There has been a bit of communication circling socials for content creators the last week regarding the ATO’s stance on GST and OnlyFans. A private ruling from the ATO for a specific OF creator has been shared amongst some circles on social media (a private ruling is an outcome for one specific taxpayer based on a set of facts provided by an accountant to the ATO). We understand the intention of this ruling request was to confirm that content provided by creators that were purchased by Australia fans was GST free.
Back in 2020 Empire applied for a private ruling for a number of clients for this scenario. The outcome of our ruling provided that the creator was not required to remit GST on their sales to Australian Fans. This new ruling highlighted to the ATO that there was an ability to get geographical information on their subscribers through the OF platform. This information is not readily available to you as creators, it essentially means that monthly or quarterly you will be required to manually request this information from the OF VAT customer service department by providing your user ID and email linked to your account.
So, what does it mean for everyone…? Well, a private ruling as we said, is only applicable to one scenario to a particular taxpayer, however as this one has been communicated quite publicly and the ATO now has the knowledge that the location can be determined, it would be risky to not adhere to this ruling. This therefore means that 10% of your Australian subs and tips will need to be remitted to the ATO through a monthly or quarterly BAS if you are GST registered.
What can we do about this…? Empire has already been in communication with OF who are actively responding to us, to request 2 changes to their platform.
1 – That OF change their billing model (which under ATO law they can elect to do) to charge the Australian Fans 10% GST when they purchase your subs, on top of your payment and remit it to the ATO directly on your behalf, so you are not 10% out of pocket.
2 – If creators are liable to remit GST that they make a report available in their OF platform that creators have access to on demand.
If your sales to Australia don’t represent a significant portion of your income, then consider restricting your subs locations to exclude Australian based fans.
How can creators make a difference…? You guys make the money for OF, so why should you lose 10% of your Australian sales? If we all request OF to make the changes, we have a BIGGER voice.
Demand OF support their creators by contacting VAT@onlyfans.com and requesting they charge Australian Fans and remit on your behalf!
Here is a template of the wording to send to OF,
OnlyFans User ID: XXXXXXXX
OnlyFans Regsitered Email: XXXXXXX
I am an Australian based content creator. Under rules from the Australian Tax Office, we as the suppliers of content are liable to pay an extra 10% tax to the ATO on sales from subscribers based in Australia. This means we now lose 10% of our earnings. I am requesting that OnlyFans change their model to make the GST rules the same for all Australian Subscribers.
Presently Onlyfans charges Australian subscribers for their purchases of overseas content. I wish to have my Australian subscribers pay the extra 10.% on top of my subscription fee and Onlyfans withhold and remit to the Australian Tax Office along with the overseas GST.
Regards
XXXXXXXXXX
If you have concerns about these changes then contact your accountant or book in via our LinkTree under OF & GST to have a quick chat! Click here.
