Airbnb is overcharging tax to my guests in Dennis, MA (17.45% vs 14.45%) — Support won’t fix it and is totally dismissive!

[Brendan372]

Hi Airbnb Community + Airbnb staff/mods — posting publicly because Support has been a dead end.

I’m a 10-year Superhost and since January 2026 Airbnb has been charging my guests 17.45% total tax on my Dennis, MA listing when it should be 14.45%.

Airbnb is incorrectly applying an additional 3% “Occupation tax” (Dennis Township) to my guests/listing that does not apply to my situation. This specific 3% tax is supposed to ONLY be tied to “professionally managed” / hosts with multiple listings in the same town.

This is not a small issue. It directly impacts guest trust and booking conversion because:

• Guests see Airbnb charging them an extra tax that shouldn’t be there.

• I look like I’m running a “professionally managed” multi-listing operation when I’m not.

• It creates confusion and frustration at checkout — and it’s happening on every reservation since January.

• My listing appears to be more expensive than others at check out page because of extra taxes

What’s been most frustrating: Support’s lack of understanding

I’ve already provided Support with screenshots and clear explanations multiple times. Instead of engaging with the specific issue, I’ve received:

• Generic copy/paste answers about “taxes vary by location”

• Statements that ignore the core point (that this 3% tax is category-based and is being misapplied)

• Resistance to escalation (including being told "escalation would not change anything")

At one point a senior case manager suggested that if the guest is charged incorrectly, the guest should contact Airbnb — which completely misses the problem: Airbnb is applying the wrong tax rules to my listing.

I need an Airbnb staff member/moderator to route this to the correct internal team (Tax/Payments/Compliance/Engineering — whoever owns the tax rules engine) to:

1. Remove the additional 3% “Occupation tax” from my listing so guests are correctly charged 14.45%, not 17.45%.

2. Correct whatever host/listing classification flag is causing this (likely tied to historical “multiple listings” status).

3. Confirm that the fix is applied so future bookings are not overcharged.

I have provided MANY examples, screen shots, etc (including the listing NEXT DOOR TO ME who has the taxes being applied CORRECTLY!). 

Please help!

Best regards,

Brendan 

[Joan2709]

@Brendan372 

Just to clarify a few things...

Town of Dennis

Did the Town vote/approve the additional 3% tax for professional listings? If so, when was that effective?

Multiple Listing Status

You mentioned:

"Correct whatever host/listing classification flag is causing this (likely tied to historical “multiple listings” status)"

Did you at one point have more than 1 listing? If so, is/are the other listing(s) permanently deleted or just hidden?

[Brendan372]

Hello! The town voted to approve it in October 2025 to become effective Jan 2026. It applies only to professional listings / hosts who own more than one listing in the same town.

I used to own multiple in the same town in the past, but the old listings have since been permanently deleted. 

[Joan2709]

@Brendan372 

Ok..then most likely that is the issue. You previously had more than one listing registered with MassTaxConnect. The state handles distribution of remitted taxes to the local governments - Airbnb pays the State and the State distributes the funds. 

You would have to go to the State of Massachusetts (MassTaxConnect) and investigate what properties they show under your account number with them. They most likely report this to Airbnb for tax collection/remittance purposes and Airbnb just applies the taxes according to what MassTaxConnect tells them. If they still show more than one property, this is most likely the cause of your issue.

Even when they correct it and remove the other properties (assuming they are still listed at the state level) you may have trouble getting Airbnb to correct that in their system depending on how often the state updates their database with Airbnb.

I would start at the state level with MassTaxConnect and ensure only one property is listed under your tax registration. Then verify with them how they will communicate that to Airbnb so you don't continue to be considered a "Professional Operator" with more than one property.

https://dls-gw.dor.state.ma.us/reports/rdPage.aspx?rdReport=LocalOptions.Room_Tax_Impact_Fee

[Brendan372]

Thanks for the feedback and your replies! 

The state has everything showing correctly on their end and what I can see in MassTax system confirms what the state has told me. 

Every other platform (VRBO, etc) is charging the correct tax, so to me this feels like an Airbnb problem and not an issue at State or local government level. 

Airbnb won’t even tell me why the house next door charges the correct tax but mine charges incorrect tax, or where/why they believe my listing should be paying the professional tax. Very frustrating 

[Joan2709]

@Brendan372 

Yes, if you have verified the State is only showing one listing for your account number with MassTaxConnect then it is an Airbnb issued. So for some odd reason, Airbnb still has your previous listings attached to your profile, even though you have deleted them, or they have assigned the wrong TAID (Tax Area Identification Number) to your listing that indicates you have multiple properties when you don't. 

I would get proof from the State that they only show one listing under your account number. Screenshot if needed from the registration page for MassTaxConnect. Then I would find a listing that IS a hotel in Dennis (I found some).

Then go back to Airbnb and ask them to escalate to the team that can override the TAID (Tax Area ID) tax jurisdiction assignment/Taxes Department advising they have assigned the wrong TAID (Tax Area ID Number) to your listing:

Send the following:

1. Proof you only have one listing/property using the MassTaxConnect Screenshot of your registration

2. Give them your Airbnb profile ID (send a screenshot) of that as well showing there is only one listing under your profile (not multiple)

https://www.airbnb.com/users/profile/1467013663639234566

3. ID Send along the actual wording that only Professional Listings (two or more) are considered professional listings subject to the additional 3% tax. 

https://www.town.dennis.ma.us/DocumentCenter/View/4071/2025-Special-Town-Meeting-Article-Explanation...

Thanks all I can think of to do right now. Front line CS will have no clue about this, so it must be sent to the TAID Department internally. Be prepared for this to take awhile - it is always difficult to get TAID's corrected.

[Emilie]

Hi @Brendan372, 

Thank you for sharing what you're going through with us here! I have just sent you a direct message to follow-up -you will be able to check it by clicking on your profile picture in the top right corner of the page and heading into your Messages. 🙂

Shoutout to @Joan2709 as well for the troubleshooting and guidance. 🙏

Emilie