Extra vat cost plus side rental agreement

[Emma134]

Hello,

I have just booked a rental in Costa Rica through airbnb and after the fact the host has asked me to pay an extra 13% vat through paypal or upon arrival. Also, she has asked that I fill out a separate rental agreement. Is this normal practice when booking through airbnb?

Thanks

[Victoria57]

@Emma134 I think you should report this to Airbnb and ask them to cancel. For the host to ask for money outside the Airbnb system is against Airbnb rules.

[Emma134]

Spoke with airbnb and it turns out both of these are normal procedures. 

Thanks for your response though!

🙂

[Victoria57]

Ah yes, I had overlooked that it was VAT and not just a request for more money.

[Helen3]

I have never heard of paying VAT in addition to rentals. The Host should incorporate that into the rental charge I believe. They should never ask you to pay cash directly. 

However some countries like Italy have a local tax you pay on arrival.

I know in the US some hosts do rental agreements. I know they have sales tax too, but not sure how that works in terms of charging.

Why don't you give BNB a call and check with them (1st post Community Help for contact details) ?

[City-Limits-Ranch0]

Actually, the above information is incorrect.  Airbnb itself does instruct hosts to collect local taxes from the guests separately either in a resolution or in cash on arrival.  The tax is collected on behalf of the local municipality.  It is not an Airbnb fee or a host fee.  It is a legal fee collected and transferred to the government by the host.  The host is required to collect and remit it.

In my community. Airbnb collects and remits the tax for me.  My local government has that arrangement with Airbnb.  However if the local government and Airbnb have not come to that agreement, it is up to the host to remain in compliance with tax law.

Some hosts may include tax in their room price.  In that case the guest pays a bit more, since the guest pays Airbnb service fees on the tax as well as the room price.  The host also loses a bit since Airbnb charges a host fee on the tax as well as the room price.

The host should clearly declare in the listing that the tax will be collected after booking and how it will be collected.  If they did not declare this, then you should point that out to them.  But their need to collect the tax and their options of in person or by resolution are not a scam.  You could check and make sure their local government does have a tax structure, but most of them do.

Hope that helps,

Kerrin

[City-Limits-Ranch0]

The separate rental agreement is also the host's perogative.  That too should be mentioned in the listing.

[David126]

No harm as long as these extra charges were clearly mentioned in the listing, lilewise any additional contract.

[Elena87]

Cant agree with  incorrect advice provided by @Helen3 , there is in fact published guidence over extra payments for guests.

nb;

What if a host asks for more money?

All pricing information is included when you book a reservation using Airbnb. After paying, there are a few situations where you may owe more money.

Know when to pay more

You may owe more money if:

• You change your reservation — for example, you need to add another guest
• Your host makes a claim on your security deposit
• Your host require taxes to be paid at check-in—this needs to be clearly stated on the listing prior to booking

If a host asks you for more money than what you paid on the site and the extra charge wasn’t stated in the listing or in the message thread, you can dispute the charges in the Resolution Center. Never pay a host directly for these charges.