24% income withheld if W-9 was not filled out?!

[Teresa1397]

I file each year as passive income on my schedule E and deduct on that as well. Now I found out that Airbnb withholds 24 or 28% of your income and pays it directly to the irs if you don’t fill out a W-9 that yields you a 1099- misc at the end of each year. So if that’s the case do I have to file the 1099- misc in addition to my schedule E ? It’s like I’m paying double taxes ? 

also, since I just filed the W-9 with Airbnb moments ago. Will I have access to all the previous years they’ve withheld my Income for 2017-2019? Is there a way of finding out how much they have withheld from me to date? It doesn’t seem like their customer service is able to answer this question for me

[Clare0]

Hi @Teresa1397 I cannot give you tax advice since I am not a tax accountant.  That said, if Airbnb withheld a portion of your payout for taxes, then that would count as a credit towards your tax obligation.  So if you owed the IRS $3000 and Airbnb sent the IRS $2,000 then you would only owe $1,000. 

Airbnb should have sent  you a form (I'm sorry I don't know the exact form number) that indicates the amount which has been sent to the IRS on your behalf.  So, when calculating your taxes, you would subtract the amount withheld by Airbnb to reduce your taxes due or to calculate a refund, if appropriate to your tax situation.  The withholding amount should appear on the 1040 line 17.

I use tax preparation software (Turbo Tax) which walks you through each step of the process and fills out the appropriate forms.  

I would suggest, if you are still confused about the tax withholding, that you talk to a tax professional.  The good news is that both the IRS and the Franchise Tax Board don't require that you file your taxes until July 15.  

All the best,  Clare