Jun 13, 2019 02:37:33 AM by Rachel U
Hi,
I am an Australian resident for tax purposes and am looking into how to pay tax on my income from Upwork. My questions are:
Is my Upwork income considered 'foreign income'? Is it considered foreign only if the client is from a country other than Australia? Or is all Upwork income considered foreign income (even from clients within Australia)?
Thanks in advance!
Rachel.
Jun 13, 2019 09:01:32 AM by Jatinder k
Dear Rachel,
If you are working for yourself in Australia then you need to do two things. Firstly you need to apply for a TFN(tax file number) at the ATO (Australian Tax Office). You can check online at ato.gov.au as to what documents you need. I did it at the office, but a lot of things can be done online here in Australia so check to see if that's possible.
Then when your TFN is issued, you will need to apply for an ABN (Australian Business Number). You can check abr.gov.au as to what you need for that. With the ABN I'm sure you can apply online.
Armed with your ABN, you can now work for yourself and issue invoices in your name as a sole trader.
Now if your income is above a certain threshold (I think it's $75,000) at the moment, then you need to register for GST (Goods and Sales Tax). It's 10% here in Australia.
That means that every three months, you check all the bills your business has paid and you claim back 10% GST. But also, you check every invoice that you have issued as a business and you will have to pay 10% of it to the tax office.
now coming to income tax you have provided services in AU so your income will be taxed here as australian income.
Hope that makes sense. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.
Jun 25, 2019 09:55:47 PM by Rachel U
Thanks very much for your reply Jatinder, much appreciated.
So, to confirm, if I am in Australia while I provide the services (regardless of where the client is, or the fact that Upwork.com is an overseas-based website), then my income is still considered Australian income. Is that correct?
I do have another tax question also. Since my payments from clients can be kept in my Upwork account until I choose to have the money transferred to my bank account, I am wondering when (from a tax persepctive) the payment to me is considered to have occurred - on the date the client submits the payment to Upwork, or on the date that the money is transferred from my Upwork account into my bank account?
Thanks for your help!
Jun 25, 2019 10:00:46 PM Edited Jun 25, 2019 10:02:19 PM by Ivan L
> So, to confirm, if I am in Australia while I provide the services (regardless of where the client is, or the fact that Upwork.com is an overseas-based website), then my income is still considered Australian income. Is that correct?
I just spoke to the ATO last week and that's correct. It doesn't matter where your income comes from.
> I do have another tax question also. Since my payments from clients can be kept in my Upwork account until I choose to have the money transferred to my bank account, I am wondering when (from a tax persepctive) the payment to me is considered to have occurred - on the date the client submits the payment to Upwork, or on the date that the money is transferred from my Upwork account into my bank account?
I'm guessing here but the date the money gets to your account makes perfect sense.
Jun 26, 2019 01:15:17 AM by Rachel U
Jul 15, 2019 12:30:49 AM by Emma T
Hey too everyone on this thread!
I'm very confused with upwork, now it's tax time. So wondered if you may be able to answer?
Because we get paid in US dollars, but it's in AUD when it hits the bank account - which amount do i report? I haven't recorded anything in say MYOB or Xero etc coz i'm so confused!
Also, am I to report the total amount and then take the fees out?
For example : Emma Taylor - 1:10 hrs @ $20.00/hr - 03/12/2018 - 03/18/2018 so i received $23.33 (US $ obviously and i've looked it up on that date for conversion and it was 33.15 AUD) then there was a service fee of $4.67 and GST of $0.47. making it $18.19 US ($25.86 AUD)
DOes that make sense? Or have I just over complicated it? I also need to get it sorted for centrelink
Obviously i need to get this all sorted so I can do my tax return.
I would great appreciate any help!
Jul 15, 2019 01:16:14 AM by Goran V
Hi Emma,
I would suggest to consult yourself with a local specialist on how to report your earnings from Upwork and your taxes. Thank you.
Feb 11, 2020 05:57:55 AM by Rafaelle C
Hi Emma!
I know this is an old post, but I was wondering if you had sorted out the question of : "Because we get paid in US dollars, but it's in AUD when it hits the bank account - which amount do i report?" as I am now wondering the same thing.
Thanks so much in advance 🙂
Feb 11, 2020 05:58:29 AM by Rafaelle C
Hi Emma!
I know this is an old post, but I was wondering if you had sorted out the question of : "Because we get paid in US dollars, but it's in AUD when it hits the bank account - which amount do i report?" as I am now wondering the same thing.
Thanks so much in advance 🙂
Feb 19, 2020 01:44:28 AM by Rachel U
Feb 4, 2021 10:38:47 PM by Emma T
Hey Rafaelle,
Sorry! i never got a notification!
I still have no idea how it is done. currently still waiding through it for 2019-2020 return.
I had an accountant do the last, but cost me a fortune, and at the moment can't afford that. So i have been trying to match her figures by doing the 2018-2019 as a trial run, just on my pc and i still can't get my figures to match hers!
May 14, 2020 04:52:20 AM by Maria Rosel D