tax

[Mark1723]

Fellow Hosts

At first I was_VERY_ disappointed in AirBnB in not resisting this latest over reach by our blood sucking corrupt IRS! (see below)

However, my CPA seems to think this message is a fake phishing attempt designed to obtain my private info.

I sincerely hope that is the case! Does anyone know, with some certainty, whether the message below is legit or fake?

THE MESSAGE I RECENTLY RECEIVED OSTENSIBLY FROM AirBnB

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On Oct 18, 2021, at 10:01 PM, Airbnb  wrote:

Avoid up to 30% tax withholding from your payout

Avoid tax withholding in 2022

We’re reaching out because of new federal legislation changes to tax reporting requirements that could impact your future payouts.

To avoid up to 30% of 2022 payouts being withheld and remitted to the IRS, we recommend you provide US taxpayer information for your Host account no later than Dec 1, 2021.

It should only take a few minutes to add it now.

Add tax info

What to do
Add taxpayer information for any individuals or entities who receive money from the account receiving this email. Your taxpayer information is usually your social security number or in some cases, your employer identification number (EIN). If there are two or more taxpayers, also follow these steps:

1. Go to Account > Payouts
2. Go to the ••• menu for each US payout method
3. Choose Assign a taxpayer

Why it’s required
To comply with the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, companies are required to collect taxpayer information in order to fulfill Form 1099 reporting requirements for the 2022 tax year. This is a federal legislation change affecting many US companies starting January 1, 2022. Taxpayer information from Form W-9 or W-8 is used to prepare 1099 or 1042-S for the 2022 tax year.

What to know
Your taxpayer info is required to prepare your tax form(s), and if you don’t provide it, here’s what could happen:

• Up to 30% of your payouts will be withheld in 2022 and remitted to the IRS
• We won’t be able to issue you a complete tax form for 2022
• Without a complete tax form, you may face challenges in reclaiming any withheld taxes on your 2022 tax return and may have to pay up to 30% taxes on top of the amount that was already withheld and remitted on your behalf.

Get help

Why is Airbnb requesting my taxpayer info?

How do taxes work for hosts?

How do I change my taxpayer info?

More tax help

Airbnb, Inc.

888 Brannan St.

San Francisco, CA 94103, USA

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Mark1723 airbnb raised this a few days ago on this forum. Sadly @Scott didn't get a great response. I suggest you get a new CPA who is up to speed with the latest legislation. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Professional-Tools/Request-for-feedback-on-New-US-Tax-requiremen...

@William810 As you will see no-one bothered to reply from the USA.

[Michelle53]

@Mike-And-Jane0  I get "access denied" at that link. 

[Mark1723]

I also got "Access denied" to that link. No wonder no one replied! You can't get there!

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Scott seems like no one other than me can access the link above.

@Michelle53 @Mark1723 How weird. Anyway here is the content:

Request for feedback on New US Tax requirements

Scott in

SF, CA

Administrator

‎20-10-2021 05:03 PM

24 Views

Hi Folks!

Starting Jan 1, 2022, because of the new tax information reporting requirements in the US, hosts who are identified to have a US tax information reporting obligation will need to provide their Taxpayer Information (TPI) to Airbnb for year-end tax reporting purposes. 

If hosts do not provide this information, Airbnb has an obligation to withhold up to 30% of their payouts. These amounts will be remitted to the IRS. Since tax withholding payments are matched using tax identification numbers, if a 1099/1042-S form is issued without this information, it may be very difficult if not impossible for hosts to claim this withholding credit on their tax return. 

Airbnb therefore is going to do everything it can to encourage hosts to provide us with their TPI.  However, we realize that not every host will provide their TPI so we need to decide between two options for hosts who do not provide TPI by Jan 1, 2022. 

Which do you think is the better approach for hosts who do not provide their TPI:

1. Up to 30% of payouts are withheld immediately. The remainder of earnings will be paid out. The host still needs to provide the TPI information to receive an accurate 1099/1042-S form, which they can use to claim withholding credit on their tax return. If they don’t provide a TPI information when file taxes in the Spring of 2023 with the IRS, the host cannot claim withholding credit.
   
