Occupancy Tax

[Kim210]

How do I find out what has been collected for occcupancy tax and whether or not it has been submitted on my behalf?

[Linda108]

@Elizabeth331  I think knowing how to contact Air BNB should be the first step when becoming a host:)!  US number is 855-424-7262.  To avoid long wait time, call at a time of low volume, like me at 4 AM...  Anyway, I would first call or email the City near you to get confirmation that your listing is not under the City tax.  Good luck and keep us posted.

[Elizabeth331]

Thank you, Linda!  I phoned Airbnb this morning and got right through to a live person, John.  I explained the situation, and he confirmed that as I suspected, Airbnb is indeed charging the 5% sales tax from the nearby town.  (I did double check and got my documentation lined up showing that my property is NOT located in the town, that my property is located in an UNincorporated area, and that it is therefore NOT subject to the town sales tax.)  He basically said there wasn't much he could do about it because my property's address includes the name of that town.  I explained that a mailing address does not indicate which tax districts a property falls under--it simply tells you which post office delivers your mail.  He wasn't familar with the concept of UNincorporated areas within a county.  He did, however, forward the issue on up the heirarchy, so we'll see what happens.  Thank you again for the number!  I would advise everyone in an area in which Airbnb is handling the Occupancy Taxes AND whose property is located in an unincorporated area to check and see exactly which taxes your guests are being charged.  

[Linda108]

@Elizabeth331  I am glad you are working on this issue with Air BNB.  I think Air BNB collecting occupancy tax is a good idea.  It allows the host to keep a lower nightly rate, just like a hotel, but the host doesn't have to bother with managing the tax collection and remittace.  

However, I am afraid there are many problems with the Air BNB system.  One problem, as you discovered, is that sometimes Air BNB doesn't get it right and guests pay a higher rate than they should.  Another problem is that Air BNB remits the tax in a lump sum without identifying which listing was the occupancy tax attached to or which host was connected to the listing.  Tax collection agencies are happy to get the money because it takes some administrative burden off their plates, but if there was ever an audit, there is no trail of tax to property.  In my city, the tax collection was started but within a couple of months, the city cancelled the contract because of no identifying information.  Now we are back to collecting and remitting the tax ourselves.

[Michael1597]

Hello Elizabeth,

Same thing is happening with my property located in Teller County and is not in the City limits of Cripple Creek, CO. I have spoken several times with AirBnb on the matter since March 12th with no reply other than the issue needs to be resolved by AirBnb tax collection division. I was told I'll have to wait. Meantime I have guests that have been over taxed ($153 vs. $49). I have contacted the Colorado Dept of Revenue. State of Colorado tells me AirBnb will have to correct this? This issue hurts my Guests and my rentals. If a refund is due, who, how and when will this take place? Very frustating. When I contacted AirBnb I forwarded the tax table also. I believe there would be legal charges against corporation that fraudalently collects sales tax.

[Petra144]

I have been having the same problem. I do not live in the city limits but airbnb is collecting city tax and not county. They do not have an agreement to do that. Thats fine but I cant get them to stop collecting city taxes. Fhdy just told me that I cant opt out but I shouldn't be in to begin with. I even sent them tax statements. Not sure what to do. 

[Ellen12]

ABB collects and supposedly remits Lodgings Taxes for the state/county/city in which our vacation rental is located.  It recently came to our attention that they are collecting 6% instead of 11%.  That amount appears on a statement about 2 weeks ago; prior to that, we had not seen how much was being collected.  I immediately contacted ABB by phone and by e-mail.  In both cases, the CS rep had not idea what lodgings taxes were or how to remit, etc.  In both cases, I was told a specialist would be back in touch.  I've followed up with e-mails.  No response so far.

As much trouble as ABB is in all over the country all the time, it would seem they would take this seriously.  I will be calling the department of taxation in 2 days if I do not hear back from them.  I have a name/# of a person to call as we had an issue with sales taxes not too long ago.  Most of our rentals are from VRBO so we have been filing monthly taxes for years.  I want no part of an illegal activity; it appears ABB does not care. 

[Linda108]

@Ellen12  In your area, are there more than a single taxing jurisdiction?  For example, are both city and county taxing or is there just a single jurisdiction such as city.  It is possible Air BNB is contracted with only one of the taxing jurisdictions and you have to remit the remaining tax.  Does that explanation make any sense in your situation?  

I really do not think Air BNB is doing a good job with this concept of collection and remitting taxes, but if they were able to, it is a good idea.  It is just more complicated than they are set up for.  Keep us posted as to what you discover.

[Ellen12]

I think that is exactly what is happening.  We should pay state/county/city.  The city is 5%, and that's how much is being under-reported.  We received notice last year that ABB would be collecting and reporting all 3. I do not want to be doing something not compliant with the law, so I have snoozed my listing until this gets resolved.  We do not believe it is possible for us to just file the city tax as the city piggybacks the state/county lodgings tax.  We file our VRBO income lodgings tax on a monthly basis and have been doing so for years.  It's not that hard.  But what is MOST unsettling is ABB's nonchalant attitude toward tackling an important issue immediately!  I will keep you posted.

[Ellen12]

I finally got my answer.  ABB is not contracted with the city in which our rental is located, even though we were informed last year that they WOULD be collecting and remitting lodgings taxes.  The city is aware of the situation - that there was deception involved, and that they are missing out on a great deal of revenue.  I'm assuming they will be taking some action toward ABB.  I talked to both someone at state and municipal level, and they were very guarded with their answers but aware of the problem. 

Just an FYI:  It's Gulf Shores, Alabama - a resort town.  There's quite a number of ABB listings there.  I've unlisted mine.

[Richard756]

im in the same boat in Colorado

Abb CS is clueless, they have no idea what pandora's box they opened.

[Naomi15]

Airbnb does not yet collect occupancy taxes in my state of South Dakota (U.S.A). The recommendation is to collect them via a Special Offer or upon the guest's arrival. The later seems very awkward. I'm wanting to hear how people who use the Special Offer do so and how it goes. Others have said that they build it into the nightly fee. But if you do that and this amount is filed, then it would seem that a host is taxed on the amount they are collecting for the tax. Any suggestions?

Finally, can an Airbnb person tell me if South Dakota will soon be a place where taxes are collected for us?

[Richard756]

Including the tax in your price is actually quite elegant.  You'll just back it out when you present your rental revenue and tax collected to the state.

Example:

Nightly rate 200, includes 8.5% tax

10 nights rented, 2000 collected

On the sales tax return:

Gross rent:  1843.32

Tax:  156.68

Total: 2000

Calculations:

Gross rent is 2000 which represents 108.5 % of your gross rental revenue

(100% of rent and 8.5%of tax)  What is the gross rent?

2000/1.085 = 1843.32

Tax:  gross rent at 1843.32 x 8.5% = 156.68

Add the two together and you're back at the 2000 you collected.

make sense?

Richard

[Barbara53]

Is Airbnb collectint the Occupancy Tax yet in Texas? Ho do I handle this on my part. It dosent appear they collected any that I see. We had a Notice they were strating in May, 2017 but I havent had any New Guest until now..Does anyone know ?

[Linda108]

You can find the list of occupancy taxes that are collected by Air BNB in the Help Center, @Barbara53.  Just use the search term, occupancy taxes and read the article.

[RobinAndMike1]

So, my occupancy taxes are being collected in Texas, but it's now time to pay the quarterly tax bill and there's no way to see if ABB is taking care of this or not. I don't care to get dinged for late taxes because ABB is paying my taxes for me. Is there any info anywhere that says WHEN taxes get paid and how I am credited for that payment?