Hotel Occupancy Taxes

[Suraj26]

Does Airbnb report host earnings to local city authorities ?

I got an Airbnb permit earlier this year and will be paying 'Hotel Occupancy Taxes' to City of Austin for the first time. Calculating total income isn't straightforward because I had a 31 day booking which doesn't count as Short term rental income in Austin. I also partially reimbursed a guest once because they had to check out earlier than planned.
Does Airbnb report host earnings to City of Austin ? If yes, I would love to know this number.

[Jenny]

Hi @Suraj26 

Did you manage to find an answer to this elsewhere?

Jenny

[Suraj26]

Hi Jenny. Unfortunately, No.
I haven't yet found the answer to this question.

[Paula]

Hello @Suraj26,

I'm sorry to hear that you still haven't received a response. I just wanted to double-check if you've tried either of these two options. First, you could contact the Airbnb Support Team by clicking here. Second, you could join a Local Host Club in your area to connect with fellow hosts and ask for their advice. Here is the link for you to explore.

I hope you find this helpful.

Paula

[Suraj26]

Thank you Paula. I have attempted Airbnb Support team before but I did not get an answer. Just a rehashing of the information already on their Help webpages. 

Local host Club is a great idea. I'll give it a try.

Thank you.

[Jane3930]

I also feel this is a very important, almost crucial issue. I too live in an area where occupancy taxes are levied and have not received a reply to  my question. The phone number provided for customer support has no clue unfortunately. I am going to try a search if I can find something called " Airbnb tax department" so wish me luck. LMK if you get any response and I will do the same. 

This is an issue that will be recurring I'm sure and Airbnb needs to give us answers!

[Suraj26]

I agree. Airbnb customer service sucks. I made an attempt before to reach their tax department but din't get satisfactory answers. But with enough follow-up you might be able to.

[Lorna170 · Accepted solution]

@Suraj26   Talk to an accountant about your concerns.  IMO, it really doesn't matter how AirBnB is reporting income and paying taxes to your tax authorities.  What matters is how you are handling your tax obligation.  If AirBnB is not collecting and remitting the taxes for your rental property, then they are probably not sending any information to the tax authorities.  

IMO, you should be preparing your own returns and reporting income that you have received, what amount is taxable, and where the tax payment is coming from.  If the amount that is received for rentals over 30 days is not taxable, then those receipts would not be included on your monthly/quarterly/annual tax report to your municipality. 

If you partially refunded a guest for an early check out, you report your receipts and the associated taxes less the refund.  Refunding via the AirBnB platform ensures that this transaction is recorded.

I highly recommend that you keep your own meticulous records of the income you receive, how taxes are applied, collected and remitted relevant to that income, and the expenses associated with earning that income.  Then there is no concern about what AirBnB reports and remits -- you have your records.

[Suraj26]

You make a great point. Everything you said is true. Would still love to hear the official word from Airbnb though.