Long-term residential rent is GST-free from registration entirely — but short-term letting through Airbnb and similar platforms can be treated very differently.
Last updated: June 2026
If you let residential property on a standard long-term tenancy, that rental income is input taxed — similar to an exemption. You don’t charge GST, and this remains true regardless of your portfolio size or total rent collected. The trade-off is that you generally cannot claim GST credits on costs related to that input-taxed letting activity.
Occasional short-term letting of a room or your own home through Airbnb is commonly treated the same as ordinary residential renting — input taxed, no GST. However, if your short-term letting activity is run at a scale and in a manner similar to a hotel, motel, or other "commercial residential premises" — multiple properties, hotel-style services, high turnover of guests — the ATO may treat it as a taxable supply of commercial accommodation rather than input-taxed residential rent.
If your Airbnb activity is genuinely treated as a taxable supply of commercial residential accommodation, that income counts toward the A$75,000 GST registration threshold like any other taxable enterprise activity, and once registered you’d charge GST on the accommodation fee and could claim GST credits on related costs (cleaning, platform fees, furnishing, maintenance).
Usually no, if it’s treated as ordinary residential letting (input taxed), which is the common treatment for occasional, small-scale room or whole-home sharing.
This is where it can shift toward taxable "commercial residential premises" treatment, depending on scale and the services provided, in which case the income counts toward the A$75,000 threshold.
Generally no — input-taxed supplies don’t carry the right to claim related GST credits, similar to how long-term residential rent works.
Airbnb’s service fees to Australian hosts may include GST depending on Airbnb’s own registration status and your GST-registered status — check your specific host account tax settings and invoices.
This depends on specific facts like scale, whether hotel-style services are provided, and how many properties are involved — it’s worth a one-off consultation with an accountant if you’re unsure and running more than an occasional listing.
Enter your revenue and get a plain-English answer in seconds.
Check my GST status →