SAN FRANCISCO—Airbnb has reported that by the end of this year, the home-sharing platform will have reached a landmark cumulative $2 billion in tourist-related taxes that have been collected and remitted to local governments on behalf of its global host community over the past four years.
Over 400 agreements with local, state, territorial and national governments around the world have streamlined and facilitated tax collection for hosts, according to Airbnb, most of whom are sharing their homes for extra income and may not be equipped for complex accounting processes. Voluntary tax collection agreements are in place in jurisdictions in the U.S., Canada, Latin America and Europe.
In the U.S., Airbnb collects tourist taxes on behalf of hosts in thousands of jurisdictions. In practical terms, 72% of bookings made for Airbnb listings in the U.S. are already covered by collection and remittance of tourism or hotel taxes—that’s almost three in every four reservations, according to the company. Airbnb is collecting these taxes in nearly every top U.S. city, including Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, among others. And the company is committed to increase this number, including by supporting legislation in New York that would permit collection and remittance of this tax, according to the company.
Many cities in Europe are also covered, including Amsterdam; Florence, Italy; Lisbon, Portugal; and Milan, among other cities. In France, Airbnb’s tax collection now covers more than 28,000 cities. According to the company, Airbnb has simplified the process for hosts and guests while supporting revenue generation for thousands of small and medium cities.
