Caravan Park Accounting & GST: Key Questions

Accounting, GST and commercial considerations for parks with tourist stays, permanent residents, cabins, sites and ancillary services

From the front gate, a caravan park can appear to be one accommodation business. Behind the office, it may contain tourist bookings, permanent residents, cabins, privately owned caravans, utility charges, retail sales and assets ranging from boom gates to wastewater systems.

Each part of the operation can create different accounting, GST, record-keeping and commercial questions. A short-stay site is not necessarily treated in the same way as long-term accommodation, and a bank deposit may not represent the park’s total sales.

Earlier in my working life, I had close exposure to a Sydney caravan park business for around a year or so and have since worked professionally with another caravan park operation for over a decade. Those experiences gave me a hands-on appreciation of the range of revenue streams, occupancy arrangements and operational issues that can exist within a single park.

A caravan park may look like one business from the front gate, but its income streams, accommodation arrangements and assets may require very different accounting and tax treatment.

A reliable accounting system should do more than record total income and expenses. It should show what the park provides, how its major activities are performing and where different tax treatments or professional advice may be required.

Start by mapping what the park actually provides

Before reviewing the tax treatment, prepare a simple map of the operation.

Depending on the park, this may include:

short-stay powered and unpowered sites;
camping areas;
operator-owned cabins, villas or relocatable homes;
permanent or long-term sites;
sites occupied by privately owned caravans or homes;
storage arrangements;
laundry, kiosk and amenity income;
utility charges and recoveries;
cleaning, linen, booking and cancellation fees;
equipment hire and recreational facilities; and
commissions or third-party booking arrangements.

The purpose is not to create unnecessary complexity. It is to identify what customers and residents are actually paying for.

Two receipts described as “site fees” may arise from quite different arrangements. One may relate to a tourist staying for three nights. Another may be paid by a long-term resident who owns the caravan but occupies a site and uses shared facilities. A third amount may relate only to storage while the caravan is unoccupied.

The name used in the booking system or bank feed does not determine the legal, accounting or GST treatment. Contracts, invoices, the length of occupation, ownership of the dwelling, services provided and the way the park operates may all be relevant.

This map becomes the foundation for the accounts, GST codes, asset register and management reports.

GST is often the first major technical question

Caravan parks and camping grounds are expressly included in the GST concept of commercial residential premises. Broadly, accommodation supplied in commercial residential premises by the entity that owns or controls the premises is generally taxable rather than input taxed in the same way as ordinary residential rent.

That does not mean every receipt or every dwelling within a park should automatically be given the same GST code. The nature of the premises, the supply being made and the contractual arrangement still matter.

Short stays and long stays

Short-term tourist accommodation will generally fall under the ordinary GST rules where the usual requirements for a taxable supply are met.

Special rules can apply where commercial accommodation is provided to an individual for a continuous period of at least 28 days. The accommodation does not simply become GST-free. Instead, Division 87 may reduce the value on which GST is calculated.

Where the premises are predominantly used for long-term accommodation broadly, where at least 70% of accommodation supplies satisfy the long-term test, the taxable value of qualifying long-term accommodation may generally be reduced to 50% of its ordinary value from the beginning of the stay. Where the premises are not predominantly long-term, the concession generally applies to the 28th and subsequent days of a qualifying stay.

Operators may also have a choice in some circumstances to treat qualifying long-term accommodation as input taxed instead. That choice can affect entitlement to GST credits on related costs and should be considered carefully.

A stay of 28 days does not simply make accommodation GST-free.

Particular care is needed where a park mixes tourists and long-term occupants, operator-owned and resident-owned dwellings, separate houses, storage arrangements or bundled services.

The length of a stay is important, but it is not the only relevant feature. Resident agreements, park rules and state legislation may also affect the legal character of an arrangement. Uncertain documents should be reviewed by an appropriately qualified lawyer.

GST treatment may also affect credits on related costs. Mixed operations should therefore be reviewed before one code is applied across every accommodation category.

The accounting system should follow the income streams

A park’s financial reports are more useful when the main activities are recorded separately.

The appropriate level of detail will depend on the size and complexity of the operation, but useful income categories may include:

short-stay accommodation;
long-stay accommodation or permanent-site fees;
cabin income;
powered and unpowered sites;
storage;
utility recoveries;
booking, cleaning and cancellation fees;
laundry and kiosk sales; and
equipment hire or other ancillary services.

