Emily Younger went on three household holidays inside Ontario final yr pondering she could be eligible for the province’s “staycation tax credit score.”
However when she went to file her taxes this month, Younger could not discover the HST quantity related to the Airbnbs she stayed at. The HST quantity is required to assert the credit score.
When she took her considerations to Airbnb, Younger mentioned she was instructed she would want to request the knowledge immediately from the host, not the platform.
One host was in a position to present her with an HST quantity, however the two others instructed her to contact customer support. Younger did that, however says Airbnb instructed her it could not present the quantity resulting from “privateness causes.”
“I hoped that I might get this resolved in order that I might fill out that HST half and never be denied this trip credit score,” Younger instructed CBC Toronto.
“One thing would not sit proper.”
Airbnb’s customer support instructed Younger in an electronic mail it had given her case “cautious consideration” however that it was “unable” to offer the knowledge she was searching for.
“We perceive that this won’t be what you’d hoped for, however we got here to this consequence as a result of the HST quantity shouldn’t be data that we offer to our friends,” mentioned the e-mail seen by CBC Toronto.
The short-term rental platform instructed CBC Toronto it has been offering the knowledge upon request.
“We have now shared the HST quantity with hosts and friends who’ve requested it,” mentioned Airbnb spokesperson Matt McNama in an announcement to CBC Toronto Monday.
McNama didn’t touch upon Younger’s case or present any additional data.
Credit score anticipated to present $270M again to Ontarians
Ontario’s staycation tax incentive was launched in 2022 to encourage households to discover the province following some troublesome years for the tourism sector amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The credit score permits Ontarians to assert as much as 20 per cent of eligible lodging bills, as much as $1,000 per individual or $2,000 per household. That works out to a most return of $200 per individual or $400 per household.
The inducement applies to leisure stays between Jan. 1, 2022, and Dec. 31, 2022.
Younger, who lives in Mississauga, mentioned her lodging in Prince Edward Nation, Owen Sound and Midtown Toronto, got here as much as roughly $3,000 in complete. She hoped to make a number of hundred {dollars} again via the tax declare.
“The federal government in all probability should not have put so many stipulations on the holiday credit score and [made] it troublesome for individuals to realize … or they should not have mentioned that Airbnbs are included if Airbnb shouldn’t be going to offer the knowledge for us,” Younger mentioned.
In response to the Ministry of Finance, Ontario residents can qualify for lodging bills for a leisure keep of lower than a month inside the province, reminiscent of at lodge or campgrounds. Motels, resorts, lodges, bed-and-breakfasts, cottages and trip rental properties are additionally eligible.
In response to the province, Airbnbs do qualify for the credit score as they fall underneath trip rental properties.
No phrase on what to do if HST quantity denied
Nonetheless, different Airbnb shoppers have skilled related difficulties when attempting to acquire HST numbers from Airbnb, Toronto accountant Sandra DaCosta says.
She mentioned a lot of her shoppers have instructed her they weren’t given an HST quantity after requesting it from the holiday rental platform.
“It is a little bit irritating as a result of I believe this took lots of people abruptly,” DaCosta mentioned.
“Individuals ship me their trip tax receipts, a few of them have HST numbers and a few of them do not,” she mentioned.
“Some [clients] have used the unlucky third occasion websites to e-book their area, for instance Airbnb, which on this scenario might be troublesome to get the HST quantity.”
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance mentioned lodging suppliers — that means both the corporate or the person hosts themselves — have to be registered for the Items and Companies Tax (GST) and Harmonized Gross sales Tax (HST). In response to Airbnb’s web site, these taxes apply to its listings.
When requested what clients ought to do if they don’t seem to be given an HST quantity, the ministry didn’t reply.
“Detailed receipts ought to be stored for any eligible bills claimed for the credit score,” mentioned ministry spokesperson Scott Blodgett.
The receipts should embrace the places of the lodging, the full portion paid by a person or household for his or her keep, the quantity of any GST/HST paid, the date of the keep and the identify of the payor, he added.
In December, Ontario’s tourism minister introduced that the province will not be extending the 2022 staycation tax credit score for one more yr, regardless of the hard-hit business recommending the transfer as a approach to assist it recuperate from the pandemic.
