Sales and Occupancy Taxes in Florida

[Kay2]

I am a new host on AirBNB.  I know there have been some discussions on taxes and I have read through them.  We have a rental in the state of Florida and AirBNB are collecting the Sales taxes for our area (6% state and 1% County Surcharge for a total of 7%)  We also have to pay occupancy tax of 6% to Osceola County.  AirBNB are, as far as I can tell, not collecting this tax for our area and therefore we have to do it (this is not a problem, I collect and remit taxes to both state and county for all our rentals, but will have to modify my system to account for AirBNB collecting part of the taxes)  

From what I have read, we have to either incorporate this tax into our rate (make our rate seem higher than it is) or add it in as a special offer. Both options the occupancy tax will be subject to the Sales Tax collected by AirBNB (and shouldn't be)

Has anyone found a better way to handle this or contacted AirBNB on  this topic?

[Boba0]

All that I see is huge mess.  We all are renting with AIRBNB and we all have other options as well.  As solid tax payers we have to handle it ourselves.  It would be much easier if we handle all of it in one way, if we pay both taxes accordingly and collect them from our guests the same way.  I was told in the tourist tax office in Naples that it is our obligation and responsibility to pay the tax correctly.  With this system we could easily get confused. 

I need to see in advance what amount of occupancy tax AIRBNB is taking from my guests, to be able to do correction (addition) on time.  I see only what is my payout.

I simple do not know how to handle this properly.

I would prefere if AIRBNB takes all tax correctly, so I have nothing to worry about County tax, or if they do not take it at all.

[Kelli13]

I'm new to Airbnb. My question for my St. Johns Count, FL host is this, is Airbnb collecting the 4% Tourist development tax (you are required to pay for any transient rental) and are they submitting it to the local tax collector? 

[Karen1]

No, at this time, Airbnb is not collecting the St Johns County transient rental tax. Hosts can collect the tax from the guests upon arrival or incorporate the additional 4% tax in the nightly rate. (Neither option is great!)

[Amanda-and-Wesley0]

Hi Karen! I'm also new to Airbnb and in St. Johns county, and you seem very knowledge in this area 🙂 I saw Airbnb was collecting was collecting 10% occupancy tax, so is that both state and local or do I need to collect additional 4%. Thank you for your time! 

[Karen1]

@Amanda-and-Wesley0, Sorry about the delay in responding. No, right now Airbnb is not collecting the 4% Tourist Development Tax for St Johns County. They are collecting and remitting the 6.5% Transient Tax for the state. Tax is based on your nightly rate plus cleaning fee. The tax collected will be shown on the confirmation email you receive for each reservation. You have to go to St Johns Co Tax Collectors office to get set up to pay the 4% tax. I just absorb it into my rate instead of asking my guests to pay it. Not ideal!

[Karen603]

If we absorbe it into our rate, we are being taxed for that as well. Im paying out of pocket, which kind of stinks. That's why I prefer the other 
Umbrella company which allows me to collect and remit it all in Palm Beach County.

[Rick-And-Terri0]

I just got a condo at Crescent Beach and I'm listing with Airbnb and VRBO with the help of a property manager.

Just to clarify, Airbnb DOES pull the 6% sales tax from the guest and it is added to the rental.

However they do NOT pull the 4.5% occupancy tax.

I am working with a property manager and they say that we need to pay 10.5% like they do on VRBO.

Which is it 10.5% or 4.5%?

[Kelli13]

In St. John's County the sales tax rate is 6.5% and the county charges you a Tourist Development tax of 4%. Airbnb pays the 6.5% directly to the state. You need to go to the county tax collectors office, set up an account and get your payment coupons. You will need to pay the 4%. As a heads up AVOID Costal Realty and Management. They are incompetent, extremely unprofessional and can't seem to keep track of your money. 

[Karen1]

No, do not pay the Florida Sales tax yourself. If you do, you will be paying twice. Airbnb has an agreement with the State to the collect it from your guests (now 6.5% because it includes the St Johns County .5% Discrestionary Sales Surtax). Airbnb remits it in lump form for all Florida hosts. 

