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Airbnb has no clue about anything that specific and accountants are unlikely to have a clue what Airbnb requires either. Accountants talk about UTRs because they are what they need to act on someone’s behalf.
A UTR is totally irrelevant for most purposes in the UK. The majority of people don’t have one or even know what it is… The National Insurance number is the only piece of data that is universally required.
This is a great question and I face a similar thing in another country. If there is a requirement that cannot be complied with, but Airbnb still allows you to accept bookings and then will refuse to pay out, they need to explain what they are planning to do with the money. Will they just hold on to it forever? Surely that is illegal? Why would they allow hosts to continue to accept bookings when they have no intention of paying out?
At the very least they should allow you to cancel all upcoming bookings without any penalty.
Well maybe Airbnb don’t really care whether or not you can comply with the data requirements! I think it is on you as the host to decide where to advertise your accommodation to be sure of receiving the income for doing so. I wouldn’t personally risk taking any bookings through a platform that has already warned me they won’t pay out unless I provide information that I cannot or don’t want to.
It would be easier if Airbnb took the initiative and threatened/actually cancelled bookings where the hosts are not complying with their requirements but it is perhaps more lucrative for them just to let hosts carry on.
Let’s say you have 10 confirmed bookings for 6 months in the future and suddenly Airbnb brings in a new requirement that you cannot fulfil. This could be due to a change in national legislation. You are meant to honor these 10 bookings for free? Airbnb has no guidance about what to do this in this situation, so I think the OP raises a very good point.
Just to give an example of something that can happen. Let’s say country a decides that from now on anyone wanting to rent through Airbnb has to be on a national register, but it takes several months to be accepted onto this national register and therefore it will be several months until it is possible to provide a registration number, and even that is not guaranteed because acceptance is up to the government concerned it is not automatic. The government might have decided to reduce the number of permits in a particular part of town, and therefore to restrict the number of licenses they grant. Not all governments do things logically or in good time.
There is nothing sudden about the requirement for Airbnb to tally payouts to UK hosts with their National Insurance numbers. And I’m pretty sure the concept of accurate accounting for one’s income so that it can be fully taxed has been a global thing since money was invented.
According to UK politicians, Airbnb is single handedly responsible for the national housing shortage. There is also a huge deficit in the economy which they are trying to fill by whatever means. That is the basis for the ‘new’ requirements on OTPs, which were announced as plans well over a year ago and came into force in April.
Hosts who can’t/won’t provide an NI number to Airbnb but still want to be paid for hosting need a different platform or method of advertising and taking/managing their bookings. There are and will always be plenty of informal options out there that the government doesn’t yet have sight of.
BDC held my payments until I filled out their forms and I am in Australia!
Wow, 
.
BDC is UE based, Airbnb is an USA business…
There are several layers of different interest behind… I think both companies can be accused for Global Warming 
immigration and infractionality, fiscal evasionism… Soon the Metaverse will likely be the only way for us to remember how juicy the real travelleing was…
By the way, in my area they keep a so called ‘local tax’ for my (near capital border) village, but this is a crap, there is no such tax for my village 
. The truth is somewhere in the dust, at the decision-makers hand…
I am truly scared for USA…
No, AirBnB European Heqdoffice is based in Ireland for tax evasion reasons.
Tax evasion? Does Ireland not have taxes on corporations?
Only 12,5%.
That is why all big tech companies have HQ there. Amazon, Microsoft, Sony etc etc
Tax evasion? Isn’t airbnb in Europe subject to taxes, and isn’t Ireland part of the EU?
I’d rather say tax optimization, let’t not inflame ourselves …
I am a UK citizen but domiciled in USA and pay US taxes. I have owned a FHL in Scotland for last 2 years and have a local host who runs the day to day business and is the host on airbnb. I have also submitted self assessment tax returns where my profit has never exceeded the personal allowance so no UK taxes due. However I am completely unclear on VAT registration and haven’t found an answer online. I am hoping someone else on here has a UK property and in the same position as me and knows what to do. The gross income from the property is <20000 GBP, lucky if I make a profit of 4000 GBP after all costs are tallied up. Question is do I need to register for VAT with the host on airbnb being local based, payments from airbnb go directly into my account not hers and I pay her 20% management fees and 100 pounds for every cleaning between guests. She is not VAT registered as her turnover is less than 85000 GBP for her combined businesses.
Categorically no, you should not register for VAT in the UK unless your UK earnings from business are over £85000.00 every year.
With just one holiday let you are no way even near that threshold, so it is not at all relevant to you.
I really appreciate your reply, I thought this too but then read about non established taxable persons which i think i am since i live and pay taxes in USA. It says NETP needs to regiater for Vat when they first make sales in UK. But then i found another site that says this.
VAT and Furnished Holiday letting landlords
Foreign landlords will have to register for VAT unless they are letting via an agent in the UK, see Furnished Holiday Letting (FHL).
I am letting through an agent and she is named as the manager on my short term let license in Scotland. But she also is not VAT registered as her turnover doesnt excees 90k.
All very confusing
You folks who have complicated tax situations need to consult accountants who are familiar with international tax law. You are not likely to get on-point, reliable answers on an online forum, because your situations are unique to your personal circumstances.
Thanks, was hoping maybe someone else on this forum has been in my position before and could shed some light on the matter. i ha e contacted an accountant and waiting for reply, will post back here what I find out so that there is some reference for others in future.
FHL rules in the UK are complicated and would need a very specialist accountant to get the correct answer here. Most UK accountants don’t really understand the current system and even less the international position. Even HMRC officials contradict each other and themselves on this… Francis Clark Accountants in the UK are probably the most knowledgeable FHL specialists - they advise the Professional Body of Self Caterers.
I own and have run two UK FHLs myself for years. For all trading businesses, VAT is only an issue once you hit the £85K threshold unless you opt in for VAT. Which I cannot imagine would ever serve your purpose to do so. You will not be high on HMRC’s priorities if you file self assessment tax returns on time demonstrating profits less than the base for income tax.
But the unique tax position for FHLs is being abolished from April 2025, bringing all property income into the same tax regime as for ordinary long let landlords, and long let property is currently entirely exempt from VAT, whatever the level of income. So I suspect if you are not currently registered for VAT it is wiser to remain that way for now, and then get specialist advice for the international element of dealing with property income generally once the tax rules have changed and it is clearer what the position might be for FHLs and VAT.