VAT tax in Mexico

[Peter-and-Wendy2]

I have 2 separate questions regarding the VAT taxes collected by Airbnb on the rentals of my Mexican property:

1) As I host, I must pay VAT tax on the hosting fee which I pay to Airbnb.  I understand and accept that. Airbnb sends me an invoice/receipt which shows the fee and the VAT tax which they charged me.  However, my Mexican accountant just told me that since my RFC number does not appear on this receipt, the receipt will not be accepted by the Mexican tax authorities.  How can I get a receipt with my RFC number on it?

2) As a guest, my guests are supposedly charged and pay to Airbnb a 16% VAT tax for Mexico.  My accountant advises me that I should get a print-out of all RFC taxes paid for my property or I will be liable to pay them again when the tax authorities see my income.  How do I get proof of VAT taxes paid on my property rentals?

[Emiel1]

@Peter-and-Wendy2 

My assume a RFC number is the same as what we call a VAT number ?

It appears on the VAT invoices.

I had to enter the VAT number in my account.

Maybe you need to change your personal account into a business account first.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/437/how-do-i-provide-my-value-added-tax-id-number

The VAT paid by guest to Airbnb on the Airbnb Guests Service fee is a deal between Airbnb and the guest. IMO it is outside your scope of control.

[Sarah977]

No, it doesn't require a business account. @Emiel1

[Sarah977]

Did you submit your RFC info to Airbnb back in October, when they sent out emails requesting that info? 

@Peter-and-Wendy2

[Peter-and-Wendy2]

@Sarah977 

yes and received acknowledgement by Airbnb that they received it.

[Peter-and-Wendy2]

@Sarah977 

And I had a payment made to me for a rental in December.  I was not charged VAT but my Mexican accountant says that  I need proof of VAT being paid or when the Mexican government sees my pay-out, they will expect it from me.  

[Peter-and-Wendy2]

@Sarah977 

FYI, this was my first payout from Airbnb so this is ALL new to me!  Thanks!

[Sarah977 · Accepted solution]

I believe your accountant is misinformed. Airbnb and the Mexican tax dept. are co-ordinated on this. Airbnb is submitting the IVA for all bookings to The Mexican tax authority. As in other places where Airbnb collects the VAT, they don't submit it individually for each hosting account- they send a lump sum for all bookings, although I have no idea how often they do that.

I've yet to deal with this first hand myself, as my home-share listing has been closed since March due to COVID, but I did submit my RFC# to Airbnb.

@Peter-and-Wendy2

[Sandra3840]

@Sarah977 Hi Sarah,   I heard that before that they are lump summing. So does that mean they don't submit our reservation #'s or attach them to our RFC# number? My accountant is telling me if they are not I may have to pay it twice?  

[Victoria-Yamilet0]

Hi Sarah!

Hope you are well.  Thank you for the helpful information. I'm trying to catch-up here RE the fiscal regulation in Mexico. I just started again to Airbnb PV condo. I didn't send my RFC to Airbnb though. I tried to reach Airbnb but i don't think i was given the right info. I added my RFC to the PV listing. However, im a bit confused. The main issue is that wasn't able to add the tax. Secondly, Jalisco IVA is 3%? this is a question.  

Any information is greatly appreciate. 

[Sarah977]

@Victoria-Yamilet0  I've actually been closed to bookings since March 2020 and don't plan to open back up until January, so I'm really not up on all this new tax stuff and will need to get an accountant to handle it. 

But here is what I do know- you do not enter the amount of the tax yourself, it will be automatically added by Airbnb. The amount of that will be something around 3-4%.

IVA is a separate tax and it is a federal tax. It doesn't vary by state. It is 16%. 

Whether or not Airbnb will add the IVA, or whether you need to submit that yourself to Hacienda is what I don't know. You should find a Mexican accountant who can handle this for you.

[Daniel433]

I think you are misinformed. I just have similar questions from my Mexican tax accountant. Their opinion is that the Airbnb collection system for Vat is a mess, much worse than the way VRBO is handling it. I can even find my Airbnb statement that separates out the vat tax Airbnb is charging.  I asked some friends, but none of us can find the breakdown of expenses on the Airbnb system. Can you send me a link to the breakdown of costs please?  

[Danays1]

How would I get this document? I am still not a mexican resident and currently still have a tourist visa. 

[Peter-and-Wendy2]

@Sarah977 

Thanks so much for the excellent information Sarah!  I think you're spot on.  One of the things that I didn't mention before is that I have not yet given my RFC to Airbnb because I enrolled with them in late 2020 using my U.S. Paypal account tied to a U.S. bank.  And I have come to learn in the last day or so that I have to have the money deposited to a Mexican bank for me to avoid being charged the VAT that guests have already paid.  You explanation made more sense to me than anything the Airbnb reps. have told me so far though I believe they are trying.  Please confirm that you do indeed have your Mexican rental money go into a Mexican bank.  This will verify that I'm finally on the right track.  Thanks again and good luck!  We came on line with Airbnb during the surge of Covid so we're taking it real slow.

Hopefully, we will see relief before 2021 is over!

[Sarah977]

No, I get paid for my Airbnb bookings into my Canadian bank account. Mexico doesn't care where your money gets deposited, as far as I'm aware, what they care about is that you declare your earnings made in Mexico and pay the required taxes. 

Now, as I said, I haven't tested this out yet, as I'm not open for bookings at the present time and since they brought in the having to give Airbnb your RFC and have them collect taxes on your behalf. But I've run a small business here for 15 years and declared all my earnings from that, and the Mexican tax department doesn't check whether my income gets deposited into my Mexican bank account, or the clients pay me in cash, or however, all they care about is that I file my income declarations and pay the required taxes.

One of the problems for you is that you haven't given Airbnb your RFC #, which means they will charge IVA @20%. If they had your RFC, as far as I read it, you'd be charged something like 4%.

@Peter-and-Wendy2