New Mexico host looking for others with new tax collection issues

Airbnb just started collecting lodging and GRT in July in NM. Rep cannot even tell me what rates they are collecting nor can you see the rate anywhere in your dashboard or listing. The two guests we’ve had in July were charged about 9.25% which doesn’t agree with any estimate or account I’ve seen of what it should be. I’m pretty sure for my area, an unincorporated section of Edgewood in Santa Fe County, it should be 5.125% GRT to NM, 2% GRT to Santa Fe County and 4% to SF County for Lodging Tax. Half hour on phone yesterday with Airbnb got me nowhere. VRBO rep said they were going to charge guests over 16%!

As far as I can tell, you’re correct. It should be a gross receipts tax of 7.125% (5.125% State + 2.0% County) plus county Lodger’s tax of 4.0%, but I have no idea how the lodger’s tax is applied (i.e. to the cleaning fee, the service fee, etc.).

Both the Santa Fe city GRT and Lodgers’ tax are higher and that’s probably where VRBO is miscalculating.

Thank you, Brian,
Nice to know I’m not alone in my thoughts of what the taxes should be. Now, any idea how to get through to someone at Airbnb or VRBO that would be able to have a meaningful discussion on the issue? The poor customer reps haven’t a clue what to do. “This is what we were told. Period. End of Discussion.” They don’t seem to realize the liability to hosts if they’re getting the taxes wrong. All the platforms do is collect and pay, hosts have to report. What will happen when the reports don’t match the taxes? I’ve been paying Edgewood Lodging Tax when I should have been paying Santa Fe County. Think they’re going to pay the $900 penalty for late filing. No, and neither is Airbnb or VRBO when it’s discovered!

Any one know if this has happened elsewhere when platforms start collecting taxes? Maybe if there are enough New Mexicans going through this …

Just an update.

Finally called Air and spoke to a supervisor because support had done NOTHING for over three weeks on the tax issue. It is, supposedly, going to be escalated. Hah! I did have success with VRBO! They agreed they were collecting the wrong amount, changed the rate they were collecting AND said they would refund the guests the overcharges. Convincing them only took about three weeks of constant emails and sending them quarterly tax filings as well as the map that shows correct rates. We have adjusted our daily rate a couple of dollars so we share with the guest, the Santa Fe County Lodging Tax 45/55.
There is light at the end of the tunnel on the idiocy train!!!

FWIW, Airbnb is still not handling MA new STR tax properly either in many cases and that law went into effect 12/28/18. And the MA requires that site like this that handle payments be the ones to collect/remit tax so hosts are ‘off the hook’ (according to our Dept of Revenue) if they screw up totally like they seem to be doing.
So your state isn’t the only ones that are having issues! Welcome to the mess!

Hearing about another mishandled state, is not too encouraging or surprising. What is surprising is hosts and guests are not up in arms about it. I’ve got the feeling that if hosts really looked at the taxes both platforms are collecting, they’d discover lots of messes. But again, I had to start a thread; there weren’t any?
On a totally unrelated note, did you by any chance know Florence Hackman, late of Chatham?

@casitacresta
Sorry - don’t recognize that name.
Re taxes: Given the convoluted ways these laws work (state + local option + other local/regional, etc), it’s kinda not surprising… and sometimes Airbnb may put host location in another tax district by error…and when a law like MA has exemptions/taxes that likely only the host would know if they qualify for, it makes it even worse.