Hi, just wondering if anyone knows if bank bonus payments for opening new accounts are counted as "interest" in tax returns:
I mean accounts such as these:
Commonwealth Bank $100 bonus for new customers from NAB
http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/39898
ING Direct $40 Orange Everyday bonus
http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/44410
I'm guessing maybe not as ING gave this full payment without recording a TFN?
Does anyone know?
i'm not a tax expert, but i imagine all the bonuses should be declared.
For ING the bonus is part of the YTD interest, therefore taxable.
it call "bonus interest", it contains the word "interest", then is it interest. fyi, when you declare your tfn, the bank will pass that information how much is it your interest that you got this financial year to ato. you don't declare it, take your own risk, it happen to me 5 years ago, when i really forgot with one of dormant account, got warning letter from ato. not worth the risk and the rewards, remember tax evasion can cause you stay in the jail and dent your reputation, especially if you are working in the financial industry.
Neither of them used the word "interest". ING's was "First Purchase Bonus" and they definitely didn't withhold any which was weird.
But I guess it'd be safer to just include them!
Thanks for the help :)
you still need to declare it as income, whether it be as interest or as other income.
I think you need to declare it.
You need to declare it as income any interest you earn with any bank source
Thank you :)
Yes as far as I know the extra $$$ is taxable income. There was something about it in the T&Cs for the Orange Everyday…
ING already had my TFN as I was already a Savings Maximiser customer.