Affiliate Marketing Tax Australia: A Guide for Content Creators

Affiliate marketing is one of the easiest creator income streams to start and one of the easiest to mess up at tax time. A few links in your bio, a discount code in your captions, and suddenly you are getting USD deposits from networks you barely remember signing up for. Then June 30 hits and you are not sure what to declare, what to deduct, or whether GST applies.

Here is the full picture for Australian creators, the way our Chartered Accountants explain it to clients.

What Counts as Affiliate Income?

If a brand or network pays you because someone bought, signed up or clicked through your unique link or code, that is affiliate income. The most common sources for Aussie creators:

• Amazon Associates (AU and US programs)
• LTK / LiketoKnow.it commissions
• ShareASale, Impact, Awin, CJ, Rakuten
• Direct brand affiliate programs (e.g. Skillshare, Squarespace, NordVPN, BetterHelp)
• Discount code deals with brands ("use code SARAH10 for 10% off")
• App referrals (Wise, Up Bank, Shopify, etc.)
• Crypto exchange referrals (CoinSpot, Swyftx, Binance)
• OnlyFans / Fansly referral commissions (5% lifetime referrals)

All of it is assessable income. All of it should be on your tax return.

How to Declare Affiliate Income in Your Tax Return

If you are a sole trader, affiliate income goes in the Business and Professional Items section of your tax return as gross business income. You then claim your business expenses against it to arrive at net profit, which is what you actually pay tax on.

For each affiliate network or program you should have:

• A year-to-date earnings report (downloadable from the network's dashboard)
• A record of payments received in your bank or PayPal in AUD
• The exchange rate used for any USD / EUR / GBP payments (use the rate on the day you were paid, or the ATO yearly average)
• Bank, PayPal or Stripe fees that were taken out before you got the money

The Currency Conversion Rule

Most affiliate networks pay in USD. The rule the ATO uses: convert each payment to AUD at the exchange rate on the day you received it (the day it hit your account, or your PayPal / Stripe wallet).

If you have many small monthly payments, it is acceptable to use the ATO's published yearly average exchange rate instead. Pick one method and stick with it across the whole year.

Do Affiliate Creators Need an ABN?

Yes, in almost every situation. If you are creating content with the intention of earning ongoing affiliate commissions, you are running a business and the ATO expects you to be registered.

Without an ABN:

• Australian networks may withhold 47% of your commissions
• Some networks (e.g. Aussie influencer agencies) will not pay you at all
• You cannot legally invoice for direct affiliate / discount code deals with brands

Registering an ABN is free and takes about 10 minutes via the Australian Business Register. More on ABNs for creators.

The GST Trap: Foreign Affiliate Income Still Counts

This is the part that catches creators out the most. The GST registration threshold is $75,000 in 12 month rolling turnover. Foreign affiliate payments (Amazon US, Impact, ShareASale paying you in USD) are typically GST free as exports, but the income still counts toward your $75K threshold.

So you can be in a situation where:

• $80,000 of your turnover is from US affiliate networks
• You owe $0 of GST on that income
• But you must still register for GST and lodge BAS
• And the moment you do an Australian affiliate deal, you have to add 10% GST to the invoice

Once you are GST registered, the upside is you also claim back GST on your business expenses. Full GST breakdown.

What Affiliate Creators Can Deduct

Affiliate income works the same as any other creator income for deductions. You can claim anything you used to produce the content that earned the commissions, including:

• Website hosting, domain, and email marketing platforms
• SEO tools (Ahrefs, SEMrush, Surfer)
• Affiliate link tools (Pretty Links, ThirstyAffiliates, Lasso, Geniuslink)
• Camera, lighting, microphone, computer (work portion)
• Editing software and stock libraries
• Phone and internet (work portion) — how to claim them
• Home office costs — home office guide
• Products you bought to honestly review (only the cost of products you genuinely used to create content, not your weekly groceries)
• Travel for shoots or content related research
• Bank, PayPal, Stripe and Wise fees
• Accountant and bookkeeper fees

The Disclosure Catch (ACCC Rule)

This is not strictly a tax issue but worth noting because it overlaps. The ACCC requires creators to clearly disclose paid relationships, including affiliate links. So make sure your content uses #ad / #affiliate / "this link earns me a commission" disclosures. Failing to disclose is a separate compliance risk on top of tax.

Common Affiliate Tax Mistakes

• Forgetting USD payments. Pull every annual statement. Cross check against your PayPal and bank.
• Treating it as "passive" income. If you create content to earn it, it is business income, not investment income.
• Not tracking affiliate fees. The 30% PayPal currency conversion fee is a deductible expense.
• Missing the GST threshold. Foreign affiliate income still counts. Track turnover monthly.
• Treating products bought for review as personal. If you genuinely used them to produce content, the cost is deductible.

The Quick Affiliate Tax Checklist

1. Register an ABN as a sole trader
2. Open a separate bank account for creator income
3. Track turnover monthly. Once near $75K rolling, register for GST
4. Save annual statements from every affiliate network
5. Convert USD to AUD at the date received (or use ATO yearly average)
6. Set aside 30% of every affiliate payment for tax
7. Claim every legitimate deduction, including platform fees
8. Keep records for five years