Occupancy Taxes in Mountain View, CA

[David3483]

I am running an AirBnb in Mountain View, CA and by 7/1/2019 the city requires short term rentals be registered and a 10% occupancy tax is collected (the info I found at cityofnmountainview.gov is vague on if taxes are already supposed to be collected.  I have written to the city.) I went to the local laws section of my listing and saw this:

Occupancy taxes

Your listing is in Manhattan Beach, CA,West Hollywood, CA where Airbnb collects and remits occupancy taxes on your behalf.

Learn more

which is puzzling af because I am nowhere near Manhattan Beach and West Hollywood.  As far I know, people staying with me do not believe they are in 360 miles southeast of here in Manhattan beach, so AirBnB's maps do seem to know where my rental actually is. 😄

I followed the learn more and there is no information about taxes in my local county (Santa Clara).  I have tried looking at booking costs under "reservation details" and it only lists the booking price and AirBnB's take (and the cleaning fee I recently implemented). 

Anybody know what is going on here with the weird Local Laws information, and (much more of a longshot) how Occupancy Taxes will (or won't) be collected by AirBnB in Mountain View, CA?

Thanks

David

Is AirBnb collecting taxes on my bookings and sending them to the wrong place?  

[Emiel1]

@David3483 

Your listing does not show any taxes charged when simulating a booking on the booking page.

The help says:

"We don’t automatically collect and pay on your behalf for a listing if there isn’t a section for occupancy taxes under both Local laws and your booking page."

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1036/how-does-occupancy-tax-collection-and-remittance-by-airbnb-...

In Europe we have a special option to manually add local taxes to the listing, but it seems not to be implemented in USA i have learned.

Best regards,

Emiel

[David3483]

It is implemented  for some cities, but not mine.  Look up a listing in San Francisco and you will see this. My local city has passed a regulation requiring I register and it seems by July 1st (maybe earlier) I am supposed to be collecting taxes.  I have still not heard back from the city regarding my query a week ago. 😞 

The note that appeared in my local laws tab in my listing has since changed to the generic one that starts with :

Your local laws

You should always educate yourself about the laws and rules in your area before listing your space.

so the message that appeared last week must have been a temporary glitch. I still have NO idea how I am supposed to register with my city and collect and remit occupancy taxes.  I suppose with the city making the process so opaque and being non-responsive to inquiries they will be hard pressed to collect anything they claim I owe them .  Still, this is disatisfying and I would like to learn what the heck I am supposed to do about this.

[Eric-and-Rebecca0]

Anybody find out new information on this?

I'm running an AirBnB in Mtn. View and want to stay within the regulations.

Thanks,

Eric

[Evelyn211]

Hello! I too am running an Air Bnb and would like to know as well. Thank You! 

[Sophey0]

Hi,  here's what I found about MV occupancy tax on AirBnB: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2297/occupancy-tax-collection-and-remittance-by-airbnb-in-califo...

I hope this is helpful.  I'm not sure how to go about finding out wether or not AirBnB had been paying the occupancy tax on my behalf.  If you figure out how to find that information, please share.  Thank you.

[Margaret609]

For more info on Mountain View, CA provisions, go to mountainview.gov/str

Briefly, here are some key points:

• No Limit for Hosted Rentals – There shall be no limit on the number of days a property may be used as a hosted short-term rental. Hosted rentals are defined as rentals where the operator is present onsite throughout the rental.
  
  • Accessory Dwelling Unit Rentals – If the operator is present onsite in the primary dwelling on a property throughout the rental, short-term rentals in Accessory Dwelling Units shall be considered hosted rentals.
• 60 Day Annual Limit for Unhosted Rentals - Unhosted rentals, where the operator is not present onsite, properties may only be used a maximum of 60 nights per year.
• No Special Events - weddings, parties, corporate gatherings and other similar events which have the potential to cause traffic, parking, noise, trash or other impacts in the neighborhood are allowed at the short-term rental property during the short-term rental.
• Occupancy Limit - Per the California Building Code, Chapter 3, Section 310.5 – Use and Occupancy Classifications, STRs are considered congregate residences, and must have 10 or fewer occupants.
• Local Contact Requirement - STR operators must provide the City and neighbors in properties adjacent to the short-term rental with the contact information for a local person who can respond to concerns and complaints within 60 minutes.
• Transient Occupancy Tax - similar to hotel guests, STR guests/renters must pay Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), equivalent to 10 percent of the rental cost in accordance with Chapter 33 of the Mountain View City Code (link to relevant City code)

[Hien12]

I see that Mountain View has a 6-day annual limit for hosted rentals, is there a way around it if you use a management company or hosted yourself?  

[Hien12]

Sorry I meant 60-day annual limit for unhosted rentals, is there a way around it for Mountain View, CA to address this issue and comply with the law.

Thanks,

Hien