Nearly a year after establishing the Transient Room Tax Ordinance, the Fresno City Council has approved an agreement with Airbnb to collect taxes to provide directly to the city.
Airbnb hosts are also now required to register with the city, creating a database to cut down on tax dodgers.
The backstory: Fresno started collecting transient occupancy tax revenue in 2020, and in April 2023 the city passed an ordinance allowing Airbnb to collect the tax directly from the property owners and send it to the city.
The big picture: Airbnb requires agreements with cities to collect any transient occupancy taxes.
- Thursday’s agreement requires that Airbnb collect the tax at the time of booking, something the city thinks will increase tax compliance and expedite tax remittance for amounts owed.
- While property owners are not sending their taxes directly to the city anymore, the agreement the city approved with Airbnb on Thursday requires all property owners on the platform to register with the city.
