#Summit County #Colorado
The Summit Daily News reported last week that Airbnb has been overcharging sales tax to guests reserving certain properties within unincorporated county territory.
Since a law change went into effect this year, Airbnb has been collecting sales tax on behalf of the towns, county and state as part of an agreement made possible under the law.
But through an apparent geographical and jurisdictional oversight, Airbnb has been collecting town sales tax for properties in the Dillon Valley and Peak 7 neighborhoods, which are in unincorporated Summit County and not subject to town taxation.
While individual towns have made their own sales tax collection and remittance agreements with Airbnb, the county is not able to have such a direct arrangement with the company and must go through the state to rectify issues with tax collection and remittance.
For that reason, the only recourse for unincorporated property owners who notice their guests are being charged the wrong taxes has been to go through a cumbersome process that involves reporting the problem to the county finance department, which relays that information to the state, which then relays it to Airbnb for correction.
A week after the Summit Daily reached out to Airbnb about the problem, it appears nothing has changed about the tax collection issue with Dillon Valley and Peak 7 neighborhoods, with rental listings in those areas still charging guests the extra town sales and lodging taxes.
Summit County Finance Director Marty Ferris said she had not heard any new guidance from the state or from Airbnb. She said that so far, three unincorporated Summit County rental property owners have contacted her office claiming wrong jurisdiction sales taxes.
In an email to Ross Quade, a rental property owner who had initially contacted the Summit Daily about the issue, the town of Dillon’s Finance Director Carri McDonnell said the town had sent accurate geographical data to Airbnb to correct the issue.
Courtesy Summit Daily.
