Airbnb tax Australia:
what every host needs
to know in 2026

If you host on Airbnb in Australia, your tax situation changed significantly in 2024. The Australian Taxation Office now receives your earnings data directly from Airbnb under the Sharing Economy Reporting Regime (SERR) — meaning undeclared rental income is easier than ever for the ATO to detect and act on.

But declaring income is only half the equation. You're also entitled to claim deductions against that income — and most Australian Airbnb hosts either miss deductions entirely, or calculate them incorrectly. This guide explains exactly what you need to declare, what you can deduct, and how to get the maths right.

What is the Sharing Economy Reporting Regime?

From 1 July 2023, the ATO began requiring digital platforms including Airbnb, Stayz, and VRBO to report transaction data for all Australian hosts directly to the ATO. This is called the Sharing Economy Reporting Regime (SERR).

In practical terms this means the ATO receives a record of every booking you completed, every payout you received, and every cleaning fee your guests paid — before you even lodge your return. If your declared rental income doesn't match what Airbnb reported, you'll hear about it.

What Airbnb income do you need to declare?

All of it. The ATO requires you to include the following in your assessable income for the financial year:

• Gross booking income — what guests paid for the stay, before Airbnb deducts its service fee
• Cleaning fees — if you charge guests a cleaning fee, it's assessable income
• Any resolution payments received from Airbnb on your behalf

A common mistake: hosts declare only the net amount that hit their bank account (after Airbnb's service fee was deducted). The correct figure is the gross amount guests paid — you then claim the Airbnb service fee separately as a deduction.

What expenses can you deduct?

This is where most hosts leave money on the table. As an Airbnb host, you're entitled to deduct a range of expenses against your rental income — but the rules differ depending on whether you rent out your whole property or just a room in your home.

Expense	Deductibility
Airbnb service fees	100% deductible
Cleaning and laundry	100% deductible
Mortgage interest	Apportioned
Council rates	Apportioned
Building insurance	Apportioned
Strata / body corporate fees	Apportioned
Water and utilities	Apportioned
Repairs and maintenance	Apportioned
Depreciation	Apportioned

Expenses that relate only to the rental activity — like Airbnb's service fee or professional cleaning between guests — are 100% deductible. General property expenses must be apportioned to reflect only the portion that relates to the rental use.

How does apportionment work?

This is the part most hosts get wrong — and it's where the ATO is most likely to scrutinise your return.

The ATO requires you to apportion general property expenses using two variables simultaneously: the proportion of the year the property was rented, and — if you're renting a room rather than the whole property — the proportion of floor area used for rental.

Whole property apportionment

Room in shared home apportionment

If you rent a room in the home you live in, the ATO requires an additional floor area calculation on top of the time calculation:

That 8.2% figure is then applied to every general property expense — mortgage interest, rates, insurance, utilities, and so on. The difference between calculating this correctly and incorrectly can mean hundreds or thousands of dollars in missed deductions.

Victorian short stay levy

If your property is in Victoria, an additional obligation applies from 1 January 2025. The Short Stay Levy Act 2024 introduced a 7.5% levy on all short stays under 28 consecutive nights.

For Airbnb platform bookings, Airbnb collects and remits this levy automatically — it doesn't affect your payout or your income calculation. However, if you receive any direct bookings outside Airbnb, you are responsible for collecting and remitting the levy yourself to the Victorian State Revenue Office.

There is a principal place of residence (PPR) exemption — if the property is your primary home, the levy does not apply to your bookings.

Record keeping obligations

The ATO requires you to keep records of all rental income and deductible expenses for a minimum of 5 years. This includes:

• Your Airbnb transaction history CSV exports for each financial year
• Receipts and invoices for all expenses you claim
• A log of nights rented versus nights for personal use
• Floor area measurements if you're renting a room in your home

Most hosts have no organised system for this. If you're audited and can't produce records to substantiate your deductions, those deductions will be disallowed — even if they were legitimate.

When do you need to lodge?

The Australian financial year runs from 1 July to 30 June. Your tax return for FY2025–26 (covering 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026) is due by 31 October 2026 if you lodge yourself via myGov. If you use a registered tax agent, their lodgement deadline may be later — confirm with them directly.

The fastest way to get this right

The calculations above aren't difficult once you understand them — but pulling together your income data, working out your apportionment rate, and applying it across every expense category takes time and is easy to get wrong.

TaxMyBnb automates the entire process. Upload your Airbnb CSV export, answer a few questions about your property, and get a complete tax summary — assessable income, apportioned deductions pre-calculated, net rental income figure, and an ATO record-keeping calendar — for $29 AUD.

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute tax advice. TaxMyBnb is not a registered tax agent under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (Cth). Always consult a registered tax agent or accountant before lodging your return with the ATO.