Many Kiwis rent out their holiday house, a room, or even their existing home for short stay holiday accommodation through the likes of Airbnb and Bookabach. If you’re one of them, then you need to know about changes coming.
Next month from 1 April, operators like Airbnb and Bookabach, will be responsible for charging and collecting GST of 15% on all short-stay holiday lets through their online platforms. It applies even if a property owner earns less than $60,000 a year and isn’t GST registered.
If you’re GST registered, here’s how the changes will work!
You’ll need to let your online platform know that you’re GST registered.
You will no longer need to issue tax invoices to customers or the platform.
You’ll need to report your accommodation sales in your GST return as zero-rated.
You will still be entitled to claim GST on your costs, just as you’ve done in the past, but you won’t receive a flat rate credit from the platform.
If you’re not GST registered
You won’t need to register or account for GST as the platform will do this for you. Don’t panic, this doesn’t mean that your property will instantly come into the ‘GST net’ and become taxable on sale.
As before, you’ll still need to monitor whether your short-stay property accommodation sales reach the GST threshold, and if they do, you’ll need to register for GST (and then the above will apply).
You should also receive extra money from the online platform, and this will be calculated at 8.5% of the GST exclusive price of your accommodation price.