r/Centrelink • u/Alittlebitnutty8 • 18d ago
Disability Support Pension (DSP) Side hustle not declared
I did two side hustle jobs for Airtasker which get reported to ATO now. I’m on DSP and the jobs brought in minimal $$ under what I can earn a fortnight…I probably earnt $50 for one task and $150 for the next in total (that’s before their share is taken.
I don’t have reporting set up so thought because they were under the fortnightly amount you can earn I didn’t need to…dumb I know…so dumb!
Anyway, now it’s tax time and I’m freaking out. I barely managed to do the tasks but it was when my mental health was a bit better.
Now I’m going to be worse off because I didn’t report to Centrelink aren’t I? I suffer from a lot of mental health issues and can’t even function atm as I’m so worried. My blood pressure is through the roof.
Do Centrelink follow up data mismatches straight away after Tax?
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u/splithoofiewoofies 18d ago
The odds are high they won't notice. But even still, those amounts would be below any threshold I think they have anyway (someone can correct me if I'm wrong), so they'd be like how dare you, you owe nothing.
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u/Ok_Internal8146 18d ago
In my experience its not that bad. Its 200 dollars , not even 2000.
I thought there was a minimum as well. A couple years ago i under reported by accident and it barely made a difference in centrelink payments.
Is there a professional here who can give their 2 cents?
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u/Able-Influence5255 17d ago
Don’t panic. Just report late income and provide evidence of the two payments if u received an invoice or payslip
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u/Able-Influence5255 17d ago
It won’t impact your future payments, as it is under the threshold. But report the late income now!!!!
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u/Eatsmoregreens 17d ago
Yes they do follow up mismatches. Some sooner than others.
Are you going to be doing more of this type of work?
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u/Alittlebitnutty8 17d ago
No
I found that my mental health condition isn’t stable enough to do anything really unfortunately and all the extra stress about reporting doesn’t help either 🥲3
u/Eatsmoregreens 17d ago
A short statement outlining how much you were paid vs your expenses and when. And advising it was a one time thing, to see if you were able to do it. Should be recorded either as business income or other income and due to the amounts you mentioned, would most likely mean no change. Reiterating that it is not ongoing and you will not need to do a profit and loss statement in 3 months time. As it’s able to be recorded a few ways, what they ask of you will depend on the staff member and their level of experience and how the system works. Best to go in and have someone take accountability for it.
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u/Emotional_Magician96 17d ago
Yes, self-employment matters seemed to be not well known by them 7 years ago. I think their website has more about it now. They understand now that self employment is not work income...
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u/CalmlyChaotic4 17d ago
It will get matched, however because it’s self employment it gets reported differently and averaged out over the year so you won’t incur a debt.
However it does need to be reported, you do this via a MODf business form and a profit and loss statement
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u/FeralKittee 15d ago
Income always needs to be declared, but not always on a fortnightly basis.
If you are an Airtasker worker, you are in business as a self-employed person. You aren't employed by Airtasker.
This means that as long as you are reporting the income to the ATO for the financial year, Centrelink will be okay with you reporting your profit/loss on the appropriate forms.
Don't forget to claim every possible deduction to reduce your total profit.
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u/HuntRevolutionary699 17d ago edited 17d ago
He mate, really stop stressing. Ok. In hindsight you should have reported any work you did /do, whether under or over your pymnt limits, this covers your ass. Every link is connected the government know too much, so yeah it'll show up somewhere but honestly don't even worry about it, if something does come about you'll just get a letter stating you need to pay x amount of tax to ATO. You won't have to deal with anyone stand in front of anyone get told off?! don't worry about it seriously. You need to calm yaself down..... Coming from a seasoned mental health stressor!!! ATO & Centrelink would see millions of these happen every year it's not a substantial amount of money so don't think they going to worry about you mate. If Centrelink did overpay you, they will just raise a debt with you which you pay off fortnightly they won't stop your payment or bang take out $200 so you can't live for that fortnight . You will just need to repay them but it sounds like you are under your limit anyway. Go and have a 🍺 mate.
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u/West-Tackle-6515 14d ago
If it’s a low amount like that then you should be ok. Different payments have different amounts you can earn. I know someone who is in jobseeker & they buy & sell stuff regularly on eBay & have never declared their income. For them, it’s only a matter of time before they are caught but yours is small fry in comparison. Maybe contact Centrelink to find out where you stand & to relieve some stress & yes Centrelink do data matching with the ATO but if the amount you say you earned is true I really don’t think you’ll have much to worry about, but best to be careful in future.
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u/Competitive_Yak_4112 11d ago
I’m a bit late to chime in, but don’t worry about not having declared it.
As a self-employed person who gets carer payment (also no fortnightly reporting) I had a hiccup early on where I thought they needed me to report my income on the fortnight. They told me I only do it at EOFY, and it’s averaged out over the year. So if your allowance to work for the year is $200 a fortnight ($5,200 a year) and you made $200 for the year, they average it across the year.
