Arizona Taxes collected but not paid?

[Bonnie103]

Hello

I'm hoping someone can advise me here. Airbnb collected about 12.80%"Occupoancy Tax" throughout 2017 from my guests. According the the Airbnb resources - this is filed and remitted by Airbnb for hosts. I received a delinquent notice from the ARizona Dept of revnue - saysing that TPT taxes have not been filed or remitted for my current and correct business license. I get general info from Airbnb support but need to know what was filed and paid relating to my specific account. I'm being charged interest and a demmand fee by the state. I submitted a proper W-9.  So far - after 4-5 calls today to airbnb - I get generic text responses.

Any help out there? I'm stuck with being delinquent and Airbnb having my money and informatiopn.

[Rebecca181]

Following...Please let us know if you get this resolved. It never occurred to me that the tax monies Airbnb collects on my behalf may not have been given to the County and State. 

[Angela686]

I am having the same problem. Did you get any kind of resolution?

Our rental is in Prescott.

[Elaine190]

Hi Bonnie,

Did this ever get resolved? I have just started hosting and trying to figure out how the tax remitted by airbnb gets linked to the host. Thanks 

[Anne11]

@Elaine190 - ABB collected taxes do not get "linked" to the host by the state, as I understand it.  Generally the states are happy because they have more tax revenue via ABB than when hosts were held responsible.  And tax collecting hosts like it because all the listings in the area are operating under the same rules.

[Anne11]

ABB collects local taxes for me in Washington state however I still need to complete the tax form.  The tax folks walked me through how to report ABB collected taxes vs other STR taxes that I collected.

[Bruce90]

Bonnie,

I am having the same problem, only the State of Arizona has gone to my bank and collected TPT monies without telling me that they were going to do this. This occurred on April 2 2018, for TPT that I showed on my filing for the 3rd quarter of 2017. My bank then charged me a fee. Only after the transactions were completed that I received a letter stating what they did.

I have called both the State of Arizona and AirBnB several times beginning in Noveember 2017 after I received the letter stating that I was delinquent in paying the taxes.  In phone conversaations both organizations assured me that it would be worked out and not to worry. I requested that I talk with supervisors and was told that no one else could help me! I did get a "specialist" at AirBnB to respond, but they sent me the standard reply and then cut off the messaging so I could not reply.

After receiving the letter regarding them taking money from my account, I tried to talk with local tax advisors, but they are too busy with regular clients to discuss it with me at this time. So, I am now waiting until after May 1 to seek some advice. Will keep the community posted.

[Rebecca160]

I am in New Mexico, so this may not help, but here goes: 

Airbnb pays the resort occupancy taxes it collects. You are not responsible for this. Airbnb does NOT collect Gross Receipt Taxes. These are taxes that you, running a business, may have to pay. I live in Albuquerque, so I pay 7.5%. NM state law requires that Gross Receipta be charged on rentals of less than 30

days. I include these taxes in what I charge for my room and then back out the tax and pay it semi annually. I suspect that you have a simila

[Rebecca160]

...similar tax in AZ.

[Rebecca160]

Yep, you lucky Arizonans have to pay the TPT and you have to apply for a license. Airbnb is not responsible for this tax, sadly. https://www.azdor.gov/News/tabid/74/newsid530/792/Default.aspx  This is the link to apply for the license. 

[Michelle-At-TheTempeHous0]

@Bonnie103 I have done a TON of research, made calls to the Department of Revenue and written to both them and AirBnb in order to do this correctly and not get "those" letters. So I don't know if you or any of the others still need this info but here it is.

*Sorry for the length it's complicated and important.

Based upon my location, Tempe, AirBnb collects 12.52% in taxes on my gross receipts when I'm fact my taxes are 14.07%. So monthly when I file my taxes online I list my total gross receipts broken down by TPT, Hotel/Motel tax and the additional hotel/motel tax that  my city now charges. Then under each  of the three tax types I use deduction code 775 in order to deduct the amount AirBnb has already collected. I then pay the shortage. Since my property is also listed on another platform I would have to submit the amount collected there anyway.  I found my gross receipts amount and tax collected by AirBnb in the reports sectionunder gross receipts if I recall. You can export that info or do as I do, keep a running spreadsheet with all this info along with occupancy. This way all the formulas  I created calculate everything  so I don't have to manually figure those amounts out.  I have a line for every day of the month on my spreadsheet so I know if I occupied the space, if it was a single room or whole house rental or the property was vacant,  that breakdown is needed for reporting on year end taxes  in order to determine what percentage of deductions can be claimed (i.e. utilities, mortgage, etc). If the property is solely used for rental purposes I'm sure that information would vary.

