Short-stay income and expenses, quarter-ready.

Airbnb and short-stay are taxed differently to a long-term rental — GST can actually apply, private use has to be apportioned, and the setup costs are often capital. This pulls your payout data and Xero/QuickBooks, works out occupancy, ADR and net per night, separates capital from deductible, and preps the pack for your tax agent.

What you'll connect

01Airbnb / Stayz payout data
02Xero or QuickBooks (via Ledger MCP)
03Your short-stay properties
04Nights available per property (for occupancy)
05Your registered tax agent's email

The Prompt

Short-stay & Airbnb tracker

Income & expenses · occupancy · net per night · GST flag · tax pack

Copy & Paste

I run one or more short-stay / Airbnb properties in Australia. My payout data (Airbnb / Stayz) and my Xero or QuickBooks are connected via the Ledger MCP connector. Pull the most recent complete quarter for my short-stay properties.

Then do four things:

1. INCOME per property per platform: gross payouts, platform/host service fees deducted, and net received. Show nights booked, nights genuinely AVAILABLE for rent (advertised/listed), nights BLOCKED for owner/private use, occupancy %, average nightly rate (ADR) and net income per available night. The availability split matters for what's deductible.

2. CATEGORISE expenses against short-stay categories: platform/host service fees, cleaning & linen, guest consumables & amenities, utilities, internet, short-stay management fees, repairs & maintenance, insurance (short-stay/landlord), council rates, strata / body corporate, advertising & photography, and other. Separate likely CAPITAL items (furniture, appliances, setup/styling) from deductible expenses and flag them.

3. VISUALISE monthly net income and occupancy per property across the quarter.

4. FLAG for a human: GST exposure (short-term accommodation is a taxable supply — flag if annualised turnover is approaching or over the $75k GST registration threshold), the apportionment of expenses based on days genuinely available for rent vs days blocked for private use, outliers, duplicates, and capital-vs-deductible items.

Produce one Excel workbook with tabs:
- Summary: headline numbers (gross income, fees, net income, total expenses, net position), occupancy & ADR, the chart embedded as an image, and the flagged items. One A4 landscape page.
- Income: per property, per platform, with occupancy and ADR.
- Expenses: cleaned and categorised, capital items separated.
- GST: turnover vs the $75k threshold and a note on registration status.
- Trends: flagged items with a one-line reason each.

Then draft an email to my registered tax agent at [agent@example.com] via Gmail, saved to Drafts (do not send). Subject: "Short-stay quarter summary, [entity name]". Body: three short paragraphs — headline numbers and occupancy, what changed vs last quarter, and the flagged items — plus 3-5 questions for them based on the flags (GST registration, private-use apportionment, capital vs deductible). Attach the workbook.

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IMPORTANT: Educational preparation only. Not tax, accounting, GST or BAS advice. Short-term accommodation is generally a TAXABLE supply for GST (unlike residential rent); the $75k registration threshold, private-use apportionment, and any main-residence CGT impact are matters for a registered tax agent. Council short-stay registration rules vary by area. Verify everything with qualified professionals.

Short-stay is taxed differently to a long-term rental in Australia — this prompt is built for that. It prepares the numbers; a registered tax agent makes the calls.

What comes back

✻Income per property & platform (gross, fees, net)

✻Days available vs booked vs blocked, occupancy %, ADR

✻Net income per available night

✻Categorised expenses with capital items separated

✻A GST check against the $75k threshold

✻Apportionment + capital-vs-deductible items flagged

✻A drafted tax-agent email — you review and send

Heads up

The big Australian difference: short-term accommodation is generally a taxable supply for GST, unlike residential rent. Cross $75k turnover and GST registration can be required, and renting out your home (or part of it) short-stay can affect the main-residence CGT exemption. This flags those — a registered tax agent decides them.

Rules vary

Two more things this tool surfaces but can't decide for you. Deductibility hinges on availability: you can generally only claim expenses for the portion of the period the property is genuinely advertised and available for rent. Days you block out for your own use — or while it sits idle and unlisted — get apportioned out, so the tool tracks days available vs days booked vs days blocked. Initial setup and styling are usually capital (not an immediate deduction), and travel to inspect a residential rental generally isn't deductible. Council limits: many areas cap short-stay nights or require registration — Greater Sydney has day caps, Victoria has a short-stay levy, and other states and councils run their own registration and planning rules. Check your specific LGA, and confirm the tax treatment with a registered tax agent.

Questions to ask your accountant

✻Am I over (or close to) the $75k GST registration threshold?

✻How do I apportion expenses for the days I used it myself?

✻Is the furniture / setup / styling capital or deductible now?

✻Does short-stay letting affect my main-residence CGT exemption?

✻Do my council's short-stay night caps or registration rules apply?

Pairs with

Running both long-term and short-stay? Use this alongside the tool so every property — however it's let — lands in one tax-agent pack.

Education only

These tools are for preparation and education only. They do not replace credit assessment, financial advice, tax advice, legal review or lender policy checks. Verify everything with qualified professionals. Finance on the Coast is a subdivision of Model Mortgages Pty Ltd (ABN 82 108 681 063), Australian Credit Licence 387460.