What about Tax?
All the information is here - https://www.camplify.com.au/tax
Do you need an ABN?
One van? No
Multiple Vans? Yes
The only time you need to apply for an ABN is if you are carrying on a business of hiring out RV’s. If your intention of purchasing then renting an RV is purely to make a profit, if you have multiple RV’s, have a business name set up or are managing RV’s for others then you will require an ABN.
For in-depth advice, we advise owners to speak to their tax accountant about their individual situation.
How much tax do I pay?
It depends who owns the RV and how much other income they earn. If your costs are more than your income then you won’t pay tax at all. If your income is more than your costs then you will pay tax on the difference.
Who pays the tax?
Whoever owns the RV. If you own the RV in your personal name then you will include the income and expenses in your personal return. If you own the RV in joint names you will split the income and expenses between each of you. If your RV has been purchased in a Trust or a Company then the Trust and or Company reports the income and expenses.
Will your Camplify earnings impact my pension/ Centrelink?
Yes. Centrelink is tracking all income you earn, including from the sharing economy. Whether your Camplify income has a negative impact on your pension will depend on your other income, your assets, and the level of income you earn from Camplify.
Will Camplify provide an EOFY statement?
Yes, at the end of the financial year we release a full statement of your account on your Camplify Dashboard.
In 2020 the Statements will be added to your Camplify Dashboard by July 31st. We intend to send you an email notification as a prompt.
Find your EOFY statement
- Login to your Camplify account
- Click on your profile image
- A drop down will appear, click "Tax statements"
- You will then be able to see all EOFY's since you have been a Camplify owner.
What do I get to claim as deductions against my Camplify income?
The good news is, even though you have to pay tax on the income you earn from hiring out your RV, you also get to claim tax deductions on the expenses associated with your RV as well.
Keep all of your receipts.
Everything you pay for the RV becomes a tax deduction. Here’s a list of the expenses we’d expect you to have:
• Depreciation on RV - this is a deduction for a portion of the purchase costs each year based on the expected lifetime of the RV. The ATO’s guidance on the lifetime for a caravan is 12 years.
• Interest on RV finance
• Repairs & maintenance
• Insurance
• Hospitality & consumables
• Cleaning
• Management fees
• Storage
• Transport (motor vehicle expenses)
• Advertising
• Software
• Mobile phone
• Internet
• Home office expenses
Some of your expenses will relate directly to hiring it out. For example cleaning, vehicle expenses in transporting the RV, premium membership fees. You can claim 100% of these costs as tax deductions.
Other expenses relate to the overall ownership of the RV and should be apportioned between personal use vs Camplify use. This would be for things like insurance, registration, storage & depreciation.
What happens for the tax if I use the RV personally?
You will need to apportion your income based on how much you use it for personal use against your hiring on Camplify. So you will split your costs between personal and tax-deductible use.
How do I calculate my income & deductions?
You will need to find a tax calculator that will apportion your personal vs business deductions and give you the total you need to put in your tax return each year.
What records do I need to keep?
We recommend you keep receipts for everything you spend on the RV, purchase documents, registration, insurance, etc. Camplify will calculate your total income on your EOFY report.
We recommend you set up a bank account for your RV for all your income and expenses.
Where do I put this income in my tax return?
The income and expenses you earn need to be reported in your tax return. The ATO is aware that the sharing economy is an evolving space and will be making changes to the tax return forms in the future to allow for greater flexibility.
For now, they have advised that you should report the income at the “other income” label of the tax return... and the expenses at the “other deductions” label.