Background
The Sharing Economy Reporting Regime (SERR) is a third-party reporting regime that requires operators of electronic distribution platforms (EDPs) to report on supplies made through the platform to the ATO. Its purpose is to:
- create a level playing field across industries
- provide transparency of the income a seller makes from their activities in the sharing economy.
Subdivision 396-B creates a new third-party reporting regime in Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953. This regime requires entities to report information to the Commissioner of Taxation about transactions that could reasonably be expected to have tax consequences for other entities where those entities are connected with Australia.
The SERR requires EDP operators to report certain identity and income information on eligible transactions made through the platform to the ATO.
Reporting dates
EDP operators must report transactions made through their platform twice a year, for reporting periods:
- 1 July to 31 December – report must be submitted by 31 January of the following year
- 1 January to 30 June – report must be submitted by 31 July of that year.
SERR reporting commenced for transactions made from 1 July 2023 for EDPs supplying:
- taxi services including ride-sourcing
- short-term accommodation.
SERR reporting commenced for transactions made from 1 July 2024 for all other reportable transactions. These include:
- movable assets such as heavy vehicles, caravans and aquatic vessels
- food delivery services
- rental or leasing of fixed location assets such as residential recreation spaces, office space, parking or storage facilities
- services such as peer-to-peer subscription services, content creation and online tasking.
Why we collect this information
The information collected under the SERR will allow us to:
- increase community confidence in the integrity of the tax and super systems
- identify and educate participants who fail to meet their registration or lodgment obligations and help them comply
- gain insights from the data to help us develop and implement engagement strategies to improve voluntary compliance – including educational or compliance activities
- obtain intelligence to increase our understanding of behaviours and compliance profiles of participants in the sharing economy.