Doing tax online through Mygov...

[kitty-kat-kollection]

Soooo...I just got back from 7 weeks overseas and had a quick look at the Mygov online tax thingo.

It has all my information filled in, and my income is around $13,000 not including anything ebay related.

This is the first time I've done a tax return since selling on ebay, and I fully expected to find some sort of earnings or mention of my ebay income in there. But there's nothing. Is this normal?

Have I simply not earned enough?

Or do I have to enter ebay income myself (and then obviously the deductions)? If so, which income section would I enter this in? The only relevant one seems to be "business / sole trader", of which I am not.

Thanks for your help! Once I know what section to enter my ebay income into, I'll be good to go!

[purplemon18]

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@collect247 wrote:

$18000 is the tax threshold.

I don't earn the same income every year,one year I could earn $20K and the next I could earn $5K.

I still declare it as an income with expenses but I'll then pay more or less tax depending on what I have earned.

I don't like the term hobby because if you're buying and then reselling then it's an income.

A hobby is if you sell some stuff around the house that you no longer want just like a garage sale.

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I always think of the hobby thing much more litterally. I.E. I enjoy the thrill of the hunt (finding something at a garage sale for $1 and re-selling it for $100), or the process of bidding on and winning, or I buy and sell on ebay because of an actual hobby such as collecting trading cards.

In my mind the ATO just had to pick a number to differentiate those who are hobbyists with those who are earning an income.

[digital*ghost]

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@kitty-kat-kollection wrote:
In terms of general stuff, I've heard that you can earn up to $8,000 for those earnings to be classed as a hobby, but above that...not really.

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'Hobby" to the ATO doesn't mean the same thing as it does to a regular person - they don't care if you enjoy doing it or not, or if it's something you only do in your spare time, which is how many people define and carry out their hobbies. They also don't care how much you earn by doing it in terms of total revenue. Officially, there is no threshold for the earnings - you can make a loss and still be classified as a business. 

If you buy to re-sell, particularly with the general intent to make a profit, it's a business for ATO purposes, regardless of the amount involved. 

If you make stuff (eg knit beanies) and sell them at cost so you can cover your expenses and continue to make stuff, they'd classify that as a hobby.

[stick.it.good]

Is there any way of seeing how much you've made for the year? I can't find one anywhere

[imastawka]

https://community.ebay.com.au/t5/Selling/How-to-find-sales-for-last-two-years/m-p/2246336#M186687

[wilmajames123]

Each year I file a Profit and Loss statement with CentreLink for my extremely meagre eBay sales.  I am able to deduct stock expenditure but not charitable donations.