It’s essential that any income earned from sharing economy platforms such as Airbnb, Stayz, Uber, etc., is declared in your tax return.
Since 1 July 2023, the platforms delivering ride-sourcing, taxi travel, and short-term accommodation (under 90 days), have been required to report transactions made through their platform to the ATO under the sharing economy reporting regime. 2023-24 is the first year that the ATO will have the income tax returns of taxpayers to match to this data.
All other sharing economy platforms will be required to start reporting from 1 July 2024.
This reporting regime, combined with the ATO’s data matching programs, mean that if income is not declared, it’s likely you will receive a “please explain” request from the regulator.