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?

[Karen1]

@Kay2, I contacted Airbnb several times and below is one of their responses. Until I hear otherwise, I'll be sumbitting my transient rental sales that Airbnb collects tax for under the column "Exempt Sales". I want credit for the income but I do not want to pay the tax, since Airbnb is now paying it. This may not be the proper way to submit my income to the State,  but they haven't exactly anwered my questions either. Good luck. Here is from Airbnb:

Airbnb Customer Experience Julie S., Jan 7, 21:00: Dear Karen, Thank you for your prompt follow up. We are collecting and remitting Florida Transient Rental Tax of 6.00% on your behalf. Please do understand that we have signed an agreement with the Florida state, meaning the state is aware that Airbnb has a collect and remit feature. We will be filing one tax return per jurisdiction, with the total combined reservation revenue. We will not be filing individual forms (such as the DR-1C form) on behalf of hosts. You may need to file $0 returns going forward, but please consult a professional tax advisor to determine what is necessary for you. Occupancy Taxes column in your Gross Earnings section of the Transaction History can serve as documentation of the taxes that have been collected, paid for and remitted on your behalf. I hope this clarified your concern but please let me know if you have further concerns. Best regards, Julie S. www.airbnb.com/help THIS EMAIL IS A SERVICE FROM AIRBNB CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE. This email is a service from Airbnb Customer Experience. For more information visit our Help Center

[Patty42]

Thank you, this is what I needed to know. The Monroe County Florida Auditor's office has told me that NO occupancy taxes collected on our behalf have been submitted to Monroe County from AirBnB and is asking me for proof it's been paid. This tells me how to prove that.

[Tyler84]

Hi Karen,

I am looking to book a place in Florida right now- I have booked and paid now, but am now sent a message that they want me to pay the "Altered Reservation" which includes an additional 4% for Florida state sales tax. Is this a common procedure in Florida Airbnb rentals?

Thanks,

Tyler

[Karen1]

@Tyler84, So sorry for the late reponse. Yes, this is legitimate depending on what county you are booking in. The extra 4% probably is probably a local city or county tax, not the state sales tax. Airbnb collects the state tax for all Florida hosts, but only collects the local tax for those counties which have enter into an agreement with Airbnb. That means the host has to collect and remit local tax on their own. The host can either submit an altered reservation, or to ask the guest to pay it upon arrival.

Hope this helps. - Karen

[Yolanda197]

I got an email similiar to this when I contacted Airbnb about this as well.

[Karen1]

@Kay2   

I finally got the OFFICIAL word from the State of Florida about our transient sales tax. We do NOT have to report any income on which Airbnb collects taxes. In fact, the Dept of Revenue has inactivated my tax account. Here is the email I received today, Jan 28, 2016.

To:       Karen **

From: Florida Department of Revenue/Tallahassee

The Department of Revenue has received your email regarding your transient rental which is being handled by AIRBNB.  There is no obligation for you to be actively registered for your rental location due to the agreement between AIRBNB and DOR. 

I have inactivated your sales tax account effective 12/1/15, the date of your contract with AIRBNB.  If anytime in the future you end your contract with AIRBNB, your account can be reactivated.

I have amended your December 2015 sales tax return to zero which generated a credit for your payment of $42.98. 

You may submit an application for refund/DR-26S which can be downloaded at http://dor.myflorida.com/Forms_library/current/dr26s.pdf  ; or submitted online at https://taxapps.state.fl.us/Refunds/DR26S.aspx  . Please note, the refund may take up to three months to receive.  I apologize for the confusion; however, information regarding the agreement between DOR and AIRBNB was unavailable when you first sent your request.

Thanks for the opportunity to respond to your inquiry. If you have additional questions, feel free to contact DOR at 1-800-352-3671.

