CRA Now Sees Your Platform Income: A Tax Guide for Uber, Airbnb, Etsy and Shopify Sellers

Quick answer: Since 2024, digital platforms that help people sell goods, rent out property or provide personal services must report their sellers’ income to the CRA every year by 31 January. That includes platforms such as Airbnb, Uber, Etsy, eBay and similar marketplaces. If you earn money this way, report it on your return, claim your legitimate expenses, check whether you must register for GST/HST, and fix any past omissions before the CRA contacts you.

Key takeaways

• Platform reporting started with the 2024 calendar year; the first reports were due 31 January 2025.
• Reports include your name, address, tax number, the amounts paid to you and the fees the platform kept.
• Occasional sellers with fewer than 30 sales of goods totalling $2,800 or less in a year are excluded.
• Ride-share drivers must register for GST/HST from their first dollar; most other sellers must register once they pass $30,000.
• If past income wasn’t reported, coming forward before the CRA contacts you usually means lower penalties.

What changed: the Reporting Rules for Digital Platform Operators

Canada’s rules, found in Part XX of the Income Tax Act, follow an international model developed by the OECD. They took effect on 1 January 2024. Each year, a “reporting platform operator” must collect and verify information about its sellers and file an information return with the CRA by 31 January of the following year. The first reports — for the 2024 calendar year — were due 31 January 2025.

The CRA then matches that data against tax returns. Canada also exchanges this information with other countries that have adopted the same rules, so foreign platforms serving Canadians report too.

Which activities are covered

The rules apply to platforms that help sellers with:

• Sales of goods — handmade items, resale, new products (think Etsy, eBay and similar marketplaces).
• Rentals of real or immovable property — short-term rentals, parking spaces, event venues (think Airbnb, Vrbo).
• Personal services — time- or task-based work done for a user, such as ride-share driving, food delivery, freelance tasks, tutoring or home services booked through an app.

What the platform reports about you

• Your legal name and address.
• Your Social Insurance Number or Business Number (or foreign tax ID).
• Your date of birth (for individuals).
• Total amounts paid or credited to you, generally broken out by quarter.
• Fees, commissions and taxes the platform withheld or charged.
• For rentals, the address of each listed property and, in many cases, the number of days rented.
• The financial account where you received payments.

Who is excluded

A seller is an excluded seller — not reported — in a few cases, including:

• Sellers of goods with fewer than 30 sales and total consideration of $2,800 or less in the year.
• Entities that provided more than 2,000 rental services for the same property listing in the year (large hotel operators).
• Government entities and publicly traded companies.

Note the “and”: 30 small sales worth $500 in total would still be reported, and so would three sales worth $3,000.

What it means for your taxes

“Side income” is still income

If you earn money with a reasonable expectation of profit, it is generally business income and must be reported on your T1 return (using Form T2125, Statement of Business or Professional Activities). That’s true whether it is $800 or $80,000, and whether or not you received a slip.

Selling your own used personal items — the old couch, outgrown kids’ clothes — at less than you paid is usually not taxable. But buying items to resell, making products to sell, or running a regular “decluttering” side hustle is business activity.

Short-term rentals are usually rental or business income

Income from renting a room or a home through a platform is taxable. Whether it is rental income (reported on Form T776) or business income depends on the services you provide; cleaning, meals and concierge-style services push it toward business income. Rental income also affects your principal residence exemption if you rent out part of your home, and there are special rules if you change the use of the property.

In Toronto, short-term rentals are allowed only in your principal residence, must be registered with the City, and entire-home rentals are capped at 180 nights a year. Since 1 January 2024, federal tax law denies expense deductions for short-term rentals that don’t comply with provincial or municipal rules. If your listing isn’t compliant, you may owe tax on gross rental income with no deductions. See Toronto real estate investors: tax in 2026.

Claim your expenses — properly

Reported income will be the gross amount platforms paid you. Your taxable income is that amount minus eligible expenses, so good records are your best friend. Common deductions include:

For vehicles, keep a logbook of business kilometres. The CRA accepts a full logbook for a representative base year, then a shorter sample period in later years, as long as usage is similar.

GST/HST: the rule many sellers miss

Income tax is only half the story. You may also need to register for, charge and remit GST/HST (13% in Ontario):

• Ride-share drivers (taxi and limousine services, including Uber and Lyft drivers) must register for GST/HST from their first dollar of fares. The small supplier exemption does not apply to them.
• Most other sellers must register once their worldwide taxable sales exceed $30,000 in any four consecutive calendar quarters (the small supplier threshold).
• Short-term accommodation platforms may be required to collect GST/HST on bookings when the host isn’t registered. If you are registered, you are responsible for collecting and remitting on your own bookings.

Being registered isn’t all bad news: you can claim input tax credits for the GST/HST you pay on business expenses. For a driver with a new vehicle or a host furnishing a unit, those credits can be substantial. See our Ontario HST guide.

“I haven’t been reporting this income.” What now?

Many people assumed small platform income was invisible. It isn’t anymore, and the CRA has years of data. Here are your options.

Option 1: Adjust your past returns

If the amounts are modest and the errors were honest, you can ask the CRA to adjust prior returns through My Account (Change my return) or by filing Form T1-ADJ. You will pay the tax owed plus interest (currently 7% a year, compounded daily), but you avoid the risk of later penalties for repeated failure to report.

Option 2: The Voluntary Disclosures Program (VDP)

If the amounts are larger, involve several years, or include unpaid GST/HST, the CRA’s Voluntary Disclosures Program may reduce penalties and part of the interest — but only if your disclosure is voluntary (generally, made before the CRA contacts you about the issue), complete, and includes payment or a payment arrangement. Once a platform’s report triggers a CRA letter to you, the disclosure is likely no longer “unprompted,” and relief is reduced or lost. Speed matters.

Option 3: Wait — the risky choice

Failing to report income in two of four years can trigger a penalty of 10% of the unreported amount federally, plus a matching provincial penalty, on top of tax and interest. Gross negligence penalties are higher. And unreported GST/HST you should have collected becomes your cost, because you can’t go back and charge your old customers.

A practical checklist for platform sellers

• Download your annual earnings summaries from every platform you used, for every year since you started.
• Separate your money. Use one bank account and one card for the side business.
• Capture receipts with a mobile app as you spend.
• Track business-use percentages for your car, phone and home.
• Check your GST/HST status today — especially if you drive for a ride-share app.
• Set aside tax from each payout. A common rule of thumb is 25–30% of profit, plus 13% of sales if you charge HST.
• Make instalments if you owe more than $3,000 in tax at filing time two years running.
• Confirm short-term rental compliance with your city before claiming expenses.
• Get help fixing past years before the CRA asks.

Frequently asked questions

Need help with platform income?

Solstice Partners helps gig workers, hosts and online sellers across the GTA report income correctly, register for HST when needed, and clean up past years with minimal penalties. Explore personal tax services or book a consultation.

Sources

• Canada Revenue Agency — Reporting rules for digital platform operators: who is affected
• Canada Revenue Agency — Guidance on the reporting rules for digital platform operators
• Canada Revenue Agency — Taxes and the sharing economy
• Canada Revenue Agency — Voluntary Disclosures Program
• City of Toronto — Short-term rentals

This article is general information, not tax advice for your situation. Rules and thresholds can change; confirm the details before acting.