Handling of extra costs outside Airbnb?

[Magnus137]

Hi!

i have a question regarding handling of costs for cleaning which is handled by a cleaning company which invoice me directly after each guest have used my apartment and paid the rent thought Airbnb. Before I handled this cost outside Airbnb payments since I just ask the guest to send money to me which I send to the cleaning company. But Airbnb noticed this in our messages and said this is not allowed. So now I handle this payment in the Airbnb app as an extra cleaning payment. But ideally I would not like to handle it like this since it will increase my taxable revenue for the year. And in Sweden I think this will make my tax increase. Is it not allowed to ask the guests to pay me for cleaning outside Airbnb? I mean I just send the money further to the cleaning company. I don’t consider this a revenue for me.

or can I advice the guests to pay directly to the cleaning company?

[Shelley159]

Hi @Magnus137 

I don't specifically know the Swedish tax system, but here is how it would usually work:

If cleaning fees go through Airbnb and the Airbnb income is reported for tax purposes, the cleaning fees are included in your revenue (as you have said). When you pay the cleaners, you should deduct the payment as a business expense. Tax is calculated on your profit, so the net amount is the same and you don't pay any extra tax.

The only way it can have a negative effect is if it triggers something that's only based on your revenue. For example, in some countries you have to register for VAT if revenue (not profit) exceeds a certain amount. In theory the cleaning fees could increase your revenue to the point where you have to register to pay VAT, but you would have to do business on a rather large scale for this to happen (and would then likely be liable for VAT anyway - it's unlikely that cleaning fees on their own would push an Airbnb business over the threshold).

So for the vast majority of us there's no downside to receive cleaning fees as part of our Airbnb payout - it makes it much easier to collect from the guests.

(Also, many hosts don't charge the exact cleaning fee that they pay to the cleaners - the "cleaning fee" is often used as a way to charge for guest change-over expenses in general)

Apologies if there's something in the Swedish tax system that works differently - this is a general answer to explain why most hosts don't worry about it.

[Magnus137]

Thanks @Shelley159 I appreciate your answer! So far as I understand the Swedish system, I can only put forward the cost for my rent and not the cleaning fee, to reduce the profit in the calculation but maybe I missed something here.

I will check this further!

thx!

[Alex]

Hi @Magnus137! Hope everything is going well. 

If you found @Shelley159's answer helpful, I encourage you to mark it as "Top Answer," as it will help other members who have the same question. 🤗

Kind regards, 

Alex

[Kia272]

@Magnus137 I believe that some tax issues are universal, so that even if I'm not familiar with the Swedish income tax system, the following should apply. 

You report all of your business income AND expenses. You get taxed on your NET profit. 

Income minus expenses is your NET. The cleaning fee is a cost to you, and therefore is included in your expenses, as are the AirBnB fees, your utilities, and supplies for your rental property. 

You really should consult with your accountant or tax advisor, but this should be correct.