Airbnb Tax Returns
There are many ways to turn your available assets into profit generating assets. Airbnb is one of the most popular sharing economy websites helping property owners and investors to earn some extra income without paying too much on set-up fees, administration fees and other complicated registration expenses. Airbnb only charges hosts a 3% service fee for each booking on its website.
Either you are a house owner and want to make some extra cash for your holiday trip, or you are an apartment renter and want to reduce your rent. The good news is that GST does not apply to residential rent.
However, rental income is still assessable income and income tax is applied to all Airbnb rental earnings. It is strongly advised that all rental income should be recorded and declared to the ATO. If you do not declare your income from Airbnb, the ATO can figure it out as your Airbnb transactions are recorded online and there is evidence of the intention to make profit from your property.
These are some of the expenses that Airbnb hosts can claim for deduction:
- Any fees and charges relating to the sharing economy services
- The property administration fees
- Council rates
- Interest on loan
- Electricity and gas
- Property insurance
- Cleaning and maintenance costs
- Fees and commission charged by Authorities
It is important to keep in mind that the deduction amount is determined according to the amount of time and proportion of the property that were used for making a profit. This can sometimes become an issue, as the calculation is complicated and records of transactions are not correctly stored.
There are quite a few questions that our clients usually ask us for their Airbnb tax returns, some of them are mentioned below:
- Can rent paid be deductible?
- Can installations such as TV, Air-conditioning unit and other electronics be claimed and apportioned?
- Can plant purchases be claimed?
- We installed a new floor, can this be claimed?
- I have a mortgage; can I claim a portion of this?
- How does CGT apply to our situation?
- Would I be considered to be a business owner or a property investor, if I rent the whole property as a part of Airbnb trade?
We understand that there could be a myriad of other questions you may have pertaining to Airbnb tax returns. It would be peaceful to know that we at A One Accountants can confidently answer all of your questions and assist you in the preparation and lodgment of Airbnb related tax returns.
For property owners, renting out a part of their property can give rise to CGT consequences if you decide to sell the property in the future.
Questions about Airbnb income tax can be complex and require a profound understanding of tax. We have prepared numerous amounts of tax returns which include Airbnb and similar sharing economy tax returns, so we fully understand the requirements of what can be and cannot be claimed.
The above article is accompanied with a disclaimer; kindly contact us on 03-86091889 for a full copy of the disclaimer or send us an email on info@a1accountants.com.au