You are responsible to collect and pay the county's tourist tax which is 4%. You need to contact the St Johns County Tax Collector's office to get a local business tax receipt. If you rent using Airbnb only,  you do not need an account with the FL Dept of Revenue. On your Local Business Tax Receipt application where it asks you for the Florida Sales Tax Number, just indicate "Exempt". 

- Karen

[Kevin909]

Kellie,

I am a new host to airbnb in St. Johns County, FL and would be interested in touching base with you regarding your experience and how you manage your taxes. Please email me and we could potentially work together.

**[E-mail address hidden due to safety reasons - Community Center Guidelines]

[Kathy272]

THANK YOU!  I have been trying to get this information for about 6 months.  I have been paying the state of FL for sales tax and  use, since they said they had no record of AIRBNB paying form me.  I was thinking I had to get the money back from AIRBNB (which would never happen, I'm sure).

I'm calling the DOR tomorrow!

[Sid-and-Lynne0]

AirBnB is pretty bad about that.  In almost all states (New Mexico and Hawaii are the only exception I know of), the sales tax must be stated separately and not rolled into the sales price (from Florida Business Owner's Guide for Sales and Use Tax: "The full amount of sales tax must be collected at the time of the transaction. Sales tax, including any county surtax, must be separately stated on the sales slip, charge ticket, invoice, or other evidence of sale. Sales tax dealers may not advertise or indicate that all or any part of the sales tax will be absorbed or paid by the dealer.").  You might be able to get away with stating a single price by putting prominently in the description "7% of the nightly rate is allocated to sales tax".  Or you may need to put "Sales and occupancy taxes of X% will be added after you book your reservation".  You'd want to check with DOR to see if those are valid methods of complying with Florida law.

AirBnB is not host-friendly about this in its pricing section.  We have a $25 surcharge for 1-night stays, and have to put a comment in the description (which many people miss), then make a special offer to change the price.  AirBnB pricing options are in general very host-unfriendly.

[Tanya6]

Hello,

How do I know on my listing how much Airbnb is asking from my renters for tax?  The taxes for my area are 11.5%.  State (FL) 6% plus 1.5% surtax plus the tourist tax of 4%.  I can't tell how much airbnb is charging my renters.  Also, do they pay this directly to the state?  Am I "allowed" to charge my renters the difference so that I can pay the balance or should I just add it to my rent?  By doing this my rates will be higher than my listing on other sites.  I am new to airbnb but I'm receiving more reservations than I anticipated.  I appreciate any input.

TK

[Karen1]

@Tanya6, @Kay2, @Marcelle10, @Sid-and-Lynne0, @Livia4

You can find what Airbnb has paid per each of your reservations by going to your Transaction History and clicking on the Gross Earnings tab. The "Occupancy tax" is be the State Tax, plus in 22 counties only, it includes the local tax.

Airbnb has an agreement with the State of Florida to pay the State its short-term rental tranisent tax for all Florida hosts. Since Airbnb does not pay cents, they always round up. Also the amount taxed is on the Gross Amount, including the cleaning fee, so the amount they pay equals about 6.5 percent. (The state of Florida should be happy with that.)

Airbnb also has an agreement with 22 Florida counties to automatically pay local tax, sometimes called Occupancy Tax or Toursit Tax. These counties are Bradford, Citrus, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Flagler, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Glades, Hamilton, Hendry, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Levy, Madison, Okeechobee, Pasco, Sumter, Wakulla, and Washington. If your county is listed, you have to collect and pay nothing.

If your county is not listed, you need to collect and remit the local tax yourself. For now, your options are to raise your nightly rate by the percentage of your local tax, ask your guests to pay that percentage to you directly in person, send a "Special Offer" with the tax amount for the guest to accept or just absorb the cost. None of these options is ideal. However, whatever you choose, you are still legally obligated to pay your local tax. And, you should mention on your listing how your local tax will be collected.

This is as accurate as I know to date and is based on direct communication with both Airbnb and the Department of Revenue. If any host has additional information, I would be interested in knowing.  Thanks!

[Rick-And-Terri0]

I just read this post.

What about St. Johns... any new news?