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Hello,
We are closing on our first Airbnb property in Sedona, AZ and extremely excited! Any recommendations anyone can share for a first time Airbnb owner? Also, if anyone has experience with filing for a TPT License with the state tax site? It looks extremely smiple and only a few questions but I must be filling out some fields incorrectly because my application shows in “suspended” status.
Thank you!
Call the state office. They’re likely the only ones who can help you.
There may be other reasons you are seeking to do such but I didn’t think it was necessary because AirBNB collects and distributes the Arizona taxes on the hosts behalf.
You might want to search the forum, as there are NUMEROUS discussion topics on this subject, not the least of which is this recent summary from @Debthecat Best list I have seen for any new host starting out - this is the reality!
PS. If this was 2019, I’d have encouraged you to read “Extenuating Circumstances” T&C’s of AirBNB. 
Yes, read hosting forums to learn what challenges hosts face and how they do and don’t deal with them well. Read everything in the Help articles for hosts before you put up a listing, so you don’t get caught out with any nasty surprises because you weren’t clear on policies and protocols. As boring as it is, read the Airbnb Terms of Service.
Realize they are a listing service which handles the money, not your business partner. They only care about their profits and consider hosts to be expendable. (They make their money primarily from guest fees and there are far more listings than there are guests to fill them)
Otherwise the recommendations other hosts could give for a first time Airbnb host could fill a book. Best to ask specific questions, as you did about the licensing, if you need clarity on some aspect of Airbnb, rather than just ask for general advice.
Arizona passed a law in August 2019 that requires a Transaction Privilege Tax License for short term rentals, and it must be clearly posted in your listing description. I posted about it in January.
We filed for the TPT License several years ago for my wife’s business. The terminology was confusing and we got it wrong, too, but I don’t remember any more. In January, We got a call from somebody at the City of Chandler Tax and License Division and she was ready to walk us through the process if we didn’t already have our TPT. The new state law requires the city (or county) to enforce the TPT mandate for short-term-rentals, so there should be somebody from your city government that can help you.
True but I believe that some of the OTAs don’t handle that for the host? If that’s the case, how is that handled in AZ?
Thanks Brian. I too seem to have slept at the wheel
… I blame the Tesla self driving feature, Officer.
I’ll try to correct it this week.
Thanks Brian that makes me feel so much better knowing someone at the city should be able to assist me!
Just be aware the computer at the AZ department that handles the TPT payments is less than efficient. I perpetually get notices of monies owed from a year prior, usually money paid on time and for some reason put in suspense instead of applied to my balance owed.
I have received refunds for overpayments that were not overpaid, asked advice, told to cash them, only to have them bounce.
It’s not fun.
I have their online system draft the money from my bank account instead of mailing checks, hoping that will make it all a bit better.
But the people there are really quite nice & quite helpful once you reach someone on the phone.
Yes, in AZ, ABB & VRBO remit the taxes, but hosts need to collect for direct bookings, other platforms, and if you go API for VRBO then you collect your own CC payments for VRBO and remit those taxes, too.