Collecting at checkin as a separate charge is a very silly idea (said in a nice way, the real way to state it is that its a completely stupid idea). This should be handled in a single transaction. No client is going to want to deal with paying a tax separately from the rent. I have rented dozens of houses and never had to deal with such a thing. It would put me off if I were the renter.
When I was signing up, the site clearly stated that I could opt-in for the collection myself (and not have Airbnb do the collecting). However, I see no way to check that box when I did my listing. Can't find it anywhere to collect my own tax. It said I could do it, but I cannot find it anywhere.
I'd much rather just collect it myself and that way I can ensure the proper amount is sent to the state. If not, one could be liable for the difference and since they collected it, if I had to make it up, it would come out of revenue. Which isn't fair at all.
I've considered upping the price to account for tax, but if Airbnb is collecting it anyway, I'm double dipping my clients, which I do not want to do. Airbnb created this great website, but overlooked the simplist and most involved aspect...tax. Pretty big issue and I may close out my listing because of it. I DO NOT want tax issues coming back at me. So I'm not sure if I should include it in my price and try to find the "pay my own taxes" button somewhere or roll the dice and see if they collect and send in the proper amount. Since I owe my state a return every month and I'm also listed on VRBO, this could be pretty darn confusing on what to claim to the state when some is collected by airbnb and some is collected by me on VRBO. Kinda crazy.
Any ideas out there?