If you live in a certain city in the U.S., Airbnb may automatically be taking out taxes for you—but if you talk to a host in another city, you might find they’re not having taxes taken out at all.
Why the discrepancy?
According to Airbnb:
In areas that Airbnb has made agreements with governments to collect and remit local taxes on behalf of hosts, applicable local taxes are calculated and collected from guests at the time of booking. No action is needed from the host. This doesn’t change which taxes are due, but automating the process makes tax collection easier for all parties involved.
If occupancy tax is being collected for your area, it appears as a line item on your listing’s public page. You can confirm if your jurisdiction is included by looking for occupancy tax details in Manage Listing > Location, underneath the Address section. If your jurisdiction is included, it will display there.
The Abundant Host has rounded up exactly where Airbnb is currently collecting and remitting taxes (as of the date of this post).
Here’s what we’ve got, straight from Airbnb:
Chicago, IL
Guests who book Airbnb listings that are located in Chicago, IL will pay the following taxes as part of their reservation:
- Chicago Hotel Accommodation Tax: 4.5% of the listing price including any cleaning fee for reservations 29 nights and shorter. For detailed information, visit CityofChicago.org.
District of Columbia
Guests who book Airbnb listings that are located in the District of Columbia will pay the following taxes as part of their reservation:
- DC Sales Tax on Hotels (transient accommodations): 14.5% of the listing price including any cleaning fee for reservations 90 nights and shorter. For detailed information, visit DC.gov.
India
Guests who book Airbnb listings that are located in the Country of India will pay the following taxes as part of their reservation:
- India Service Tax: 14% of the listing price including any cleaning fee, less a 40% abatement. Airbnb is required, as an aggregator, to collect and remit service tax on behalf of Airbnb hosts.For detailed information, visit India’s government website.
Malibu, Calif.
Guests who book Airbnb listings that are located in Malibu, CA will pay the following taxes as part of their reservation:
- Malibu Transient Occupancy Tax: 12% of the listing price including any cleaning fee for reservations 30 nights and shorter. For detailed information, visit MalibuCity.org.
Multnomah County and Portland, Oregon
Guests who book Airbnb listings that are located in the State of Oregon, Multnomah County and/or the City of Portland will pay the following taxes as part of their reservation:
- Oregon Transient Lodging Tax: 1% of the listing price including any cleaning fee for reservations 30 nights and shorter. 1% is the State imposed tax rate only. For detailed information, visit Oregon.gov.
- Multnomah County Transient Lodging Tax: 11.5% of the listing price including any cleaning fee for reservations 30 nights and shorter. 11.5% is the maximum Transient Lodging Tax for listings in Multnomah County (excluding the State level tax). For example, for Portland listings that are also located in Multnomah County, the Portland Transient Lodging Tax is 6% and the Multnomah County Transient Lodging Tax is 5.5%. For detailed information, visit PortlandOregon.gov.
- Portland Transient Lodging Tax: 6% of the listing price including any cleaning fee for reservations 30 nights and shorter
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.
Oakland, Calif.
Guests who book Airbnb listings that are located in Oakland, CA will pay the following taxes as part of their reservation:
- Oakland Transient Occupancy Tax: 14% of the listing price including any cleaning fee for reservations 30 nights and shorter. For detailed information, visit Oakland’s FAQ page.
Palo Alto, Calif.
Guests who book Airbnb listings that are located in Palo Alto, CA will pay the following taxes as part of their reservation:
- Palo Alto Transient Occupancy Tax: 14% of the listing price including any cleaning fee for reservations 30 nights and shorter. For detailed information, visit CityofPaloAlto.org.
Philadelphia
Guests who book Airbnb listings that are located in Philadelphia, PA will pay the following taxes as part of their reservation:
- Philadelphia Hotel Room Rental Tax: 8.5% of the listing price including any cleaning fee for reservations 30 nights and shorter. 8.5% is the tax rate imposed by the City and County of Philadelphia (the tax jurisdictions are one and the same). For detailed information, visit Phila.gov.
Phoenix, Ariz.
Guests who book Airbnb listings that are located in Phoenix, AZ will pay the following taxes as part of their reservation:
- Phoenix Hotel/Motel Tax: 3% of the listing price including any cleaning fee for reservations 29 nights and shorter.
- Phoenix Transaction Privilege (Sales) Tax: 2% of the listing price including any cleaning fee for all reservations. For detailed information, visit Phoenix.gov.
Rhode Island
Guests who book Airbnb listings that are located in Rhode Island will pay the following taxes as part of their reservation:
- Rhode Island Sales Tax: 7% of the listing price including any cleaning fee for reservations 30 nights and shorter. For detailed information, visit RI.gov.
- Rhode Island Local Hotel Tax: 1% of the listing price including any cleaning fee for reservations 30 nights and shorter.
- Rhode Island Statewide Hotel Tax: 5% of the listing price including any cleaning fee for reservations 30 nights and shorter on rentals of private rooms or shared rooms only. Rentals of an entire home or apartment are excluded from this tax.
San Diego
Guests who book Airbnb listings that are located in San Diego, CA will pay the following taxes as part of their reservation:
- San Diego Transient Occupancy Tax: 10.5% of the listing price including any cleaning fee for reservations 30 nights and shorter.
- San Diego Tourism Marketing District Assessment: 0.55% of the listing price including any cleaning fee for reservations 30 nights and shorter. For detailed information, visit SanDiego.gov.
San Francisco
Guests who book Airbnb listings that are located in San Francisco, CA will pay the following taxes as part of their reservation:
- San Francisco Transient Occupancy Tax: 14% of the listing price including any cleaning fee for reservations 29 nights and shorter. 14% is the tax rate imposed by the City and County of San Francisco (the tax jurisdictions are one and the same). For detailed information, visit SFtreasurer.org.
San Jose, Calif.
Guests who book Airbnb listings that are located in San Jose, CA will pay the following taxes as part of their reservation:
- San Jose Transient Occupancy Tax: 10% of the listing price including any cleaning fee for reservations 30 nights and shorter. For detailed information, visit SanJoseCa.gov.
Now what?
If you decide to raise your prices to make up the difference, make sure you communicate with your guests in your listing description that taxes are the reason. We’ve got tons of posts to help you with guest communication and listing strategy, such as:
- Get 5 Stars in Communication & Arrival—Even When You Never Meet Your Guests
- The Secret to Consistently Attracting Your Ideal Airbnb Guests
- Be Precise and Positive: Showing Guests Exactly How to Use Things
Enjoy browsing around, and I’ll talk to you soon!
Thanks for reading! Have a question that wasn't answered here? If you'd like more specific help, I'd love to work one-on-one with you. Or, if you want to work collaboratively in a group with fellow motivated hosts, find out if the next Abundant Hosting Mastermind group is open. I also wrote a book, Cleaning Up, where I give you the nuts and bolts (and so much more) of finding your perfect turnover assistant, thereby upleveling your profit and success on Airbnb. Have a beautiful day!