   
2. TPI will be required as a part of having a valid payout method.  Payouts will not be processed until TPI is added as a part of payout method setup.  After TPI is added and verified, 100% of payouts will be released to hosts.

Which one do you think is the better approach for hosts who do not provide their TPI?  Thank you for your feedback!

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2 Replies

Mike-And-Jane0 in

England, United Kingdom

Level 10

‎21-10-2021 12:30 AM

@Scott How refreshing to see at least one person in Airbnb is trying to find the best approach for hosts - Thank you.

I believe the best approach would be to withhold 30% provided you can include a notice in each payout saying that this has been done. Not providing any payout will just lead to more complaints that Airbnb have not paid hosts.

Also it would be worthwhile making sure Customer Services are well trained on explaining to hosts why their payments have been reduced (or withheld if that is the route chosen) as well as asking the CC moderators to chime into non-payment posts with possible issues that should be checked.

I hope you have a good database of hosts to whom this will apply so that we don't get caught up in this initiative!

1

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Scott in

SF, CA

Administrator

Thursday

Thanks @Mike-And-Jane0 that's helpful!

Anyone else have a preference?

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[Michelle53]

@Mike-And-Jane0   Awesome. (as we say, over here ; ) ) Thanks !    I agree with you, by the way. Withhold the 30% with each payout.  That will be incentive to provide the tax id. 

@Scott I wanted to mention that there have been numerous postings in the CC regarding how to stop automatic backup  withholding and  Customer Support has had no idea how to advise.  Training will be required.

[Lorna170]

I have gone into my account/payments & payouts page and located my payment method and my taxpayer information.  I have verified that this information exisits within AirBnB and is up to date.  Therefore, Air should have NO ISSUE with sending me ALL of my earnings and providing me with a 1099 that I can use to report my federal taxes.

Hosts should be able to verify within the site if they have provided the required information via a W-9 (or W-8 for non-resident hosts).  Why the scare tactics here?  I have no idea.  As to the choices that AirBnB purportedly proposed, they should be conferring with their own attorneys and tax professionals as to which is their legal and responsible course of action.  THEN they can inform those who will be affected.

[Sarah977]

@Lorna170  I got a similar email from Airbnb regarding regisreing my Mexican tax number with them to avoid guests being charged an additional 20% in Mexican taxes imstead of 3-4%.

But I registered my Mexican tax number with them a year ago, when they first started requiring it, and received an email at the time verifying that it was registered.

So I don't know what is going on- if they just sent these out to everyone or what.

[Michelle53]

@Lorna170  Since the new law takes effect with transactions settled after December 31st, 2021,  my guess is that it's a push to get people who haven't yet input the data to respond. 

The new 1099-k rules were signed into law on March 11,2021.   It's apparent that there are a lot of people out there who still aren't aware of it. 

[Mark1723]

I think Lorna has the best approach! Not providing the TPI will result in the IRS basically stealing your money as a "free loan" until your 2022 tax return is actually due!

FWIW I would have very much preferred to have Billion $ + AirBnb to go to battle for us hosts, and resist this latest money grab from corrupt desk jockeys at the IRS.

I'll provide the TPI, if I'm forced to, to avoid the 30% withholding, but I'm going to have some really serious expenses to write off, that will minimize how much the blood suckers are going to get!

I'm definitely NOT a happy camper with this development! 😠

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Mark1723 I am unclear what the 'money grab' is that you are referring to. If you give Airbnb the right info to allow them to report your earnings there is no money retained. What is the problem with this?

[Lisa723]

@Mike-And-Jane0 Airbnb's compliance with the new law will make it harder for hosts to evade US income tax on their earnings. I suppose some have a problem with that.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Lisa723 As @Mark1723 hasn't answered my question I guess you must be right. At least this will provide a more level playing field for those who obey the rules and pay the tax due on their earnings.

[Mark1723]

@Mike-andJane0 

My point was that the “automatic” 30% withholding is a big time rip off! You _don’t_ owe _anything_ until your 2022 return is due and, unless you have a pretty poor accountant, you won’t owe anything close to 30% of your income after you deduct the significant expenses you incur by being a host!