1099 confusion - Which form? Where do I get it? How do I pay taxes without it?

[Rosalind98]

Hi!! We are new to hosting and earned less than $20,000 last year. I'm trying to determine which 1099 I should expect as I don't seem to fit in either category. When or should I expect to get a form at all? If we don't get a form how do we file our taxes for the money we earned? I reached out to customer service but that experience drove me  to want to pull my eyelashes out. Anyone have any suggestions?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Rosalind98 as your Government changed the proposed rules for 2022 tax forms you probably won't get a form at all. Assuming the IRS is anything like the UK HMRC I am sure they will accept you declaring your income without any forms.

[Rosalind98]

Thank you. It seems this is what I will have to do. This is my first time and there is NO real guidance I can find.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Rosalind98 If you can't find information as to what costs you can claim against the income you have received then pay an accountant at least for your first tax return. At least their fees are tax deductible!

[Ana2038]

@Rosalind98 , read the below link.

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-announces-delay-for-implementation-of-600-reporting-threshold-for-t...

[Rosalind98]

Thanks for the reply, I've been reading and rereading these things for days and spinning in circles. I guess this means just put the income in and see what happens. Maybe I'm asking the wrong questions.

[Ana2038]

@Rosalind98 , Airbnb will only supply data on monies paid to you and you can retrieve this information from your host dashboard (I.e. earnings).  Once you have this income amount then the next steps are on you by documenting/supplying a profit and loss statement to your tax preparer. Keep in mind both direct and indirect cost in operating your Airbnb listing (our listing sits on the same lot as our primary residence so we have indirect cost that we can write off). 

You should consult with your tax preparer as to the allowable items you can write off against the income derived from your Airbnb property. Keep track of supplies ordered, services provided,  maintenance cost etc…as it pertains to your Airbnb listing. If your listing is not your primary residence (shared room or ADU/guesthouse on same lot) you can write off mileage to and from your listing. 

We only have one listing so it’s fairly easy to keep track of our expenses. 

Most importantly, always consult with your tax preparer.

[Lorna170]

@Rosalind98  It may be prudent to speak to an accountant to help you with this first year of rental income reporting.

You can also purchase one of the tax programs that is geared for rental income reporting, although I do not recommend this if you do not know what you include and can deduct when reporting your rental income.

I kept a spreadsheet that showed each rental, what AirBnB disbursed to me, what taxes were collected from the guest (whether they were disbursed to me or collected by AirBnB and purportedly sent to the various taxing entities) and what fees my guests were charged as well as the fees charged to me.  This made my income reporting very easy.

You can also use the reports found on AirBnB, but these do not give you the whole picture.  I combine them in Excel to get the correct details, and I have to break out the taxes they show as a single number instead of what goes to each agency.  PITA.

Customer Service has no clue about tax reporting.  Don't bother with them as they are third party employees reading from scripts.