The Irish Revenue Commissioners has issued guidelines on the taxation of short term guest accommodation as follows:
"You may have income from providing accommodation to occasional visitors for short periods. For example you may provide the accommodation through an online accommodation booking site.
This income is not considered to be rental income. This is because the visitors use the accommodation as guests, rather than as tenants.
Income from providing short term guest accommodation is taxable as either:
other income (Case IV) where the income is occasional in nature
trading income (Case 1) where you are trading as an ongoing business, such as a bed and breakfast or a guesthouse.
You must declare this income to Revenue under the appropriate category using either a:
Form 11 for self-assessed taxpayers
Form 12 for PAYE employees."
Revenue has confirmed that it is writing to remind persons who have received payments from AirBnB of their taxation obligations.
With the pay and file deadline for 2017 income tax returns being 31 October (or early November if using ROS to pay and file) this will be a timely reminder.
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The material in this article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal or taxation advice. Specific legal and taxation advice should be sought before acting. All information and taxation rules are subject to change without notice.
No liability whatsoever is accepted by M. McLoughlin & Co. for any action taken in reliance on the information in this article