Taxing issue THIS is urgent! Florida Hosts!

[Carmen-And-Jim0]

OK a fellow Florida host called the state of florida about AirBnB collecting the 6 percent and they were told from thier local office of STATE of florida that because AIRBNB justs gives a lump sum to the state of florida and does not give the individual amounts, Tax id number of who the property belong to, etc. They do not know what you reported.

MEANING: if you don't want a aduit you have to collect the 6% again and report and get dinged on your listing.....I am having a all day phone call with Alvara, Air, and state of florida , tomorrow since my phone calls to the state ALSO stated if I am Licensed and have a tax ID I must report and file taxes for the month of confusing December.

I will convey what either me and the other florida host has resolved with the state of Florida. Thanks God Air is not collecting Miami taxes for now.

[Joni-B--Michael-And-Will0]

I think it's the state and city that wanted them to do this so they can make sure they get paid

[Karen1]

@Carmen-And-Jim0, @Denis3, @Clare0

Here is the reponse to my question from Airbnb. It is especially useful to know where the Occupancy Tax collect is displayed:

"We are collecting and remitting Florida Transient Rental Tax of 6.00% on your behalf.

Please do understand that we have signed an agreement with the Florida state, meaning the state is aware that Airbnb has a collect and remit feature. We will be filing one tax return per jurisdiction, with the total combined reservation revenue.

We will not be filing individual forms (such as the DR-1C form) on behalf of hosts.
You may need to file $0 returns going forward, but please consult a professional tax advisor to determine what is necessary for you.

Occupancy Taxes column in your Gross Earnings section of the Transaction History can serve as documentation of the taxes that have been collected, paid for and remitted on your behalf.

I hope this clarified your concern but please let me know if you have further concerns."

[Clare0]

Thanks @Karen1 for informing all of us!  I will bookmark this page for future inquiries. 

[Denis3]

Thanks @Karen ...  

I've still got a question in to them so lets see if they give me the same response  😉

[Nancy26]

I am still confused....

As a new host this year, want to get on top of this for next tax season.  Can I check if Air BnB is taking out taxes?  I am in Palm Beach County and got a notice from the tax collector of "tourist development tax obligations".

Can anyone help me through this?

Much appreciated.

Nancy

[Mark37]

I had requested with an AirBNB agent to opt out of this because I was already collecting and paying State and County taxes in FL.  Apparently, that person had no idea what they were talking about.

I am still confused by this and haven't gotten an answer from AirBNB.  In one communication they say they are collecting county taxes (Pinellas, was 6 and now 7)...in everything else, they refer to state.

Tax collection and payment are serious and I feel AirBNB is being cavalier about it. I had spent a fair amount of time getting setup directly and paying. I am much more comfortable doing this myself  I only forsee problems with AirBNB doing it.

[Mark26]

The guidance I received from the State of Florida, Department of Revenue, is that unless AirBnB provides them with my State Sales Tax Account Number, and the amount of taxes that AirBnB is paying to the State on my behalf, I am STILL responsible for collecting and forwarding the applicable tax to the State.

[Karen1]

@Mark26, @Carmen-And-Jim0, @Mark37, @Ed-and-Hugh0

The phone number for Florida's Department of Revenue is 1-800-352-3671.  If you call the DOR and get someone who does not know what Airbnb is, or if they tell you that your management company (Airbnb) must submit your tax certificate number along with your income amount, then the person is uninformed. Airbnb is not a management company. Ask to speak to their supervisor. Not everyone at the DOR got the message that Airbnb is paying our taxes for us.

We do NOT have to report our Airbnb income and Airbnb does NOT have to report the tax individually. They have made arrangements with the state to report it in a lump sum, which I can only guess will be a greater amount than reported by individual hosts.

Here is the email I received from the State of FL:

To:       Karen R

From: Florida Department of Revenue/Tallahassee

The Department of Revenue has received your email regarding your transient rental which is being handled by AIRBNB.  There is no obligation for you to be actively registered for your rental location due to the agreement between AIRBNB and DOR. 

I have inactivated your sales tax account effective 12/1/15, the date of your contract with AIRBNB.  If anytime in the future you end your contract with AIRBNB, your account can be reactivated.

I have amended your December 2015 sales tax return to zero which generated a credit for your payment of $42.98. 

