Airbnb introduces additional resources to help hosts on income tax across Europe

Airbnb is today announcing it will email hosts in major markets across Europe over the coming months to share new resources to help hosts understand their tax obligations and to remind hosts about the importance of paying tax. The measures will help extend the financial benefits of travel on Airbnb to everyone and are being put in place ahead of 2020 income tax filing deadlines for hosts.

Airbnb has previously made a number of tools available to help hosts understand and follow local tax rules, including downloadable transaction histories, responsible hosting pages and regular email reminders during tax seasons. To further support hosts, Airbnb is introducing free local tax guides, developed in collaboration with independent tax experts. The guides will become available to download across Europe and include relevant information on local taxes, details on how much tax should be paid, and real-life examples and case studies.

Airbnb is also working to host a number of tax workshops across Europe with independent tax experts in the coming months, and will make a dedicated tax hotline available to hosts, should they have further questions.

Airbnb’s email to hosts also highlights the importance of following tax rules and reminds hosts that Airbnb can be subject to routine audits to ensure that both Airbnb and hosts are paying the correct amount of tax.

We want everyone to benefit from the growth of travel on Airbnb, which is why we’re launching new tools to continue being good partners to hosts and governments on tax. We are proud to lead our industry on this matter and as we continue to grow, we will keep working with everyone to spread the benefits of travel and tourism to more families, communities and governments.

Patrick Robinson, Director Public Policy EMEA at Airbnb

Today’s news comes after Airbnb launched a collaboration with Denmark earlier this year to simplify income tax via Airbnb, and for hosts to benefit from increased tax-free earnings in return. Last year, Airbnb also worked with Estonia and Spain on innovative measures to make income tax compliance simpler and in Ireland, Airbnb has been working closely with the tax authorities regarding host income reporting obligations.

Airbnb has also already partnered with more than 400 governments around the world to collect and remit tourist, hotel and occupancy taxes, resulting in over $1.2 billion in tax revenues.