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

----

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

[Mark1723]

@Mike-And-Jane0

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!

[Mark1723]

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!

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Mark1723 so what are you unhappy about? Just supply the tax information asked for by Airbnb and there is no withholding whatsoever.

[Mauro518]

I'm pretty livid about this whole experience.  I am a Canadian with only Canadian listings and Airbnb is withholding payouts.  There are supposedly three criteria (have a US listing, have a US payout, or considered US resident), to which I correspond to none (unless PayPal CA is considered a US payout).  To be a US resident, I need to live there, which I do not!!  I have been back and forth with Airbnb Support on this and they have not been able to tell me which of the three criteria I meet for them to withhold payments.  This doesn't seem right.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Mauro518 Airbnb have withheld a proportion of the income of any hosts worldwide until they fill out the form Airbnb asked them for. I can't remember the name of the form I am afraid but search on here and you will find it.

[Mauro518]

@Mike-And-Jane0There are three forms:

W-9 Form --> I am NOT a US resident
W8ECI -->I do not receive payouts from a US listing (I DO NOT HAVE a US listing)
W8BEN --> I do not have a US listing

Unless there is another form, I wouldn't know.  You seem to be in England.  Are you experiencing the same issue?  Which form did you fill out?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Mauro518 I haven't but others have and it was on this forum sometime ago. If I remember rightly hosts had to fill out a form W8 or 9 rings a bell but I can't remember which. Perhaps search the forum for these forms and you may find the thread.

[Mauro518]

@Mike-And-Jane0You didn't have to and I shouldn't have to as well as I do not have a US listing and am not a US resident.  The list of forms that I mentioned above are the only possible forms.   This whole process is unnecessarily taxing and customer service is not able to pinpoint exactly what the problem is.  If this is not addressed and closed soon, this will unfortunately cause me to leave AirBnB completely.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/3165/frequently-asked-questions-about-taxes?_set_bev_on_new_do...

@Mauro518 Try the link above