Include OTA-Remitted Taxes in the Tax Detail Report
OwnerRez needs to accurately report taxes collected and remitted by booking platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo.
When reservation data comes into OwnerRez from an OTA that collects and remits taxes on behalf of the host, OwnerRez currently classifies those tax amounts as guest channel fees because the funds are not included in the host’s payout. The amounts then appear in the Listing Site Fees Report rather than the Tax Detail Report.
This classification is inaccurate. These charges are taxes—not listing site fees. The fact that an OTA remitted the money should not change how the charge itself is classified.
The attached Casa Coyote example shows Airbnb accommodations taxes listed as guest fees in the Listing Site Fees Report. Those same tax charges are missing from the Tax Detail Report and the Line Item Pivot Report.
This creates extra work for hosts and property managers. Even when an OTA remits the taxes, many of us are still responsible for filing accurate quarterly reports for the property or homeowner. OwnerRez does not currently provide a complete tax report, so we must find the OTA-remitted taxes in a separate, unrelated report and combine the information outside OwnerRez.
The simplest solution would be to:
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Continue classifying these charges as taxes
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Include the tax charges, taxable revenue, tax type, and taxing authority in the Tax Detail Report
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Add a new column to the Tax Detail Report titled “Remitted by OTA”
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Use that column to identify whether the tax was remitted by Airbnb, Vrbo, or another booking platform
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Include these tax charges in the Line Item Pivot Report as taxes—not listing site fees
For example, the Tax Detail Report could show:
| Tax charge | Tax amount | Remitted by OTA |
|---|---|---|
| San Bernardino County Transient Occupancy Tax | $70.37 | Airbnb |
| San Bernardino County Transient Occupancy Tax | $70.00 | Vrbo |
| San Bernardino County Transient Occupancy Tax | $65.00 | No |
This would keep all tax activity together in the appropriate report while clearly distinguishing taxes remitted by an OTA from taxes the host or property manager must remit.
OTA-collected taxes should not be excluded from tax reporting simply because the funds were never included in the host’s payout. They should remain classified and reported as taxes, with the new “Remitted by OTA” column providing the necessary distinction.