Airbnb for campervans gets ATO tax deductions green light

The ATO are set to allow campervan and motorhome owners to claim new tax deductions when renting out the liveable vehicles.

The move comes after the emergence of Camplify, the campervan rental site which has become known as the Airbnb for campervans.

The website suggests a rental per week can fetch from anywhere between $250 and $2,100.

Camplify, Australia's number one caravan hire and RV sharing community, has around 4,000 members in Australia and is expecting many more after the landmark ruling which has been 18 months in the making.

There are some 500,000 motorhomes in Australia, and most only hit the road between four to six weeks of the year, Camplify's website suggests.

The new rules will allow deductions for depreciation, repairs, maintenance, insurance, consumables, cleaning, management fees and storage costs, the Australian Financial Review reported.

Owners will be able to claim 100 percent of the expenses directly related to hiring their vehicles when listed with the platform.

Co-founder and chief executive of Camplify Justin Hales told StartupSmart he initially approached the ATO to “engage with them on how this would work under current tax laws”,.

“It was about providing the right information in terms of what we believed this meant for our customers, being able to add a lot of value to our owners, and being able to position them in a way that works for them in a financial arrangement,” Hales says.

“A lot of that is tax," he said.

Camplify chief executive Justin Hales told the AFR Camplify gives people who already have vans an extra reason to consider listing them," he said.

"A lot of people we have spoken to over the past couple of years say this is a reason why they might want to buy a van. They might not have been convinced purchasing an RV was right for them.

"For those investor types who are looking to do whatever they can to get a good return, it's another great way to get that."

"We wanted to collaborate with the ATO about the sharing economy and our space in it, because we wanted to be able to provide our customers with good information," he said.

"We wanted to be able to be seen as a bit of an industry leader in the field.

"Our business is growing at a rapid rate. Lots and lots of customers are listing their vans. It's one of those perfect sharing economy assets because it costs a lot of money to buy, and has very low personal usage for most people."

The company was founded in 2014 with an initial $30,000 investment. It is now valued between $16 million and $20 million.

The website provided a case study.

The Chief decides to purchase an RV with his wife Pam. They are going to use the RV for 8 weeks of holidays during the year with their 3 kids. The rest of the time the RV will be listed on Camplify’s website for Hire. The Chief hires his RV at $650 per week for 22 weeks of the year on Camplify. Let’s take a look at the tax position for The Chief and Pam...