Andy Slatter

Hi, I'm self-employed, but I used to do contract work for an overseas company based in Australia. My services were terminated a couple of years ago, but the founders of the company recently sold the company, and wanted to use a portion of their sale profits to give cash gifts to both current and former staff members as a token gesture of appreciation of their contribution to the success of the company. As a former contract worker for them, I was offered a cash gift, but in order to collect the cash gift, I was required to send the company an invoice for the amount they had allocated to me. Their instructions to me for the invoice always refer to it as being a cash gift, it is not a payment for services rendered, and it was payed by bank transfer into my personal bank account. Will it be classed as a taxable income? Thanks.