airbnb collecting taxes how do I file my forms now?

Suzann1
Level 1
Wilmore, KY

airbnb collecting taxes how do I file my forms now?

We are a licenced b&b that gets most of our bookings directly from guests so we have always paid all taxes ourselves.  How will I report now that part of my bookings are being paid tax through a third party?  It is my understanding from reading posts that they just send a lump sum and do not designate who it is for.  How is this a good thing?  It sounds like a nightmare.  How do I now file and prove  that part of it has been paid?

4 Replies 4

@Suzann1:
Can't speak for KY, but here in AZ when Airbnb started remitting taxes I was told by the tax office personnel that I can only report the non-Airbnb income. If I reported any bookings from Airbnb I would have to pay the taxes on them. They also said that to cover myself I needed to keep a copy of the Airbnb terms of service that stated they were remitting on my behalf in a file. 

Monica4
Level 10
Ormstown, Canada

@Suzann1  Airbnb has just announced the same change here in Quebec. I will continue to send my lodging tax to the government, minus the Airbnb portion. I will keep a record, as I always have done, of where my revenues come from (private, VRBO, TripAdvisor and Airbnb). So far, the only one that will collect and remit funds directly after October 1st is Airbnb.

 

As to the statement that they will send all money in one lumpsum for each area...that is likely to change. I spoke to my local tourism advisor and was told that this is just the first step but the goverment will insist on separate accounting from each host according to the legal establishment number. If there is no establishment number it means that the taxes have come from an unregistered, illegal operation and the owners will be fined. So yet again Airbnb is misleading hosts in order that they can continue to collect money from the "illegal hosts".

Brigitte475
Level 1
Quebec, Canada

@Suzann1 Iam in the same boat. I advertize at many places and pay all my taxes... and have my own way of keeping my rentals in order.

 

But now,  I don't have a clue how much Airbnb charges for lodging tax, and we are supposed to charge lodging taxe on the nightly cost. But now since Airbnb does not include Prov & Fed taxes, it is included in my nightly prices... What a mess!   

 

So really it's my property and I am in the dark on how much Airbnb pay on my behalf and I don't see anywhere where it could be written.

 

 

What a goofy and flawed system. Makes me angry!

It has been a year now that they have been collecting and through trial and error I have tracked down the amount they collect.

You can find the amount by going to "progress"

then click on "earnings" 

page down to "transaction history" 

THEN click on "gross earnings" (to the right). 

On this page it shows "Occupancy Taxes" collected on the right. 

Hope this helps:)!