AirBnb Tax Classification spouse host / co-host

[Jason1893]

I am the main host to our airbnb rental and therefore filled out the tax information necessary to fill out our families share of taxes.  My wife is a co-host and she helps with communication to the customer and manages bookings.  The Airbnb app keeps requesting her tax info and the notifications will not go away.  Which tax classification should we use?  She is not getting paid and we pay our taxes "married filing jointly."

I would imagine either "partnership" or "exempt payee" is the proper tax classification but I'd like to be sure.

[Melissa2090]

I'm looking for the same answer, so thank you for posting this question so clearly.  Hope to see an answer soon! 

[Amy303]

Have you received any more information on this? I am a co-host for my Mom who collects the entire payout and pays taxes. I don't want to give Airbnb my tax info because I don't believe that it will not not an impact on my taxes. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Amy303 it is very generous of you to co-host for free.

[Lorna170 · Accepted solution]

@Jason1893   I avoided this whole mess by giving my spouse the login and password to the Air account.  

AirBnB  assumes that the co-host is an "employee" receiving a share of the payments, so they need to issue a 1099 annually, and therefore the co-host would need to file a W-9.

From the Web:  An exempt payee is a payee who is not subject to backup withholding even when backup withholding would normally be required. Exempt payees are outlined in the instructions provided by the IRS for completing the standard W-9 form, which is the form payers use to request your taxpayer identification number.  Your wife's taxpayer ID would be her SSN.

[Kevin2172]

I am in the exact situation as you Jason. As a super host I started a conversation with them about this. 

Per Airbnb app

“Co-hosts can’t access your payout info or personal details. As the listing admin, you can remove them anytime.

Guest will see your co-host(s) on your listing page, the itinerary, and in all messages sent from their account.”

As far as I’m concerned Airbnb doesn’t need my wife’s info. We file the W9 with our taxes and report the income. If she gets a W9 I envision being taxed for both W9s not one. 

Worst case I will drop her as a cohost. 

This has not been thought out. 

[Kelcie3]

I’m in the same boat and reached out to AirBnB support. Here’s what they told me:

Airbnb has requested that nearly all of its members provide their tax identification number. If you haven't added a payout method and are not receiving payments from Airbnb, there's no need to be concerned. You can ignore the notification, and please don't feel singled out since Airbnb has sent this request to nearly every member of its community.

You can find complete information here:
https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/122

Hope this helps!