Airbnb failing to remit accommodation tax to Jersey City, leaving JC hosts holding the bag

Willis8
Level 4
Jersey City, NJ

Airbnb failing to remit accommodation tax to Jersey City, leaving JC hosts holding the bag

During the process of renewing my Jersey City short-term rental permit, Jersey City demanded that I pay the 6% occupancy tax on my Airbnb bookings for the past year. This is about $3,600 in my case.

 

Airbnb collects the accommodation tax from my guests and is supposed to be remitting it to the city. (See the screen shot from my listing.) However, Jersey City states that Airbnb has not been paying it, and they even sent me several monthly tax filings from Airbnb showing Airbnb  claiming to owe $0 in taxes. In other words, for at least these time periods, Airbnb was collecting the accommodation tax from my guests and then just keeping it.

 

Jersey City did show one filing from Airbnb (also attached) in which Airbnb made a tax payment of about $76,000. However, Airbnb did not provide any documentation about which units, reservations, or time period that that amount covered, so Jersey City says they cannot know whether the taxes for my unit have been paid or not.

 

I have sent messages to Airbnb about this. Airbnb initially sent me a message saying that I could see the amounts paid to JC in the my earnings report. But this is not true, I can only see the total amount collected from guests for all taxes; there is no indication how much was paid to JC or when it was paid. Airbnb asked for additional documentation showing the JC tax was not paid. I sent them the copy of their own filing showing $0 paid. Airbnb then just replied with the exact same pat response about checking the earnings report.

 

Obviously this is a dispute between Jersey City and Airbnb. Airbnb is supposed to be collecting and remitting the tax. Jersey City wants the taxes paid on time and wants details about which units are covered so they can match with their STRP records. But Airbnb can't be bothered to either remit the taxes or provide the details that JC needs, so JC is going after the hosts for the money because that's easier than chasing Airbnb.

 

It's unconscionable for Airbnb to take money from my guests and then fail to remit it to Jersey City, leaving me with a $3,600 bill that I have to pay on my own.

 

Shame on you, Airbnb.

 

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**[Private conversation removed in line with the Community Center Guidelines]

64 Replies 64
Bhumika
Community Manager
Community Manager
Toronto, Canada

Hello @Jennie181 ,

 

Have you had a chance to connect with Airbnb Customer Support to more about this situation and receive any clarification regarding the taxes?

 

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Yes, we received an email from AirBnB customer care with the following response.

 

"Thank you for your patience. I really regret the delay in response.

Airbnb has entered into a default occupancy tax program to start collecting and remitting with the tax collector in New Jersey. We will be filing one tax return per jurisdiction, with the total combined reservation revenue. This means that all hosts located in your area will be represented by one remitted amount, and we will not be providing your personal information on the return. Since no personal info is shared, no documents are created as well. This is the reason that the kind of document that you are requesting we are unable to provide.

Your local tax office can share more information about our applicable occupancy tax(es).

You don't have to pay any taxes from your own pocket because Airbnb is already collecting and remitting taxes to the local authorities.

You mentioned that your local tax office is telling you that Airbnb is not remitting any taxes to them. For this please give me some time and let me check with our experts regarding this.

You also mention that your local tax office has received some money but they want the breakdown. Please advise them to contact Airbnb directly and then our expert will discuss this with them.

I will get back to you soon with an update.

Thank you for your patience and understanding in advance."

 

If there are anyone that can provide insight on steps to follow to prevent hosts in Jersey City or anywhere else from paying these additional expenses, the AirBnB Host community would really appreciate it.

Thank you

This is their standard response.

 

On December 12, 2021 (a year ago), Airbnb told me: "Airbnb has entered into a voluntary collection agreement, or was required by law to start collecting and remitting with the local tax collector in Jersey City, New Jersey. We will be filing one tax return per jurisdiction, with the total combined reservation revenue. This means that all hosts located in your area will be represented by one remitted amount, and we will not be providing your personal information on the return."

 

If you're getting billed by JC for taxes that they say Airbnb has not filed, then commence an arbitration action to get your money back from Airbnb. Unfortunately they are unresponsive through regular support channels so the only way to get their attention is to sue them.

Thank you very much for the information that you have provided but would also like to know whether you or anyone in this forum has taken this route?  What was the outcome, if anyone doesn't mind sharing their experience.  

There are many hosts in Jersey City that is willing to agree to pay Jersey City what they are asking for,  just so that they don't have to deal with the lengthy process and cost of the arbitration without any guarantee of an actually win. 

It's so sad that the ones being affected are the hosts that is just trying to make a living to generate extra cash in these tough times.  I believe that hosts brings value to both the community and guests by improving the house and provide a service to the various guests.   

Do you think I would be able to give you all this guidance (see messages below about FairShake, the AAA fee, etc.) if I hadn't actually done it myself? I think you're looking for a foolproof way of getting Airbnb to reimburse you for the taxes you paid to JC, but that's not how this works. It's a dispute. You have your story and Airbnb has theirs, and the outcome will depend on the facts and how well you argue your case. The outcome of my case doesn't matter because your case is different, although you can reasonably conclude that I wouldn't be suggesting  you do it if I thought there was no chance you would succeed. Going to arbitration will cost you some money, which you may or may not get back, so there is some risk involved. You correctly observe that "There are many hosts in Jersey City that is willing to agree to pay Jersey City what they are asking for,  just so that they don't have to deal with the lengthy process and cost of the arbitration without any guarantee of an actually win." You can decide whether or not you're one of them.