The City recently received its first tax payment from Airbnb rentals and was pleasantly surprised by the amount they received under the new Transient Lodging Tax. "We had budgeted $100,000 for the whole year," said City Manager Mark Jinks.
If all months' checks are similar to April, it could mean more than $400,000 per year collected.
The April check will be divided between the City and the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA), with the City receiving $29,000 and NVTA receiving $7,000.
The total represented taxes collected on 245 rental properties. The total is equal to about 100 to 150 rentals per day, he said.
The City signed an agreement with Airbnb accepting "their way of collecting taxes."
Under a new City ordinance, beginning Jan. 1, 2018, every short-term residential rental property must be registered with the City's Department of Finance within 30 days of the property being offered for rental. This is an annual registration for each property offered for short-term residential rental.
These properties are typically offered for rental through online platforms (such as Airbnb, Expedia, Flipkey, HomeAway, TripAdvisor, VRBO, Dwellable, couchsurfing, and craigslist).Short-term residential rental is defined as the provision of a room or space by an operator that is suitable or intended for occupancy for dwelling, sleeping, or lodging purposes, for a period of fewer than 30 consecutive days, in exchange for a charge for the occupancy.
Failure to register a property within 30 days of being offered for short-term residential rental could result in a $500 penalty.
Here's a description of one home (photo above) for rent on AirBnb:
"In the heart of Old Town Alexandria sits the George Washington town house. The house is a reproduction of the original town house on the original site. GW used the house, primarily before the Revolution, as an office and to spend the night when he was in Alexandria for business or social reasons. It is a one block walk to King St. and a short walk to the waterfront and all the shops, restaurants, museums, public library, farmer’s market, CVS, grocery stores and the King St. shuttle and metro."
