Airbnb to Begin Collecting Taxes in Four New Cities

Airbnb will collect and remit tourist tax on behalf of hosts in Amsterdam and San Jose, California, starting tomorrow and in Washington, D.C. and Chicago, starting on February 15.

The company had previously announced plans for Amsterdam and hinted at negotiations in Chicago in December.

Offering to collect taxes is one of Airbnb’s prime strategies for appeasing regulators, calming investors and keeping hosts happy. Airbnb already collects taxes from guests on behalf of hosts in Portland and San Francisco and has offered to collect taxes in New York City, its largest U.S market.

Mani Gudvardarson, an Airbnb host living in Amsterdam, said in December that he was excited to no longer have to worry about taxes. He filed his first tax report as an Airbnb host late last year and had to pay about 700 euros at once for his Airbnb activity in 2013.

“It’s better that it will be deducted regularly,” Gudvardarson said when he heard the news.

Despite the assistance that Airbnb is offering, many hosts will be upset to have to pay taxes on their rentals at all.