Eloise **

Tax Specialist I

Taxpayer Services Process

Standard Notice: If you need to contact us, we recommend you use our secure Ask a Question Form online at https://askdor.state.fl.us/FAQ/FAQSearch.aspx, or write to us at:

Department of Revenue

Tax Information Services

5050 West Tennessee Street

Tallahassee, FL 32399

Want the latest tax information? Want due date reminders to file sales tax and unemployment tax? Go to www.myflorida.com/dor and click on: Subscribe to Our Publications. It's fast, easy, and free!

[Mark-and-Michelle0]

Ok but what about the county tax the filing amount is going to be differant than the state tax 

[Bud2]

If the county does not have an agreement with Airbnb, you still have to file a return with them. In Gulf County, I report and pay their 5% tax monthly

Orange County has an agreement with Airbnb so I do nothing extra there.

[Mark-and-Michelle0]

Ok Kay

They have inactivated your account what if you you rent it but not thru airbnb you still have to collect and  pay tax how do you file that??

[Karen1]

@Mark-and-Michelle0, @Kay2

This is Karen. If I rented out my property via other sites, I would call the State Dept of Revenue and ask them to re-instate my account. The DOR may not automatically deactivate every Airbnb host's account. They deactivated mine because I sent them an email through their website stating my concern about sending in tax statements every month with zero income. I did not want to be double taxed.

I just got a letter from the DOR stating that I overpaid for January, when in truth, I paid tax on reservations that were made prior to December 1. Since this is too hard to explain to the DOR staffers, I am just letting this go and I'm not going to apply for a refund.  On the letter is their contact phone number: 1-352-3671. By now I think the staffers who man the phones are aware of Airbnb and their recent agreement with the State. Call them if you have questions. Good luck!

[Christina27]

If you receive income from other sites besides Airbnb than you need to keep your state account active to process those taxes.  When I called the state she said that if my account was still active and I only had Airbnb rentals for that month, I still need to send in the tax forms and input 0.

If you call the state they will help answer and questions.

[Karen1]

The phone number for Florida's Department of Revenue is incorrect; my appologies. It should have been 1-800-352-3671.

If you call the DOR and get someone who does not know what Airbnb is, or if they tell you that your management company (Airbnb) must submit your tax certificate number along with your income amount, then the person is uninformed. Ask to speak to their supervisor. Not everyone at the DOR got the message that Airbnb is paying our taxes for us. 

[Fabian6]

Hello, I have been listing in Airbnb (and only there) for over a month, and I keep reading different opinions and messages regarding the payment and remmitance of taxes.

My property is located in Sunny Isles, and therefore should be paying 6% Hotel and Convention Tax, also known as Occupancy Tax. Airbnb claims that they are collecting 'Occupancy Taxes', yet when I go to my page it is showing that they are collecting:

"'Florida General Sales and Use Tax

Miami Dade General Sales and Use Tax"

Florida Sales and Use Tax is a 7% that should go towards paying for any goods and services added value, while the convention tax is location (county) specific.

If according to the DOR Airbnb pays all taxes, they should be collecting around 13%, yet only 6 to 7% is actually being collected.

Therefore, I either will have to pay the Miami Hotel and Convention or the Florida State Tax; unless for some reason we aren't required to pay something that I was previously advised I should.

Any comments, or answers will be greatly appreciated!

[Livia4]

You are right in total we pay 7 %+ 6% tourist tax normally

They told me they only pay occupency tax which means state tax and sales tax for about 7%

I am in osceola county and i have to pay tourist taxes for my county myself. 

It might depend on the county you have you airbnb in.

If you they only charge 7% than they probably do no help  you with the tourist tax in your county

and thus you need to do it yourself.

Note that if you have sometimes bookings outside of airbnbn you still need to do the sales tax for those bookings.

so keep your account open. When no bookings outside airbnb you put 0 and otherwise the total of the bookings

outside of airbnb.

The fact that airnbn is doing this does not make it easier for me, as now i have different amounts to declare

to county and to state tax. 

On county i need to calcluate all rentals including airbnb and on state only the ones without airbnb.

Hope this helps