You may submit an application for refund/DR-26S which can be downloaded at http://dor.myflorida.com/Forms_library/current/dr26s.pdf ; or submitted online at https://taxapps.state.fl.us/Refunds/DR26S.aspx . Please note, the refund may take up to three months to receive.  I apologize for the confusion; however, information regarding the agreement between DOR and AIRBNB was unavailable when you first sent your request.

Thanks for the opportunity to respond to your inquiry. If you have additional questions, feel free to contact DOR at 1-800-352-3671.

Eloise C. Spears

Tax Specialist I

Taxpayer Services Process

Standard Notice: If you need to contact us, we recommend you use our secure Ask a Question Form online at https://askdor.state.fl.us/FAQ/FAQSearch.aspx, or write to us at:

Department of Revenue

Tax Information Services

5050 West Tennessee Street

Tallahassee, FL 32399

[Reinier1]

It is necessary that AIRBNB inform us Florida hosts how to proceed with the taxing issue, taking in account Airbnb collects in each reservation payment the amount of money it remits to the Florida Tax Collector for occupancy tax.

I am writing from Miami Beach, where the Manager Convention and Tourist Tax Section (aeagle@miamidade.gov) sent a letter to the condo asociations about the matter of the need to comply with Florida taxing law.

As I have read in this community center, it appears Airbnb sends the tax money it collected as a lump sum amount to Florida collector.

We the Florida hosts need to know if that is enough for the Florida Tax authorities  and therefore we as individual hosts do not need to send the monthly sales tax report and payment for transient guests.

This is an URGENT ISSUE that Airbnb needs to clarify to us Florida hosts.  I  am confused and understand the importance to comply with Florida Tax law, but need Airbnb get involved and give indications of how we must proceed.

HOPE AIRBNB will react quickly about this Urgent matter.

Reinier

zoilarental@gmail.com

Miami Beach, Fl

[Teri9]

Thank you!  This is helpful!

[Milagros0]

That response given by Airbnb is what I found out from the DOR too. Airbnb provides a statement at the end of the year of what they collected on OUR behalf.  They are responsible to send that to the state anonymously. Our record of that is done for us, you print that out and file with your taxes when you file.  You are the one solely responsible to file the 5% to the county tourism office.  Sometimes called the bed tax.     You can do this online once a month.    In my county I had a really hard time finding the office to pay.  All the tax offices had no idea what I was talking about.    I hope that answers it for you.  

[Ed-and-Hugh0]

I was told by Avalara to set up a second Avalara listing. The first (original) has Avalara handling all State and County taxes. They said to set up the 2nd listing so that it shows the State tax already being handled. You can use the new listing for bookings where Airbnb has collected the taxes.

It's a little more work to sort out when the bookings were made but this is only temporary untill all your bookings are under the Airbnb added tax. It doesn't seem like that big of a deal. Avalara will still handle the local taxes, and Airbnb will handle the State tax.

[Bj3]

I just spoke with Brittany at the Florida DOR and was told to submit an amended return for the periods that I had erroneously paid, amending lines 1 & 2, and then submit form DR26S - Application for Refund.

[Joni-B--Michael-And-Will0]

Yep.... I accidentally paid them and Airbnb paid them and I had to submit for a refund to I wanted to make sure all my taxes were get paid then I forgot that they were being paid by Airbnb so correct to say that yes correct and the gentleman that help me with that refund said you are never to be paying your taxes to us you don't even have to fill out a form every and this gentleman had been with that position for a very long time very long time he knew what he was talking about

[Jorge100]

This is a complete mess. Someone in a previous post said that after talking with DOR, they cancelled his/her account.

I do not want my account cancelled!! My properties are in the Osceola county. I have to pay 7% to FL and 6% to Osceola. I have all my licenses and registrations and I've been collecting the taxes and paying for three years without problem.

Besides the rentals from Airbnb I have rentals that come from other channels.

For the other ones, I collect and pay. Now, what should I do with the Airbnb rentals? If I do not report them, and a county inspector come to the condo and find an Airbnb guest there and next month that rental is not reported to the county, I will have a big problem, even if at the end I can prove the rental came from Airbnb and they paid the tax.

Similar scenario with the state tax.

Is there a way to opt out the Airbnb collection / payment? If they know how much to collect, is very easy to say "what do you want Mr Host? You pay or I pay?"

Can someone explain this?

Thanks!

Jorge