question about cleaning fee

[MariaCecilia22]

is it just me or this spreading the cleaning fee through out the stay is confusing? i just did the math and if i charge $195 a night (given that the guest is staying 1 night), cleaning fee for $155 and the tax is $24.50 then why am I only getting $295.75? The tax is only $24.50, shouldn't I get $325.50 cause I have to give that $155 to the cleaning professional.  the cleaning fee is not for me, also i saw some posting on here that the cleaning fee is now considered part of your gross income? this is all very confusing to me. is any host experiencing this confusion?

[Shelley159]

The cleaning fee (like all other fees) has always been subject to the Airbnb service fee @MariaCecilia22 

Under the split fee system it was 3% on the host side, now it's 15.5% in total. When you run the tool to switch from the split to the single fee, the tool will automatically update all of your prices correctly, including the cleaning fee. You will then get the same payout as before.

[MariaCecilia22]

ok but do you know if the cleaning fee is now part of my gross income?

[Shelley159]

Yes @MariaCecilia22 , it's always been part of gross income, because it's part of what Airbnb pays you. For income tax, you then deduct actual expenses, including what you pay the cleaners, repair work, guest amenities, etc. (this is how it works in most tax jurisdictions, but there are countries were some deductions aren't allowed).

You shouldn't think of the cleaning fee as something that has to match the cleaning expense. You can set the cleaning fee at whatever you want, to structure your price into a per-night and a per-booking component as you prefer.

What you actually pay the cleaners, is a separate business transaction between you and them.

[MariaCecilia22]

@Shelley159 the cleaning i received is given to the cleaning professional. i don't keep it.

[Shelley159]

Do you mean that you have cleaners listed as co-hosts on your Airbnb account @MariaCecilia22 ? Does Airbnb pay them directly?