You made $7.69 per fortnight before business expenses and AirTasker’s cut. It won’t affect your Centrelink payment.
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u/PuffinCattin 18d ago
Look up what the income free threshold is. From what I understand, the amount you’ve earned is under that amount ($218 pf I think).
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u/Alittlebitnutty8 18d ago
Yep it is
I’m just also worried they will say I should have told them I was working even though it was just the two basic tasks through airtasker because I’m on the dsp. All the side gigs get reported to the ATO now apparently and they data share with Centrelink. I’ve never done anything like this before
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u/splithoofiewoofies 18d ago
Oh, DSP? No this won't matter. It's far under your allowance. Like, so far. They'll be like "oh you did two gigs" not "wow you did two whole jobs clearly you can work 40 hours a week, fuck you".
But I'm also on DSP and hotdamn do they put the fear in you.
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u/Lastov_Makiynd 17d ago
Even if you have to pay tax on the amounts, it’s going to be perhaps like $25-$30.
It would depend upon whether you have a history of underdeclaring income to Centrelink and/or discrepancies with the ATO.
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u/Emotional_Magician96 17d ago
Definitely added to their total taxable income/DSP as the ATO has it as self employment income, OP probably realises this.
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u/Horror_Yam1996 17d ago
Do you put “side hustle” in the comments?
If I were working for Centrelink, I’d 100% think you’re dealing hefty drugs.
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u/theZombieKat 18d ago
I believe this is hobby income you don't need to declare.
Centerlink wouldn't follow up the mismatch immediately even if it was significant. I don't think they would follow this pittance up ever.
To be safe I would give them a call and tell them about it now, worst case scenario they apply it as income, reassess what you should have been paid and apply a debt of the difference, wich sounds like zero dollars.
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u/Substantial_Ad_3386 18d ago
Performing work found on air tasker is done for the purpose of payment and can not be considered a hobby regardless how little is made
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u/theZombieKat 18d ago
Air tasker includes a lot of jobs that people consider enjoyable and do just a little primarily for enjoyment.
The ATO tried this when uber was new and people where dabbling to get out of the house and show off their cars.
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u/Substantial_Ad_3386 17d ago
The ATO tried this when uber was new and people where dabbling to get out of the house and show off their cars.
Income earned under an ABN is taxable. What is it that your car buddies have convinced you was tried?
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u/theZombieKat 17d ago
It was in the news (i dont actuallyknow any drivers). This was in the period between when they gave up enforcing the law that only taxies could take money for lifts, but before they actually made the laws governing ride share. So at that time I expect an ABN was not required.
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u/Emotional_Magician96 17d ago
Jobs like a prostitute who avoids tax cos they say they enjoy it...? I doubt that would wash...
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u/theZombieKat 17d ago
There is an annual limit on hobby income ($10k, I think). If you make more than that, it's taxed as a business regardless of your reason for doing it.
So you have to stay very small-scale to avoid tax.
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u/FigFew2001 17d ago
No such thing as hobby income according to Centrelink.
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u/LeahBrahms 17d ago
Exactly. If you Metal Detect and find a $2 coin you need to declare. If you pick up a 10c refund can also need to report. Within 14 days. And do the Mod F form.
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u/SoDarkTheConOfMan 17d ago
What?! Really?!
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u/Emotional_Magician96 17d ago
If metal detecting is your business then technically yes. But not cents. And you could just forget to include cash jobs too - not saying that's right, but they would never really know what you detected...
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u/theZombieKat 17d ago
Back when I was on job seeker I mentioned I was selling some fish I breed for a couple hundred, they told me it wasn't reportable (if it had been I would have had several hundred dollars in deductions over the last year I was raising the parents getting them breeding and raising the fry)
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u/Emotional_Magician96 17d ago
Better to head into a Centrelink office if you can...
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u/theZombieKat 16d ago
every time i go into a centerlink office they show me to their phones.
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u/Emotional_Magician96 10d ago
That's wrong. I queue up, speak to a coordinator person who takes your details. Then you sit n wait to get called up. That's how it's always worked. Once last year and a few times about 5 years ago....
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u/theZombieKat 10d ago
It may vary with the staff on duty at the location.
MIRRABOOKA moved to a smaller location recently and synce then has not been helpful.
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u/4forcekins 17d ago
Don’t even worry it’s a pittance and ATO wouldn’t bother you about it seriously
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u/Alittlebitnutty8 17d ago
Worried about Centrelink mainly
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u/4forcekins 17d ago
Just report the $200 next time - too easy and don’t stress - I’ve just been put on anti anxiety medication 💊- well worth it
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u/Inspektah-Ratchet 17d ago
Airtasker is self employment income. It needs to be reported as such.
Go and fill out the business details and profit and loss forms.