Taxes feature

[Ammon0]

Is there a way to submit website suggestions? I think it would be incredibly useful for a lot of hosts if AirBnB simply added a feature in the pricing option that allowed you to enter a % for taxes. Every other website I use has this option except AirBnB, I really don't understand why this isn't already there. It's a pain to have to collect it after the hosts book.

[Tom322]

I also would love if Airbnb had this feature 

[Holly63]

Figuring out if the tax is included in what the guest pays is difficult. It would be so much easier if I could see it say the % of tax I want to collect and have it added to my quote. I have to collect tax on all my other listings so this would be consistent and clear. Please change how you collect tax!

[Clare0]

@Ammon0 This issue has been raging for quite some time.  Where Airbnb collects and remits Occupancy taxes to local agencies, it is as a result of negotiations with those agencies.  Airbnb has total control and the responsibility for the collection and payment of these taxes. 

I can understand why Airbnb won't give hosts the option to collect an additional percentage for those where Airbnb is not automatically collecting the taxes.  It is Airbnb's payment processing system and the potential for abuse is significant.  In other words, what's to prevent a host from collecting 15% when the occupancy taxes are really 10% and pocketing the difference?  How is a guest to know they were over-charged? Reservation payments are a transaction between the guest and Airbnb and disputes are resolved between them.  

If payments were to be made directly between hosts and guests, then it would make more sense to give hosts a way to enter a percentage for Occupancy taxes as any issue would be between host and guest and Airbnb would not have any involvement.  As it stands now, since Airbnb has the responsibility for making sure Occupancy taxes are charged correctly (where they process them), I'm quite sure they are not willing to open their payment processing system to the millions of hosts around the world. 

For the past 3 years I've had to collect and pay Occupancy taxes myself so I know what a burden it is and understand where you are coming from.   Looking at it from Airbnb's point of view, however, I understand why they don't do this. 

[Ammon0]

So what's to stop me from charging an additional 10% instead of 5% taxes the way it's setup now? If guests are going to check tax percentages they will before or after they book. The way it's setup currently is simply adding an additional step for both parties. Nothing is currently stopping me from overcharging taxes after they book either.

In other words, if that's AirBnB's stance they are basically stating we are not going to give you this function because we don't trust our hosts will charge an accurate price, but they can charge the price after it if they want to collect those taxes.

It makes no sense. If AirBnB want's to collect the taxes, great, but collect all of them not just some then make me manually go back and request more after they book. I'd rather just they not collect any and I just put in a % so it's calculated before they book. I'm going to have to submit them to the county anyway, but now I have to figure out which one's AirBnB are paying, and which ones I need to pay.

Not only that, but one day AirBnB may all of the sudden start collecting my county taxes, so every month I need to check to see if anythings changed so I'm not charging them to much tax.  You think every host is going to think of that every month? Not likely, so with this current method it's likely some guests will be overcharged taxes.

It just makes everything much more complicated. VRBO simply has a tax % you put in manually then it's sent to you after it's booked and you pay your taxes. Easy.

[Holly63]

Then I think it should be clearly stated for the host that occupancy tax is being collected by airbnb and paid by them to my state. It is not clear and obscure HELP says that in some areas, where it is required, it will be collected by airbnb. It is not a line item on the quote and is therefore left to be uncertain for me, a new host.