Do you need to register for GST on a holiday rental in Australia?
General information only, not tax advice, and it doesn't take your circumstances into account. It reflects ATO guidance as at October 2026. For advice on your situation, talk to a registered tax agent (check one on the Tax Practitioners Board register) or contact the ATO.
Short answer: probably not, so crack a cold one or pour yourself a wine. Rent from a residential holiday home is input taxed, whoever stays and however short the stay, unless the place is run like a hotel, motel or boarding house. Input-taxed rent has no GST added, and it doesn't count towards the A$75,000 GST turnover threshold.
The rest of this guide explains why, and flags the few cases where you should stop reading articles on the internet and call a registered tax agent.
Does this apply to me?
Pull up a sun lounge if:
- your family owns a holiday house or unit in Australia
- you rent it out, to friends, family or anyone else
- you also use it yourself, or lend it to family who somehow never refill the gas bottle
Get off the sun lounge and call a registered tax agent early if:
- you run several dwellings together, with shared services or one booking desk
- your unit sits inside a hotel or serviced-apartment complex
- you house several unrelated guests at once, in separate rooms or a dormitory
- the house is owned by a company or trust, or you already run another business
Do you charge GST on holiday house rent?
No. The ATO says rent from residential premises used for residential accommodation is input taxed. It's a swap, and like most swaps with the tax office it's only mostly in your favour: you don't add GST to the rent, but you can't claim back the GST on costs like agent's commission or repairs. The ATO sets this out on its page about residential premises.
Taking bookings through a platform doesn't change this, however flash the confirmation email looks. The ATO's page on renting out all or part of your home, written for people renting through digital platforms, says you don't pay GST on residential rent unless you carry on an enterprise renting out commercial residential premises, such as a commercial boarding house. Which leaves two questions that sound dull but matter: what is "commercial residential", and what is an "enterprise"?
When is a holiday rental treated like a hotel?
When it starts behaving like one: a front desk, a bell, a bloke called Bazza handing out keys. Commercial residential premises include:
- hotels, motels and inns (or similar)
- hostels and boarding houses (or similar)
- caravan parks and camping grounds (or similar)
Operators of these places who are registered, or required to be, charge GST (with a concession from day 28 of a long stay). None of that touches a residential holiday home.
The ATO's commercial residential property page lists the features it weighs. They include:
- it is run on a commercial basis or in a business-like way
- the accommodation is offered to the public or a segment of the public
- there is central management to take reservations and arrange services for guests
- the operator supplies the accommodation in their own right, not as an agent
- it can house several unrelated guests at once, in separate rooms or a dormitory
- the people staying are guests, not tenants
Your beach house may have a well-run group chat and a strict towel policy, but it almost certainly can't take several unrelated groups at once. A single house or unit usually lacks that multiple-occupancy feature, so the ATO treats it as residential premises. That is the position in the ATO ruling GSTR 2012/6 (paragraph 241).
The same goes for a single holiday apartment inside a bigger commercial complex: leasing it to a guest or a property manager is still input taxed. See the holiday apartments and units section of the commercial residential property page, and the ATO's page on holiday apartments in commercial residential properties.
How does the A$75,000 GST threshold work?
Here's the number everyone googles. The ATO says you must register for GST when your business or enterprise has a GST turnover of A$75,000 or more, or when you start a new business and expect to reach that figure in your first year. Its page on registering for GST explains the test.
That page also lists earning income through digital platforms as a reason to register, which is the sort of sentence that ruins a Sunday arvo. No dramas: residential rent earned through a platform is still input taxed.
What counts towards your GST turnover?
Your GST turnover is your total business income (not your profit, worse luck), minus items such as:
- GST included in sales to your customers
- sales not connected with an enterprise you run
- input-taxed sales you make
- sales not connected with Australia
- sales to associates that aren't for payment and aren't taxable (for example, free stays for family)
Input-taxed rent is on that list. So your holiday house could be booked solid from Boxing Day to Easter and its rent still wouldn't move you an inch towards the threshold.
How is the threshold measured?
