myTax 2021 Other income

Things to know

Complete this section if you have any other income that you have not been able to show anywhere on your tax return.

Any other income includes:

• an amount released by a superannuation fund greater than the liability stated on the release authority
• income you earned from the sharing economy or other marketplaces, except    
  • income from rent (show this at Rent)
  • income from carrying on a business (show this at Business income or losses)
  • income from being an employee (show this at Salary, wages, allowances, tips, bonuses)
   
• jury attendance fees
• foreign exchange gains
• royalties
• bonus amounts distributed from friendly society income bonds
• taxable scholarships, bursaries, grants or other educational awards
• benefits or prizes from investment-related lotteries and some game show winning; visit Prizes and awards to learn more.
• income from activities as a special professional (author of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, inventor, performing artist, production associate or active sportsperson)    
  • amounts you have already included elsewhere may also have to be shown here. This is because you may be entitled to a concessional rate of tax if you have certain amounts of professional income. You will not be taxed twice on these amounts.
   
• reimbursements of tax-related expenses (not including ATO interest remitted) or election expenses which you have claimed as a deduction
• ATO interest remitted
• any assessable balancing adjustment when you stop holding a depreciating asset (for example, because of its disposal, loss or destruction) for which you have claimed a deduction for depreciation or decline in value in previous years; your car is a depreciating asset
• payments made to you under an income protection, sickness or accident insurance policy where the premiums were deductible and the payments replaced income, except payments you've already shown at Salary, wages, allowances, tips, bonuses
• gains derived on disposal or redemption of traditional securities that are assessable under section 26BB of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936
• allowances or payments you received as a member of a local government council that you have not shown at Salary, wages, allowances, tips, bonuses
• COVID-19 test isolation payment
• work-in-progress amounts assessable under section 15-50 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 that you received and have not included at Business income or losses.

Do not show at this section

You might have received amounts that you don't need to include as income in your tax return. For more information, see Amounts that you do not pay tax on.

Don't show the following amounts at this section:

• Employee salary or wages, go to Salary, wages, allowances, tips, bonuses.
• Lump sum payments in arrears, go to    
  • Salary, wages, allowances, tips, bonuses, or Foreign employment income (on an income statement/payment summary), or
  • Foreign pensions and annuities or Foreign employment income (not on an income statement/payment summary)  
   
• Other taxable allowances or payments you received from Services Australia, go to Australian Government special payments. Other taxable allowances or payments include    
  • the pandemic leave disaster payment
  • activity supplement, the farm financial assessment supplement and the farm household allowance supplement or the farm household allowance relief payment that are paid under the farm household allowance program.
   
• An assessable First home super saver (FHSS) released amount, go to First home super saver (FHSS) scheme
• Capital gains or capital losses, go to Capital gains or losses
• Rental income or losses, such as income from renting all or part of your home, go to Rent
• Partnership income or losses, go to Partnerships
• Business income or losses, go to Business income or losses
• Income earned through sharing economy or other marketplace activities where you were carrying on a business, including income from ride-sourcing, go to Business income or losses
• Discounts on shares, stapled securities (provided at least one of the stapled interests is a share in a company) or rights to acquire shares or such stapled securities, acquired under an employee share scheme, go to Employee share schemes

Completing this section

We pre-fill your tax return with ATO interest remitted by us. Check it, and add any other income amounts you received that have not pre-filled.

To personalise your return to show other income, at Personalise return select:

• You had other income not listed above (including employee share schemes)

To show your other income, at Prepare return select 'Add/Edit' at the Other income banner.

At the Any other income banner:

1. For each type of other income that has not been pre-filled in your tax return, select Add.
2. Select the Type of payment.
   For payments made to you under an income protection, sickness or accident insurance policy where the premiums were deductible and the payments replaced income, select Other.
   For bonus amounts distributed from friendly society income bonds, select Other.
3. Enter information into the corresponding fields.
   MyTax will permit only one Type of payment of Special professional income.
   Other income shown at this section where the Type of payment is Financial investments not shown elsewhere, Other or Special professional income is used in working out whether you have to pay PAYG instalments and, if so, your instalment rate.
4. Select Save.
   If you used the Depreciation and capital allowances tool, fields from this tool can't be adjusted in myTax. To make any adjustments, or to add new assets to the tool, select the 'Use the depreciation and capital allowances tool' link.
5. Select Save and continue when you have completed the Other income section.

More about other income

Information to support you completing this question:

• Amount released by a superannuation fund greater than the liability stated on the release authority
• Income earned through the sharing economy or other marketplaces
• Jury attendance fees
• Foreign exchange gains
• Royalties
• Bonus amounts distributed from friendly society income bonds
• Taxable scholarships, bursaries, grants and other educational awards
• Income from activities as a special professional
• Reimbursements and recoupments of tax-related expenses (not including ATO interest remitted) or election expenses which you have claimed as a deduction
• ATO interest remitted
• Assessable balancing adjustment
• Gains derived on disposal or redemption of traditional securities

If you have income not listed here that you are unsure about, search our website or contact us.

Amount released by a superannuation fund greater than the liability stated on the release authority

If you use a release authority that we give you to withdraw an amount from your superannuation fund, the payment is tax-free unless you withdraw an amount greater than the liability printed on the release authority.

