‘You disposed of crypto’: Thousands of Aussies receive ominous tax email

Thousands of Australians have received an email warning them that they may owe tax on crypto ahead of tax time.

The email from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has warned them that records show they have “bought or disposed of crypto” since July 1 last year and that they need to report their profits or losses on this year’s return.

“Disposals include selling, gifting, swapping and other similar transactions.”

The email provides additional information on what to do if they have earned income related to crypto investments or are carrying on a crypto business.

“This includes income from activities such as trading, mining or exchange business, or selling non-fungible tokens as a business,” the email read.

The warning comes weeks after a similar email from the ATO reportedly warning a pet-sitter registered on an online platform that they need to declare their side hustle in their upcoming tax return.

“Income you earn through the sharing economy is generally assessable and must be declared in your tax return, even if: you earn the income part-time, casually or irregularly; you do not have an Australian business number (ABN); no tax was withheld from the payments you received,” the letter read.

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“Sharing economy platforms provide us with information about income earned through their services.

“This information does not automatically pre-fill your tax return, so you must ensure you manually include all sharing economy income when you lodge.”

The ATO’s listed examples of “sharing economy” income sources included ride-sharing, accommodation-sharing, freelance work, renting out assets, and online content creation - but the list is by not all-encompassing.

The ATO also warned that “penalties or interest” may be levied on an incomplete tax return.