Does Airbnb actually submit to the IRS? (below threshold)

[Donna51]

Dear US hosts, I'm trying to sort this out with Airbnb Help, but given some recent interactions, I'm not confident I'll get a timely or satisfactorily-comprehensive response.

In a conversation this week with the IRS, I was surprised to learn they have *no record* of anything from Airbnb for the last few years, in terms of income related to my room rental. (I have a W-9 on file with Airbnb.) While I don't meet the current threshold of $20K+/year and thus don't receive a 1099 from Airbnb, by law, they're required to report income. RIGHT?

Part of the reason I'm asking is that I read somewhere that what Airbnb reports to the IRS includes their service fees, which hosts are then able to deduct, since that wasn't actually income to the host. I don't know if this is true but that's part of what I wanted to find out, in comparing my Earnings Summary with what the IRS shows. Which, at the moment, is apparently nothing. ???

I'm curious if this has been anyone else's experience or if I'm missing something.

thanks,

Donna

[Emilia42]

@Donna51 

"How would the IRS ever know whether I have income or not (below the $20k threshold)?!?"

They don't. Which is how I became rich as a teenager with all the babysitting I was doing. We are all supposed to file taxes on all our income but as you can probably guess there is a big percentage that doesn't. Tax laws are starting to catch up with the gig economy. 

https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/new-stimulus-package-creates-new-tax-7090514/#:~:text=The%20new%20....

[Michelle53]

@Lorna170  Re: "Inasmuch as the IRS does not show any income or payments by AirBnB for your property, Air does not report by each owner and each property.  They send an all-inclusive payment."

I think you may be getting two different things confused.    State and Federal taxes. Airbnb may report state and local taxes, e.g. occupancy tax, as all-inclusive. 

Federal taxes on a 1099, revenue/income,  are always by Name and Tax ID number - FEIN or Social Security Number - so if a 1099 is issued/filed, the IRS would have a dollar amount with your Tax ID attached to it. 

[Lorna170]

@Michelle53   You said:   so if a 1099 is issued/filed, the IRS would have a dollar amount with your Tax ID attached to it.  That is true. 

However, not everyone receives a 1099, so you have to show your "pre-paid" taxes through your own records or tax filings.  Neither my State or County receives a payment from AirBnB for the property listed with AirBnB with my State tax number associated with it.  In speaking with my local tax office, they do not receive records from any OTA source that specifically addresses my properties by tax ID.

[Michelle53]

@Lorna170  What I'm saying is that a 1099, whether one receives one or not, has no bearing on how you report your state and local taxes. You, of course, have to track your receipts for your State or County, for filing of those taxes, since, as you correctly state, they do not receive records from Airbnb against your Tax ID. 

State and Local taxes are generally filed either monthly or quarterly, depending on jurisdiction. 

A 1099 document is only issued once a year at year end, following the threshhold requirements, and is sent to the Federal Government. It only contains information about what you earned - nothing about state and local taxes.  It has your name, address and Tax ID on it. 

The OP here was asking why the IRS (Federal Government) has no record of her Airbnb income. It's because no 1099 was sent by Airbnb to the IRS since she did not meet the required threshhold.  Currently that is $20,000 in Revenue and 200 transactions. 

That is all going to change in 2022.  For the 2022 tax year, 1099's are going to require to be sent to the IRS (Federal) for everyone earning $600 or more from Airbnb.  Actually, they will be due January 31st, 2023

If folks don't already have a W9 form on file with Airbnb, they should get one filed, or they may be subject to backup withholding of Federal income taxes. Again, nothing to do with State and Local taxes.