You must include the excess of the total amount released to you over the liability printed on the release authority in your assessable income for the income year in which you withdrew the money.

For more information, see Super contributions – too much can mean extra tax.

Income earned through the sharing economy or other marketplaces

The sharing economy is economic activity through a digital platform (such as a website or an app) where people share assets or services for a fee. Amounts you receive are assessable income, even if you are not carrying on a business.

Include at this section any income you received for:

• peer-to-peer renting or hiring (sharing) through a digital platform – for example, cars and caravans through platforms such as Camplify or Get My Boat or car parking spaces through platforms such as Parkhound    
  • if you own or lease an asset jointly, then you declare income in proportion to your share of ownership
   
• providing your services or completing tasks through a digital platform.

If you had any allowable deductions related to sharing economy income you have included at this section, show them at Other deductions.

Don’t include the following income earned through a digital platform:

• rental income you have reported in the Rent section
• income earned as an employee
• income earned in carrying on a business.

For more information, see Sharing economy and tax.

Jury attendance fees

Include any jury attendance fees you received here. Don't include attendance fees if you had to pay the fees to your employer because you received your normal income while on jury duty. Don't include anywhere on your tax return travel and meal allowances that were included in the jury fees.

Foreign exchange gains

At this section, include any foreign exchange gains (forex gains).

Don’t show forex gains at this section:

• that you have included in calculating your business income or loss at Business income or losses
• any foreign source forex gains you have included at Other foreign income.

Show any deductible foreign exchange losses (forex losses) at Other deductions.

Under the forex measures, gains attributable to a fluctuation in a currency exchange rate or to an agreed exchange rate differing from an actual exchange rate are included in assessable income. The gains are assessable when they are realised. This is when you:

• dispose of foreign currency or a right thereto
• cease to have a right to receive or pay foreign currency, or
• cease to have an obligation to pay or receive foreign currency.

Some forex gains are not assessable, and in some circumstances, you might make an election that affects the realisation or treatment of a forex gain. These are set out at Foreign exchange gains and losses together with more information about the forex measures and how to calculate your foreign exchange gains.

Royalties

If you were an Australian resident for tax purposes in 2020–21, include at this section income from royalties that has not been included at either Business income or losses or Other foreign income.

Bonus amounts distributed from friendly society income bonds

You must include at this section any bonus amounts distributed from a friendly society income bond. Your friendly society income bond distribution statement will advise you of the amount to include.

Taxable scholarships, bursaries, grants and other educational awards

Include at this section any income from a scholarship, bursary, grant or other award, on which you have to pay tax, unless you have already shown it:

• at Salary, wages, allowances, tips, bonuses, or
• in calculating your business net income or loss shown at Business income or losses

If you are not sure about a payment, contact the organisation that paid you. If you then need more information, contact us.

If you received a taxable scholarship you may be able to claim the self-education expenses you incurred in meeting the study requirements of the scholarship. For more information, see Other deductions.

Income from activities as a special professional

If you are a special professional, you must include your taxable professional income at this section.

A special professional is an author of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, an inventor, a performing artist, a production associate or an active sportsperson. As a special professional, you may be entitled to a concessional rate of tax where your taxable income includes certain amounts of professional income which, when added to your other income, moves you into a higher tax bracket.

You are entitled to this concession in 2020–21 if:

• you were an Australian resident
• you were a special professional, and
• your taxable professional income was more than $2,500 in the first year that this concession applied.

To work out your taxable professional income, see Income averaging for special professionals.

Reimbursements and recoupments of tax-related expenses (not including ATO interest remitted) or election expenses which you have claimed as a deduction

If you received a reimbursement or refund in 2020–21 of any tax-related expenses (not including ATO interest remitted) or election expenses which you have claimed, you must include the amount at this section.

You must also include at this section:

• any remissions of goods and services tax (GST)
• pay as you go (PAYG) instalment underestimation charge.

ATO interest remitted

This applies to any remission of an ATO interest or underestimation charge. If you claimed or can claim a deduction for an interest or underestimation charge incurred in 2019–20 or earlier years and received a remission (a partial or full reduction) of that charge in 2020–21, you must include the amount of the remission at this section. Similarly, if you are claiming at Cost of managing tax affairs a deduction for an interest charge incurred during 2020–21, and some or all of it was remitted during 2020–21, you must include the amount of the remission at this section.

For more information, see Calculate and report ATO interest.

Assessable balancing adjustment

You must include at this section any assessable balancing adjustment when you stop holding a depreciating asset (for example, when it is sold, lost or destroyed) for which you have claimed a deduction for depreciation or decline in value in previous years. You may be entitled to a deduction if an employee or agent misappropriates some or all of the amount that you received, or were entitled to receive, as a result of you no longer holding the depreciating asset.

For more information, see Guide to depreciating assets.

Gains derived on disposal or redemption of traditional securities

The gains derived on disposal or redemption of traditional securities are assessable under section 26BB of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA 1936).

For more information, see 'Sale or disposal of company bonds and convertible notes' in You and your shares.

How to report other types of income in your return using myTax.