Why 1042-S showed the income is different with the payments I actual got.

[Xiaojun0]

Hi community friends, why the gross income from the 1042-S is different with the payments that I actually got ?  Does it the difference is the tax withholding, but the column 4b of 1042-S showed 0.00. Has anyone encountered the same issue as me? Does anyone know what's going on? Thank you! 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Xiaojun0 Does the gross income include the Airbnb host fees (3% 0r 15% )?

[Xiaojun0]

I don't think so. The income is our earning not include host fee which is Airbnb income not us definitely, we do not have responsibilities to pay tax for Airbnb.com

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Xiaojun0 in the UK you have to declare your gross income (including airbnb host fees) and then put the host fees as an expense that reduces tax paid. It may be similar in the USA but I don't know.

[Lorna170]

@Xiaojun0   In the United States, for a person renting in the United States, a 1099 form is received.  This form includes ALL monies collected from the renter in payment for the rental, including the Service Fees paid to AirBnB and the Host Service Fee (the 3% for credit card payments).  This Gross Amount is not the amount that the host is actually paid; that is the Net Amount, and most hosts know to deduct the AirBnB Service Fees from the reported income on their tax form.

I am not an accountant, nor am I familiar with the tax rules in your country.  I looked at the instructions for the 1042-S, and they appear to have the same or similar rules as the 1099.  So even though you are not paid the Service Fee that AirBnB collects from the guest, it is rental income.  You may need to review the tax rules in your country to discover how to deduct the "expense" of AirBnB Service Fees to more accurately reflect your net income.

[Ken63]

@Xiaojun0 The 1042-S is the gross earnings that has not been reduced by the host fee Airbnb deducted.  It also has not been reduced by the refunds to sent to guest via resolution but includes all money you received from guests via resolution (money request), other fees like pet fee and cleaning fee etc.  You will have to deduct those from the 1042-S total or you will overstate your net income.  Below is the reply I got from Airbnb support which by the way is pretty good.

Per IRS requirements, a gross earnings report would not include the deduction of service fees, refunds, adjustments, etc. Any cleaning fees, rental commissions, insurance, and other transactions that are processed as payouts would be considered gross earnings. You can find this and more information in our Help Center article here:

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/182

Though these amounts may or may not be taxable income to you on your U.S. Income Tax Return, we are required to report them. We encourage you to consult with a tax advisor to determine how these items should be treated for tax purposes.