Attention influencers, side hustlers and everyone with multiple jobs! The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has issued another warning ahead of the upcoming tax season, reminding Aussies to declare all the moolah they’ve made, even if it was on the side.
Ahh, the ATO. Much like the Grim Reaper or Nanny McPhee, the ATO only comes around when you least want it to. That is of course unless you’re getting a sexy sexy payout on your tax return. In that case, all doors of my house are open and unlocked and the ATO angel can walk straight in. You are welcome in this house, baby.
On Friday, the ATO put out a warning to influencers and people who have multiple jobs, reminding them to “make sure all their records are up-to-scratch”. According to the ATO, a record number of taxpayers are now working multiple jobs, side hustles and gigs in order to keep up with cozzie livs.
Tim Loh, the ATO’s Assistant Commissioner, said that if you earn money through continuously repeated activities in order to make a profit, then it means you’re possibly running a business.
“While there are always new and different ways to make money, the tax obligations remain the same. Don’t fall into the trap of forgetting to include all your income, thinking the ATO won’t notice,” Loh said.
“You also need to declare any additional income earned through that side hustle.”
Examples of side hustles like animal breeding, ride shares, food delivery and social media influencers were mentioned in the ATO’s reminder.
Loh said: “If your home has become more like a warehouse and is stocked to the hilt with goods to sell, then you may, in fact be running a business.
“If you’re running boot camp sessions, in addition to your 9–5 job, well this is a side hustle and you need to declare this income to the ATO.
“If you’re an online content creator earning money or receiving gifts, you’re also likely to be running a business and there are tax obligations you need to comply with.”
And for those who might be unsure if they’re running a business or not, Loh mentioned that the ATO doesn’t recognise activities that are a “one-off transaction” or “an activity from which you don’t seek to make a profit” as a business.
On Monday, the ATO sent out a reminder on the three mistakes folks often make when lodging their tax return (not all of us can afford an accountant or a smart maths boyfriend). It’s done so because it will be cracking down on these errors extra hard.
In case you were wondering how hard it will be cracking down, the ATO named its announcement “In the ATO’s sights this tax time.” You know, like some kind of fkn sniper. We’re done for.
The three focus areas this year are rental property deductions, work-related expenses and capital gains tax.
Unless you’re a landlord, rental property deductions won’t matter to you.
It’s basically when a landlord overclaims an expense or claims on private property improvements (which they shouldn’t). According to the ATO, nine out of 10 rental property owners fuck up their tax returns. Can they do anything right?
Capital gains tax also won’t apply to many people as it has to do with the selling of assets like shares, crypto or properties. If you have a friend who is selling their house, tell them they better know what they’re putting in that tax return or the ATO will be on their ass. Also, tell them to spare some of that house money for the rest of us.
Finally, work-related expenses. This term applies to folks who work from home, which is unfortunately most of us.
The ATO really doesn’t want us to just copy and paste the same details from last year, especially when a lot of our working arrangements have changed lately (some of us are working in the office again and some are only working there half the time).
Alongside those three mistakes, the ATO has warned that they have sophisticated data-matching and analytical tools that’ll help them identify taxpayers who under-report their income and from July 1, the ATO will gain extra data from more electronic distribution platforms.
This way, the ATO will match info with the other info that taxpayers have provided on their tax return or activity statement to identify income that has not been included.
Basically when you do your tax return this year, don’t try to cut corners or cheat the system. Be as honest as possible and get (or pay) the money you need.
