We are in NC and just got a letter from our county that they have discovered our listing on AirBnB, but have no record of occupancy taxes being paid. We can see on the transaction history that Air is tacking on 14.67% to every booking as “occupancy tax”. We understood that Air was to be remitting this. Anybody deal with this issue? We called Air last night and they said they would forward to the tax dept and get back to us.
So I just got this response from Air. It sounds like they collect from all hosts in the area, and pay they county one big lump sum without the county knowing who to credit for paying the tax. We have it all in our transaction history. Maybe I just need to share that with the county. -?
My name is Christina with Airbnb.
In certain areas, Airbnb has reached an agreement to collect and remit occupancy taxes, so the tax is assessed automatically by Airbnb. The amount of the tax is shown to guests as a line item on the listing page and again on the booking page.
Airbnb has entered into a voluntary collection agreement with the local tax collector in North Carolina. We will be filing one tax return per jurisdiction, with the total combined reservation revenue. This means that all hosts located in your area will be represented by one remitted amount, and we will not be providing your personal information on the return.
Your local tax office can share more information about the Voluntary Collection Agreement with Airbnb and how this process may affect your tax reporting. For example, some areas request that hosts fill out worksheets indicating the amount that has been paid on their behalf.
Should this be the case for you, you can always refer to the “Gross Earnings” section of your “Transaction History” for a reservation by reservation breakdown of amounts that have been remitted on your behalf. Please take note that tax collected will not be reflected here until the payout is released. For your convenience, if you are logged into your account, you may view these amounts by clicking on the link here:
https://www.airbnb.com/users/transaction_history/164141442#gross-earnings
Here are the details on the amounts being accounted for in Carolina Beach, NC:
State of North Carolina
Guests who book Airbnb listings that are located in the State of North Carolina will pay the following taxes as part of their reservation:
North Carolina Sales Tax: 6.75-7.5% of the listing price including any cleaning and guest fees for reservations less than 90 nights. The State imposes both a statewide 4.75% tax and a local 2-2.75% tax, which varies by county. For detailed information, visit North Carolina’s website.
City and/or County Occupancy Tax: All locally imposed occupancy taxes will be collected on reservations in North Carolina. The tax varies by city and county. It is typically 1-8% of the listing price including any cleaning and guest fees for reservations less than 90 nights.
For more information about it, check out our Help Center article:
www.airbnb.com/help/article/653
Note: Hosts located in these areas are responsible for assessing all other tax obligations, including state and city jurisdictions.
Your local tax collection official and/or a local attorney may also be able to provide additional information or advice about your personal situation.
Best,
Christina
www.airbnb.com/help
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I suggest giving Alvara a call. They specialize in collection of lodging taxes in U.S. Some owners pay them to fill out their reports. But you can still call them to ask a question. Phone number is in the top right corner. https://www.avalara.com/mylodgetax/en/about-us.html
I would ask them if you still need to file monthly/quarterly on your own, even though ABB is collecting and remitting tax on your behalf.
I file monthly in NC although I think now I have the option to file quarterly. However, I am still required to file even if I have zero income for the month. Keep in mind…I do not know if this works differently if 100% of your lodging tax is collected by ABB. I list on multiple platforms so for any platforms that remit on my behalf…I still have to report my gross revenue, and then under the “exempt” section I have to list the total sales that reflect the portion of lodging taxes that someone else has remitted for me.
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Working through this as well and appears, yes, AirBnB submits as a lump sum without identifying specific properties. You’d have to register with your local state/municipality to connect the dots and obtain a specific tax/licensing number for your STR.
Hmmm. So what is the answer for bookings over 90 days? I just got my first one this week and am expecting another soon.