GST rule updates for airbnb/uber tax

If you offer accommodation or ride share services in New Zealand via an electronic marketplace (e.g., Airbnb or Uber), new GST changes will impact you from 1 April 2024.

What has changed

The category of services called ‘listed services’ which incorporate all commercial, short-stay and visitor accommodation (such as Airbnb, Bookabach and Booking.com), as well as all ride-share and food and beverage delivery services (such as Uber, Ola and Lyft).

This change means the marketplace operator is deemed to be the supplier of the services and is required to collect and return GST at 15% on all services provided to end-users through their marketplace.

If you are a GST-registered owner, you will need to show the income from online marketplace as a zero-rated supply, because the marketplace operator has already returned the GST before passing the net income to you. If you receive income directly, you will return 15% GST as normal on that income. You will be able to continue to claim GST on your expenses.

If you are not GST registed,what would happen?

If the property owner or driver is not GST registered, the marketplace operator deducts 8.5% input tax from the taxable supply (referred to as a flat-rate credit), and passes that 8.5% credit to the property owner or driver. The flat-rate credit is intended to approximate the amount of GST that the property owner or driver could claim as input tax if they were GST registered. Therefore, if Sarah was not GST registered, she would receive a credit of $8.50 (8.5% of $100) from the marketplace. The marketplace will return net GST of $6.50 to the Inland Revenue ($15 – $8.50)