Since this is so lengthy I will copy the response I just received from AirBnb in another comment. If anyone is interested I could also post a screenshot of the spreadsheet. Hopefully all this info will be helpful and save others some time.

[Michelle-At-TheTempeHous0]

Here is the AirBnb response to my inquiry regarding the taxation variance. They collect 12.52% when the taxes in my area are actually 14.07%.

"In some locations, Airbnb has made agreements with government officials to collect and remit certain local taxes on behalf of hosts. The taxes vary and, depending on the local law, may include calculations based on a flat rate or percentage rate, the number of guests, number of nights, or property type booked.

When guest book a listing in one of these locations, the local taxes collected will be displayed automatically when they pay and appear on their receipt once their reservation is confirmed.

Some hosts are required by their local regulations to charge a tax. We recommend they include the tax in the price of the reservation, but some may require the tax to be paid directly upon check-in. We ask that hosts explain any taxes they may be required to collect in their listing description and their communication with guests prior to booking

State of Arizona:

Guests who book Airbnb listings that are located in the State of Arizona will pay the following taxes as part of their reservation:

*Arizona Transaction Privilege Tax: 5.5% of the listing price including any cleaning fee for reservations 29 nights and shorter. For detailed information, visit the Arizona Department of Revenue Transaction Privilege Tax website.

*County Excise Tax: The county excise tax rate varies by county. It is typically 0.28%-6.5% of the listing price including any cleaning fee for reservations 29 nights and shorter. For detailed information, visit the Arizona Department of Revenue Transaction Privilege Tax website.

*Local Transient Occupancy Taxes: One or more of the following local transient occupancy taxes may apply: Transaction Privilege Tax, Transient Lodging Tax, Bed Tax, or Hotel-Motel Tax. The local transient occupancy tax rate varies by city. It is typically 1.5%-6.0% of the listing price including any cleaning fee for reservations 29 nights and shorter. Transaction Privilege Tax typically applies to all reservations, regardless of the length of stay. For detailed information, visit the Arizona Department of Revenue Transaction Privilege Tax website.

To summarize, Airbnb is only responsible for collecting and remitting taxes for the state of Arizona which ranges from 7.28% to 18.5% depending on the final price of a reservation and city that you are in. As the percentage of taxes vary depending on the price of reservation, there is no set rate of what Airbnb has to collect. If your county or city does require taxes be collected outside of what has been outlined above, you will need to collect it separately.

I hope I was able to provide some clarity for you. If you have any further questions, please let me know. I’m more than happy to address any of your concerns. Thank you for hosting with Airbnb."

[Rajan-and-Randee0]

Hi Michelle,

Thanks for this info..very helpful.  I am in the process of filing the TPT tax online and have a few questions which I am hoping you can answer:

1.  When I start the return, it is populated with the below 4 business codes

Transient Lodging -025

Hotel/Motel (Additional Tax) - 144

Hotels - 044

Residential Rental, Leasing and Licensing for Use - 045.  

Am I responsible for paying taxes on all four of these business codes?  My thinking is that I am responsible for the first 3, but not Residential Rental, Leasing and Licensing for Use - 045 as it seems like this is only applicable those who rent out their space for more than 30 days.

2. When you break down your total gross receipts by business code (as you mentioned above), do you use the same gross receipt number for each business code...in otherwords are you taxed on the full gross receipt number per business code?

Hopefully this makes sense.

[April23]

Thank you for the helpful info.  ABB could not explain to me how they link the money they collect to my home.  ADOR told me they had no record of ABB sending taxes in on behalf of my TPT

[April23]

Hello Michelle. Thank you for the explaination. What line # of the TPT form are you using the 775 deduction code on?  Do you use it in all sections IE: City, County, and State?