Paying Taxes in Hilton Head, South Carolina

[Stephanie237]

Hey Everyone, 

Wondering if someone can help me understand how taxes are collected for properties in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Are taxes being added to the charges to the guest? The only fees I see displayed on my end are: Nightly Rate, Cleaning Fee, and Service Fee. Is Airbnb collecting the 10% tax and remitting to South Carolina and Hilton Head?

Also, how does Airbnb file on my behalf? I don't see a place to put in our Sales and Use #?

How exactly would the state know to credit our account? 

Sorry for all the questions, but I am trying to understand how this works.

Thanks! 

[Robert5263]

It is 2022 and airbnb states they collect and remit local taxes in South Carolina.  But Hilton Head Island tax division is saying that Airbnb does not even have an account setup.  It appears airbnb is collecting 11% from our guests.  But where is that tax doing?  Does anyone have documentation that Airbnb is or is not paying HHI their local taxes?

[Natalie991]

@Robert5263 Doesn't look like that Airbnb is collecting 11% from our guests. Do you have any updates on this? 

[Natalie991]

@Pat271  can't find the community fee option under pricing to be able to collect the local tax. Any help is greatly appreciated 

[Pat271]

@Natalie991  I select “Lodging Tax” under Custom Tax Collection here:

https://www.airbnb.com/hosting/listings/<your-property-id>/pricing-and-availability/taxes

Substitute your property number for <your-property-id> above.

You may have to have Professional Tools enabled.

[Natalie991]

@Pat271 thank you for your prompt reply. I am challenged to find the the "lodging tax" - I did enabled the Professional tools however I don't see where I could substitute the property number for...... using the link you sent me. I've tried but nothing came up for me to recognize it ... Just tried again and now there is 404 error... (Oops!We can't seem to find the page you're looking for. Error code: 404)

[Pat271]

@Natalie991 In the browser, under your property, go to Pricing and Availability->Taxes, and press the Edit link. There, under Custom Tax Collection, press “Add a Tax”.

[Natalie991]

@Pat271  yes I tried that but no option to edit - see print shot screen

[Pat271]

@Natalie991  A couple of suggestions:

1) Make sure Professional Hosting Tools are indeed turned on by going to Account Settings->Professional Hosting Tools->Manage

2) Make sure you have provided Airbnb with the required tax registration info, as explained here:

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2523/how-to-add-taxes-to-listings

3) Clear your browser cache to insure that the correct version of Airbnb loads and that what is displayed isn’t an old version of the software.

[Stephanie336]

Does anyone ever report the 7% tax to the state?  If so, how?  Or do we just assume it isn't our responsibility to do the reporting when AirBnB is collecting and sending it directly to the State?  

[Pat271]

@Stephanie336  I assume it isn’t my responsibility. It wouldn’t make sense to me to report it if I never got it.

[Stephanie336]

Good, makes sense and that's what I have assumed also since I started listing on here.  🙂

[Pat271 · Accepted solution]

Just for everyone’s info, here are a couple of screenshots of the tax settings and info I have set up for Greenville, SC:

Taxes section with Edit button

Resulting Edit screen. I added the Lodging Tax.

Resulting Edit screen

Remember to 1) Make sure you are on the browser version of Airbnb, 2) clear your browser cache (very important!), 3) turn on Professional Tools - check it again even if you think you have it set.