This separation supports more than tax compliance. It helps compare occupancy, pricing and margins, and may reveal that substantial revenue is being absorbed by cleaning, power, commissions or maintenance.

The expense side should follow similar logic. Some costs relate to the whole park; others can be linked to cabins, tourist sites, long-term areas or the kiosk. Shared costs need not be divided with false precision, but a reasonable and consistent method makes reporting more meaningful.

Booking platforms, deposits and cancellations

Booking platforms create a common accounting trap. Suppose a platform collects $1,100 from guests, deducts its commission and merchant charges, and deposits $935 into the park’s bank account. Recording only the $935 as sales may understate both gross accommodation revenue and platform expenses.

The booking report, tax invoice, platform statement and bank deposit should be reconciled so the accounting records reflect the actual arrangement. The correct GST attribution will also depend on the relevant documents and whether the operator accounts for GST on a cash or non-cash basis.

Deposits and bonds require similar care. An advance payment for accommodation is not necessarily treated in the same way as a genuine security deposit. The position may also change if an amount is applied to a stay, refunded, retained after damage or forfeited following a cancellation.

Rather than relying on the bank-feed description, the system should distinguish advance receipts, security bonds, refunds, cancellation fees and revenue relating to current or completed stays.

Utilities and other recoveries

Electricity, water, gas, internet and waste charges may be included in accommodation, separately metered or recovered under a resident agreement.

Treatment can depend on whether the amount forms part of the accommodation charge, represents a separate supply or is collected under another arrangement. Clear invoices, meter readings and reconciliations are important for tax and for determining whether recoveries cover the underlying cost.

Park assets require more than one tax category

The asset base of a caravan park can be unusually broad. It may include land, buildings, cabins, amenities, internal roads, fences, boom gates, electrical infrastructure, water and wastewater systems, pools, playgrounds, camp kitchens, laundries, furniture, appliances, vehicles, mowers, solar systems and booking technology.

These items do not all receive the same income-tax treatment.

Depending on the expenditure and the circumstances, an amount may relate to:

an immediately deductible repair or maintenance cost;
a separately depreciating asset;
capital works claimed over time;
an improvement or replacement forming part of the asset’s cost base;
land-related expenditure; or
consumables or trading stock.

An asset register should identify what the park owns, its acquisition date and cost, location and use. This is especially important where residents own dwellings or infrastructure has been replaced in stages.

Repairs are not automatically immediate deductions

The word “maintenance” on an invoice does not determine the tax outcome.

Consider an operator who repairs several damaged boards on a cabin deck, replaces a failed air-conditioner and redesigns and rebuilds the remainder of the cabin. Those amounts may not all be treated alike. The deck work may be a repair, the air-conditioner may be a replacement depreciating asset, and the broader refurbishment may be capital expenditure.

Other distinctions may arise between:

patching a damaged section of an internal road and reconstructing the road;
repairing a burst pipe and installing an upgraded water system;
restoring storm damage and undertaking a wider redevelopment; or
replacing a worn component and replacing substantially the whole asset.

The condition of an asset when acquired, the extent of the work, whether the original function has been restored or improved and whether a separate asset has been replaced can all be relevant.

Large projects should therefore be separated into meaningful components before they are posted to a single repairs account. Quotations, invoices, photographs, insurance reports and project descriptions can help support the treatment adopted.

People, resident arrangements and private use also matter

Caravan parks commonly engage reception staff, cleaners, grounds workers, seasonal employees and resident or relief managers.

Calling a worker a contractor, requiring an ABN or paying an invoice does not determine the relationship. The contract and practical arrangement may affect PAYG withholding, superannuation, awards, leave, workers compensation and payroll tax. Some contractors may also fall within the extended superannuation rules.

Employment and contractor classifications should be reviewed using current tax and workplace rules, with specialist workplace advice obtained where necessary.

For resident-owned caravans, cabins and relocatable homes, the operator should be clear about ownership, responsibility for repairs, utility charges, amounts collected for others and any transfer or sale fees. These matters should be supported by legally reviewed agreements rather than inferred from the accounts.