The ATO checks the rear-view mirror and the road ahead, using two figures:
- current GST turnover: this month plus the previous 11
- projected GST turnover: this month plus the next 11
Reach A$75,000 on either and you have 21 days to register. One exception: if your current turnover is over the line but the ATO is satisfied your projected turnover will be under it, you don't have to register.
This is a rolling 12 months, not the 1 July to 30 June financial year. The financial year is for your income tax return. GST runs on its own clock.
Is renting out your holiday house an enterprise?
For GST, regularly renting out a property usually counts as an "enterprise": section 9-20 of the GST Act includes leasing property on a regular or continuous basis. Don't reach for the BAS forms yet: the rent is input taxed and isn't counted towards the threshold, so you still don't have to register.
You may have read the ATO saying renting rarely amounts to a business. That line, on its renting out all or part of your home page, sits outside the page's GST section and isn't the GST test.
What if you already run another business?
If you or your entity run another business with GST turnover of A$75,000 or more, you must register (registration covers the entity, not just one business). The beach house doesn't get dragged in: its rent stays input taxed, so no GST on it and no credits on its costs.
What if you also use the holiday house yourself?
Using it yourself doesn't change the GST position. It does, however, get the income tax side very interested.
The ATO treats a holiday home as one you use, or hold for use, for your own holidays, including holidays for family and friends at no rent or reduced rent.
The rent goes in your tax return. Interest, council rates and repairs are only claimable if the home is used or held for use mainly to produce rental income. Costs that relate only to renting, such as booking fees, advertising and cleaning after paying guests, can still be deductible. The ATO's holiday homes page has the detail.
Mates' rates have a cost, and it isn't the slab your brother-in-law brings. If family or friends stay below market rent, you'll need to apportion expenses. Enough low-rent family use can also mean the home isn't "mainly" a rental, and then interest, rates and repairs can't be claimed at all.
Can you register for GST voluntarily?
Yes, if you have an ABN and are carrying on an enterprise. You generally must stay registered for at least 12 months and lodge a business activity statement (BAS).
On input-taxed rent, though, you gain no credits and still don't charge GST. It's paperwork with no prize at the end, so ask a registered tax agent first.
The opposite mistake is the one that stings. If you were required to register and didn't, the ATO says you may owe GST on sales since that date, plus penalties and interest.
What records should you keep?
Registered or not, the ATO expects receipts, not a shoebox and a vague memory. You need to keep records of:
- all income earned
- expenses you claim
- purchase, sale and holding costs, for capital gains tax
The ATO's page on renting out all or part of your home sets out these requirements.
How Brevity Bookings helps
Brevity Bookings gives your holiday home its own booking calendar and booking page. Family, friends and repeat guests can see what's free and ask to stay, and you approve who books.
No more shoebox. Each paying booking, cleaning job and maintenance cost flows into one income and expense ledger. Reports follow the Australian financial year, and you can export the year as a spreadsheet, or as a package with your receipts, for your accountant. It organises your records. It doesn't decide your tax position, and it won't argue with your accountant.
If you're weighing up what the big booking platforms cost on stays from people you already know, the fee calculator shows the numbers.
Common questions
Do I need to register for GST if I rent my holiday house on a booking platform?
Usually not. Residential holiday-home rent is input taxed however you take the booking.
Does renting out my holiday house count as an enterprise?
Usually, but you still don't have to register, because the rent is input taxed.
Does holiday rent count towards the A$75,000 GST threshold?
Not if it's input-taxed residential rent. Neither do free stays for family.
Is the GST threshold measured over the financial year?
No. It's a rolling 12 months, looking back and looking forward. Reach A$75,000 on either and you generally have 21 days to register.
Can I register for GST anyway?
Yes, with an ABN and an enterprise, for at least 12 months. On input-taxed rent it gains you nothing, so ask a registered tax agent first.
Where to from here
- Work out whether your place is residential premises or run like a hotel, motel or boarding house.
- Keep clear records of income, expenses and personal use (yes, including that long weekend).
- Ask the ATO or a registered tax agent about anything that doesn't fit the examples above.
General information only, not tax advice. Check your own situation with a registered tax agent.