Many of us use online platforms to find short-term holiday rentals, or to rent out a property for a little extra income.
But did you know that any rental income that you earn in this way has to be declared to the tax office, and if you earn rental income on your primary place of residence you may be liable for capital gains tax?
It is very important to be on top of this, particularly because the Commissioner of Taxation has recently announced a new data matching program between these platforms and the ATO.
They will be able to automatically collect data, including the bank details linked to your property rental account, for 2016-17 and 2019-20.
This means that the tax office will have a record of every individual who should have declared rental income earned through these platforms.
But don’t panic!
If you have used these platforms but have not previously declared the income, you can go back and amend your tax returns to include it.
The ATO might sound big and scary, but they will generally be understanding of a genuine mistake if you are taking the steps to correct it.
Our tax specialists can help you with this, and make sure that you know exactly what to do to declare this kind of income in the future.
Even with the best of intentions, tax compliance can feel like a minefield, but with support from the experts at Pherrus you can enjoy that extra income with complete peace of mind.