When do you start paying tax on Airbnb income?

In August, the company announced 10million tourists in France had stayed at an Airbnb-listed property since 2008.

August was also the month that Airbnb started charging the tourist tax, taxe de séjour, on those renting a room or apartment in many of France’s big cities.

The tax had already been added to the bills of Airbnb tourists in Paris, but has now been added to the cost of renting in Ajaccio, Annecy, Antibes, Avignon, Biarritz, Bordeaux, Cannes, La Rochelle, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, Nantes, Nice, Saint-Malo, Strasbourg and Toulouse.

The taxe de séjour, which varies from location to location and

property to property is collected, like VAT, by the service provider, in this case Airbnb, and sent on to the mairie.

The first question about your tax liabilities is how often do you let out your place and for how much?

If private renters earn less than €760 a year from lettings via an online property rental site, they are exempt from tax and do not have to declare the income.

Since July 1, collaborative online platforms have been obliged to send a statement of income to all users, to make tax declarations easier to complete. The first statements will be sent out in January 2017.

Above €760 and you need to start becoming official. All income (including your first €760) earned this way should be declared as a Bénéfices Industriels et Commerciaux (BIC) on your income tax declaration.

If you have got to the stage where letting is a main source of income then you should register as a business on the micro BIC tax regime (goo.gl/Eq8ffL), as long as any income does not exceed €32,900.

For anyone whose BnB is their main business, they must register with the Registre du Commerce et des Sociétés (www.infogreffe.fr/societes/). B&B owners can register as a small business — a micro-enterprise — to benefit from tax breaks.

An expenses allowance of 50% is automatically calculated when tax forms are submitted. In comparison, the revenue cap for gites or furnished holiday lets is set at €82,200, with an expenses allowance set of 71%.

Airbnb said: “We regularly provide guidance for hosts on tax rules that may apply to them. This is made clear on our responsible hosting page (www.airbnb.fr/help/responsible-hosting) in communications to hosts and at host meet-ups.”

The regime is different again, if a property owner registers their business as a B&B, or chambre d’hotes.

In doing so, the property owner agrees to strict conditions which mean they can offer overnight accommodation in their home to no more than 15 guests at any given time in a maximum of five rooms, plus breakfast. Anyone who offers a B&B-style accommodation in more than five rooms, or in a building that is not their main home must register as a hotel.

B&Bs must also comply with safety and hygiene regulations, have adequate building and household insurance, and offer a range of services: breakfast, daily cleaning, linen changes, reception.