Understanding Occupancy Taxes on Long Term Stays (in Nashville)

[John-T9]

Hello, I am trying to understand why AirBnb is with-holding for occupancy taxes when I have long-term (30+ day) guests. (An an aside, I only host long-term guests, so this affects 100% of my bookings). My current understanding of occupancy taxes in my city (Nashville) are that they only apply to short term stays (<30 days). One source I have is this policy doc (https://www.tn.gov/revenue/taxes/local-occupancy-tax.html). As far as I can tell, I should be taxed the same as any other landlord (AKA, I still pay income taxes on the rental income, but not occupancy taxes), however AirBnb is still charging my guests for "occupancy taxes" before paying me out. Is that a mistake from the platform, or are there other laws I am not aware of?

[Bhumika]

Hi @John-T9 , As we look forward to guidance from other Hosts, I was wondering if you've reached out to the Customer Support team as well to get advice? 

There's a brief article in Airbnb's Help Centre that shares a general idea about 👉 Occupancy tax collection and remittance by Airbnb in Tennessee 👈 .

If this does not answer your question, it would also be a good idea to reach Hosts in Nashville through Airbnb's 👉 Nashville Area Airbnb Host Community 👈

I'm also reaching out to a few Hosts from Nashville who joined our Community recently if they can guide us through your question about Occupancy taxes for long term stays : @Chloe-And-Brian0 @Visit-Nashborough0 @Adam2192 @Deidra25 @Jeff2905 @Jeff2913 @Mary6542 @Nella1440 @Terje26 🌻

[John-T9 · Accepted solution]

After talking with a support team, we were able to figure this out. The tax in question is mis-labeled as an “occupancy tax”. It is actually a sales tax. The tax amount is correct, but the labeling in the UI is incorrect.