8. Taxation and Mystery Shopping
ALL EXISTING HOED SHOPPERS. (Australia)
HOED Shoppers that have a HOED account are treated as employees and paid on this basis.
HOED Shoppers that also have a CBS Account can use the CBS Account to accept Assignments and be paid as a Hobbyist.
At some stage in the future all HOED Shoppers that only have a HOED (employee) account will be required to become a Hobbyist or Contractor as detailed below.
ALL CBS SHOPPERS AND ALL NEW SHOPPERS REGISTERED AS FROM AUG 09. (Australia)
Taxation Obligations.
Hoed Holdings engages Shoppers as either Hobbyists or as Contractors (very soon, to be advised).
Hobbyist. A Shopper engaged as a hobbyist is a person who undertakes a shopper assignment as a social or recreational activity. It is not done for the purpose of providing an income or making profits.
Contractor. A Shopper engaged as a Contractor is a person who undertakes a substantial number of assignments for the purpose of establishing an income and making profits. If your intention is to do this you must advise us in writing. Even though the Australian Taxation Office does not give a definition of how much a hobbyist may need to earn to be considered a Contractor we advise that if you make (or intend to make) $1500 or more per year you may need to seek advice from your accountant.
As a Contractor you will need to provide us with an ABN and therefore no withholding of tax is necessary. If you provide us with an ABN then you DO NOT need to supply us with a Statement by a Supplier.
If you are a Contractor you will be asked for your permission for us to create Recipient Created Tax Invoices (RCTI). These will be issued FORTNIGHTLY for any work undertaken by you in that particular week.
Finally you will need to inform us if you are registered for GST purposes (on the Shopper application). If you are, a GST amount will be added to the shopper fee and which you will need to reconcile as part of your tax obligations to the ATO.
Regardless if you provide and ABN or not, the assignment fees you receive are considered taxable income for a Contractor and must be declared as such. You are able to claim deductions for any expenses incurred in earning these fees.
Hobbyist Declaration.
All Shoppers wishing to be considered as Hobbysits must complete the Statement by a Supplier and submit it before any payments are made. If you deem yourself a Hobbyist then complete the Statement by Supplier (Section A(1), SEction B) with your name as Supplier and tick the box under Section A (3) with "is made in the course of furtherance of an activity done as a private recreational pursuit or hobby".
ALL New Zealand Shoppers.
Complete the Training Declaration and the Bank Account details only.