Tax slab after GST in India

[Akshay104]

So I've been hosting on Airbnb for 6 years, recently I've added a GST for on of my property 

Before GST it was 14-16% Airbnb commission plus 18% GST which was taken care by Airbnb and collected from guest

After GST it is 14-16% AIRBNB commission plus 36% GST from which 18% will be added to Host account but this charges 50% of the rates we put on Airbnb, this has made too much of impact on my business 

did I set up any wrong settings or something ?

Please someone help me who knows about it

[Emilie]

Hi @Akshay104, 

You have a great variety of listings, do you manage it all yourself or do you have some co-hosts/management companies help?

I'd like to bring a few other hosts from India in the conversation, in case they know more about this: @Paras45 @Amrita8 @Dr-Jayanthi1 @Roy1245 @Akaash4 @Abhinav47 @Elegant-Homes-Retreat0 @Shashwat5 what do you know of this?

Thank you everyone for your help 🙂

Emilie

[Elegant-Homes-Retreat0]

@Akshay104 & @Emilie 

Hi there,
Thanks for bringing this up—this is a very common concern among hosts in India who have recently enabled GST on their Airbnb listings. I’ve been through a similar situation, so I’d love to help clarify and share what worked for me.

🧾 Understanding What’s Happening:
From what you’ve described, it sounds like your listing earnings have dropped significantly after enabling GST. This usually happens when Airbnb treats your listing price as GST-inclusive, meaning the tax is deducted from your total price rather than added on top. That’s why it feels like you're only getting 50% of your rate.

Here’s how it generally works in India:

Airbnb charges 14–16% commission + 18% GST on their commission. This is collected from the guest, and Airbnb handles it.

When a host is GST-registered and adds their GSTIN to Airbnb, Airbnb starts calculating GST on the host's income as well—18% GST on the host’s payout.

If your prices are set as inclusive of GST, Airbnb adjusts your payout downward to account for that 18%, and that’s where you see a big dip in earnings.

:hammer_and_wrench:️ How to Fix or Adjust Your GST Settings on Airbnb:
To ensure things are set up correctly, here’s what you can do:

Log in to your Airbnb account (preferably on a desktop browser).

Click on your profile photo in the top-right corner and go to Account.

Navigate to Taxes > Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Add your GSTIN if you haven’t already.

Very important: Set your listing prices as GST-exclusive. This means Airbnb will add 18% GST on top of your price rather than deduct it from your base.

This small change can make a big difference to your actual earnings.

💡 Additional Tips:
If you’re unsure about your current pricing structure (inclusive vs. exclusive), contact Airbnb support and ask them to confirm how GST is being applied to your listings.

It’s a good idea to speak with a CA or tax professional, especially to ensure your GST filing and invoices match what Airbnb reports.

Also, keep in mind the GST threshold in India—₹20 lakhs annual turnover (or ₹10 lakhs in special category states). If you cross that, registration is mandatory.

I know it can feel overwhelming at first, but once you get the settings right, it all becomes manageable. I hope this helps you get things sorted—and feel free to reach out if you want to talk through it more. We’re all in this together as a community of hosts. 😊

Best of luck!

[Emilie]

Thank you for all this information, @Elegant-Homes-Retreat0!

@Akshay104 Has this helped you understand this tax matter better? Let us know if you have more questions. 🙂