Houston Taxes

[Courtney38]

Hello everyone, 

I recently joined Airbnb for the super bowl that was held here in Houston. I had my first guest during that time and I have booked a second guest scheduled to arrive in March, but when I looked at my payout information I did not see where taxes were taken out. I know for sure that I need to pay taxes, as Houston has an occupancy tax. When I recently looked to rent a home in New Orleans I saw that there was a line that showed how much I would be paying in taxes, but when I looked back on my hosting/listing page I do not see a line for taxes for potential guest or where a line for any other fees other than a cleaning and weekend fee can be added. I called to speak to someone at Airbnb, but the lady was so confused herself and only made my question more complicated. 

So my question is....Are taxes taken out for renters in Houston? If not how can I charge my renters taxes, what apps are there or ways to add additional fees? I do not want to have to owe the city for unpaid taxes. 

[Letti0]

@Kijana0  You will total all your HomeAway gross earnings and enter that amount only into the state form. Print out a copy of what AirBnB paid for your own records in the event you get audited to prove they were paid on your behalf by AirBnB. Your state and county and town will not match up, but that's okay. 

[Mimi33]

I read in the Houston Business Journal that AirBnb is starting to collect and remit the City of Houston tax (7%) beginning July 1, 2019. I have not seen any other communication about this from AirBnb.  I am really frustrated that I found out about this through reading an article in a newspaper. Has anyone else heard about this? 

[Kathy661]

I received notification from Airbnb, but the email did not specify which taxes.  In July my guest was booked for 31 days, so they were not charged any taxes.  I am working with another guest who booked for 29 days, and they only charged her the State 6% tax.  Airbnb support was not helpful at all, and could not give me a contact for to discuss why the COH 7% tax was not collected as the email stated.  I contacted my guest and asked her to extend the stay by one day, so she can avoid the Occupancy tax.

[Rajesh59]

airbnb is not collecting 7% city tax in cypress or jersey village, both still in harris county, and now city of jersey village is asking me to pay 7% occupancy tax for last 3 years. Please check all your listings not in houston but still in harris and see that airbnb is not collecting city taxes and we will be liable for it.