to disclose your income, the regulator is likely to ask you to “explain”. 

For any questions you may have related to income tax or side income, please contact the tax experts at Bates Cosgrave.