Do you know what counts as business income?

Jack Staines • August 17, 2022

You may receive your business income in the form of:

  • cash and digital payments, such as EFTPOS, online, credit or debit card transactions, and through platforms such as PayPal.
  • vouchers or coupons, such as state government stimulus vouchers.

When calculating your business’s assessable income, it’s important that you include all income from your everyday business activities in your tax return, for example:

  • business investments
  • online and overseas business activities
  • personal services you provide (personal services income)
  • the sharing economy, such as ride-sourcing.

It’s also important to include other business income that’s not part of your everyday business activities, for example:

  • assessable government grants and payments, such as JobKeeper
  • the value of trading stock you have
  • payments from insurance claims.

You don’t need to include payments that aren’t assessable income, for example:

  • non-assessable non-exempt government grants
  • gifts or inheritance
  • GST you’ve collected
  • money you’ve borrowed or contributed as the business owner.

You need to keep accurate and complete records to prove the income you report and the expenses you claim as deductions.

Remember, registered tax agents like BMO can help you with your tax, call us today.

Source:  ato.gov.au July 2022   Reproduced with the permission of the Australian Tax Office. This article was originally published on  https://www.ato.gov.au/Newsroom/smallbusiness/General/Do-you-know-what-counts-as-business-income-/ .

Important: This provides general information and hasn’t taken your circumstances into account. It’s important to consider your particular circumstances before deciding what’s right for you. Although the information is from sources considered reliable, we do not guarantee that it is accurate or complete. You should not rely upon it and should seek qualified advice before making any investment decision. Except where liability under any statute cannot be excluded, we do not accept any liability (whether under contract, tort or otherwise) for any resulting loss or damage of the reader or any other person.

Any information provided by the author detailed above is separate and external to BMO Accountants. BMO Accountants does not take any responsibility for any action or any service provided by the author. Any links have been provided with permission for information purposes only and will take you to external websites, which are not connected to BMO Accountants in any way. Note: BMO Accountants does not endorse and is not responsible for the accuracy of the contents/information contained within the linked site(s) accessible from this page.

The SMSF landscape is changing

By Jude Schofield • October 7, 2026
More Australians are choosing to take direct control of their retirement savings by establishing a self-managed super fund (SMSF) and according to the SMSF Association, Aussies now see their super as an important part of building and managing their overall wealth.

The new aged care reality

By Shane Lee • October 6, 2026
One year after the introduction of the new Aged Care Act, older Australians and their families are adjusting to a changed aged care landscape that includes new funding arrangements, higher costs for new entrants and ongoing service demand.