Private use must also remain visible. An owner or family member may live onsite, use cabins, take goods from the kiosk or have personal expenses paid by the business. The required adjustment depends on the facts and business structure. Company-owned assets or company funds used privately may also raise fringe benefits tax, Division 7A or other issues.

Private use should be identified when it occurs rather than reconstructed at year-end.

Seasonal cash flow can disguise underlying performance

Strong holiday receipts do not necessarily mean the business has generated free cash.

Some of that cash may relate to future bookings. GST, wages, superannuation and tax obligations still need to be funded. Insurance, rates, licences and major maintenance may fall due during quieter months. Storms, bushfires, floods or regional events may change occupancy with little warning.

A useful monthly dashboard might track:

occupancy by accommodation type;
average revenue per occupied site or cabin;
accommodation and ancillary revenue;
labour costs;
utilities;
booking-platform commissions;
repairs and maintenance;
cash received for future stays;
overdue resident or customer balances; and
committed capital expenditure.

The objective is not to create a system that is too complicated to maintain. It is to show which activities produce sustainable margins, whether costs are being recovered and whether enough cash is being reserved for tax, employee obligations, maintenance and asset replacement.

Buying, expanding or selling a park requires early review

The profit figure is only one part of assessing a caravan park transaction.

A purchaser may be acquiring land, buildings, cabins, operating assets, licences, booking systems, resident arrangements, forward bookings and goodwill. Some dwellings may belong to residents. Employee liabilities, infrastructure condition and deferred maintenance may materially affect the transaction even if they are not obvious from the headline earnings.

Before a contract is finalised, the parties may need tax, legal, finance, valuation, planning and environmental input. Questions can include:

Which assets and activities are included, and how will the price be allocated?
Who is responsible for guest deposits, forward bookings and employee liabilities?
Are resident and supplier arrangements transferable?
What GST treatment is proposed, including any potential going-concern treatment?
Does the ownership structure suit the land, business, financing and succession plan?

A sale should never be assumed to qualify as a GST-free going concern simply because the business continues trading. The requirements are transaction-specific and should be addressed in the contract with professional advice.

Major expansions can likewise affect approvals, contracts, funding, GST, depreciation and reporting. Advice obtained before commitments are made usually provides more options than trying to reconstruct the treatment after completion.

Questions caravan park operators should ask

What types of accommodation, occupancy and ancillary services does the park provide?
Which guests stay for fewer than 28 days and which stay longer?
Are tourist income, long-term income, cabins, sites and ancillary activities recorded separately?
Are booking-platform sales reconciled to gross bookings, commissions, refunds and bank deposits?
How are advance bookings, bonds, cancellations, refunds and utilities recorded and reconciled?
Which dwellings, improvements and infrastructure are owned by the operator?
Is the asset register complete, and are repairs, replacement assets and improvements separated?
Are employees, contractors and resident managers classified and paid correctly?
Is owner and family private use recorded?
Can reporting show profitability by major accommodation type?
Are funds reserved for GST, tax, employee obligations and major maintenance?
Have legal and tax advice been obtained for resident agreements, major developments and transactions?

The practical takeaway

A caravan park’s accounts should reflect the business behind the front gate and not merely the total deposits reaching the bank.

Map the accommodation and services provided, separate the important revenue streams, review GST treatment before applying uniform codes, maintain a reliable asset register and make private use visible. The result should be records that support both compliance and better operating decisions.

Need advice tailored to your circumstances?

Running, buying or expanding a caravan park or mixed-accommodation business? Compact Accounting can help organise the taxation, GST, accounting, record-keeping and management-reporting questions that should be considered.

Legal, employment, planning, valuation and transaction advice may also be required from appropriately qualified advisers.

General Information Only

This resource provides general educational information and does not constitute personal taxation, accounting, legal, financial product, investment or lending advice. It does not take into account your particular circumstances.

Tax outcomes depend on the relevant facts, applicable law and timing. You should obtain appropriately qualified professional advice before acting or refraining from acting on this information.

Reading this resource or contacting Compact Accounting does not, by itself, create an accountant–client relationship. Any engagement is subject to our written acceptance and agreed scope of services.

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

References & Further Reading

Last Reviewed: 30 September 2026

Running a Caravan Park: Key Tax and Accounting Questions

Start by mapping what the park actually provides