I'm looking for some advice regarding a new 'side hustle' that I have started working on in addition to my regular job. I want to make sure I understand my obligations and am keeping the appropriate records so I don't have any issues come tax time.
I've started doing work online for a company called Outlier AI based out of the US. As I understand it, I work with them as an independent contractor; they have tasks available to complete on their website, listed with an hourly pay rate, I complete the task and am then paid for the time spent. Payments are made weekly, directly to my PayPal account in USD. I don't get a pay slip or any documentation from them. I expect to make about $300-$500 from this most weeks.
1) How is this income classified for tax purposes? Is it necessary for me to apply for an ABN and report it as business income? Or can I just report it as other income?
2) I've seen that some side hustles need to apply for GST. I won't be anywhere near 75k so do I not need to worry about this?
3) I've set up an Excel spreadsheet where I'm tracking the time spent and pay for each task I complete, and the total weekly payout. I will also have the transaction history from PayPal showing each payment. Is this sufficient recordkeeping?
4) The payments are made to my PayPal account in USD and then transferred to my Australian bank account. PayPal converts the money into AUD using their current exchange rate which includes a conversion fee. Is it acceptable to report the AUD value coming out of PayPal as my income? If not, how should I calculate and record it?
5) My total income including my regular job and this side hustle will still be under the $135k tax bracket so is it correct to set aside 30% to pay when I lodge next year?
Sorry for posting such a big wall of text, but would really appreciate any help with this.
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