Do I need to pay GST on my Airbnb income?

It depends on who collects it. From 1 April 2024, online marketplaces (Airbnb, Bookabach, Holiday Houses, Booking.com) must collect 15% GST on short-stay accommodation sold through their platforms. If you're NOT GST-registered, the platform collects 15% GST and passes 8.5% back to you as a flat rate credit (keeping 6.5% for Inland Revenue). If you ARE GST-registered (turnover over $60,000/year), you account for GST yourself and Airbnb zero-rates supplies to you. If you also rent directly through your own channel (not the platform), the ordinary GST rules apply to that direct income.

What is the 62-day vacancy test?

If your short-stay property is vacant for less than 62 days per tax year AND you can show it was genuinely available for short-term rental when vacant, those vacant days count as days relating to the rental activity (for apportionment purposes). If vacant for 62 or more days and you also use it privately, the property becomes a mixed-use asset under different (more complex) rules - though note the specific mixed-use asset rule in section 20G was REPEALED from 1 April 2024. You now just use general apportionment rules.

What is the short-stay standard cost method?

A simplified method for hosts renting their own main home. Instead of tracking actual expenses, you apply a fixed nightly rate (currently $63/night if you own the home, $57/night if you don't own it but paid the running costs). Rent up to this rate is exempt income - no tax to pay and no return to file. Any income above the standard cost is taxable but no further deductions are allowed. Available only if you rent 100 nights or fewer per year, you're not GST-registered for the activity, and no one else is claiming actual-cost deductions on the same home.

Do I have to register for GST?

You must register for GST if your turnover (including rental income) exceeds $60,000 in any 12-month rolling period. Short-stay income counts towards this threshold. If all your short-stay income is through an online marketplace that collects GST, the marketplace handles the GST on that portion. However, if your total turnover from all sources (direct bookings + other taxable activity) exceeds $60,000, you must register. Voluntary registration is also an option but can be complex - get advice, especially because deregistering later can trigger a deemed supply GST bill on the property's market value portion used for short stays.

Was the mixed-use asset rule repealed?

The special GST apportionment rule for mixed-use assets (section 20G - holiday homes vacant 62+ days per year) was repealed from 1 April 2024. General apportionment and adjustment rules under section 20 now apply instead. The income tax mixed-use asset rules (which apply to properties costing over $50,000 and vacant 62+ days) still exist for income tax purposes, though they're less important now that short-stay is often handled by the platform-collected GST rules.

NZ Short-Stay Accommodation Tax Calculator (Airbnb / Bookabach)

Short-stay hosts face a three-layer tax problem: income tax on rental profit, GST (often collected by the platform under the marketplace rules), and apportionment between private and rental use. This calculator handles all three, applying the platform 8.5% flat rate credit, 62-day vacancy test, $60,000 GST threshold, and the short-stay standard cost method for main home rentals under 100 nights.

Updated April 2026 Marketplace GST rules active since 1 April 2024. Mixed-use s20G rule repealed.

Property situation

Which best describes your property? Nights rented per year

Nights of private use (owner, family, friends not paying market rate)

Income

Gross nightly rate (GST-inclusive if GST applies)

Booking source If mixed: % of bookings via platform

Only used if "Mixed" selected above.

GST status

Are you GST-registered for this activity?

Actual expenses (annual, apportioned later)

Total annual expenses (rates, insurance, interest, maintenance, cleaning)

Total annual costs. We apportion by rental days / total used days. Your marginal tax rate

The three tax layers for short-stay

1. Income tax: All rental income is taxable. Expenses are apportioned by the rental-days versus total-used-days ratio. Expenses for the 62 vacant days (if under 62) count as rental days if the property was genuinely available.

2. GST: If you're over the $60k turnover threshold, you must register. If not registered but booking through a platform, the platform collects 15% GST and pays you an 8.5% flat rate credit (keeping 6.5% for Inland Revenue). If you're registered, you handle GST yourself and the platform zero-rates supplies to you.

3. Capital event on cessation: If you're GST-registered and later deregister or sell, you'll trigger a deemed supply equal to the short-stay portion of the property's market value, and owe 15% GST on that. This is why voluntary GST registration is a trap for many short-stay hosts.

When the standard cost method makes sense

If you rent a room in your own home for ≤100 nights/year, the standard cost method ($63/night for owners) often beats actual cost claims, especially if your property has low running costs. No tax to pay on income up to the standard cost, no return to file, no apportionment calculations. Simple.

The 62-day vacancy trap

Properties vacant 62+ days per year AND used privately at any point fall into the mixed-use asset regime for income tax purposes. The rules disallow certain expense categories (e.g., losses from the 'holiday home effect') and can result in a messy apportionment. The GST mixed-use rule (section 20G) was repealed 1 April 2024, but the income tax mixed-use rules under subpart DG continue to apply.

Sources

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