Airbnb expenses

If you are earning money through Airbnb – i.e. renting out your home or a room in your home for profit – there are potentially a number of costs you can deduct to reduce your tax liability including:

Note: These deductions are mainly associated with Case I 'trading' income. Fewer expenses are allowed under Case IV 'miscellaneous' income and each expense is assessed by Revenue on a case-by-case basis to determine if it is allowable.

Also, you can only expense the percentage of these costs that were used for your Airbnb business. If you can't work out exactly how much you should charge, you can attribute the costs based on the size of the room used in comparison to your home and the number of days that you've had guests throughout the year. If you're renting out your entire house, simply attribute the costs based on the number of days guests stayed in your home that year.

1) Repairs and maintenance

You can expense repair and maintenance costs involved in the upkeep of your home including:

• replacing broken windows and locks
• servicing boilers
• supplying new furnishings and fittings
• purchased cleaning supplies
• laundry

2) Agent fees

In many cases, money is transferred electronically between guests and Airbnb hosts. If you prefer to receive cash, and you use an intermediary to collect fees (for example if you are a non-resident), this service is tax-deductible.

You can also expense the service fees (currently levied at 3% of the total reservation) that every host is charged by Airbnb.

3) Utilities

You can also expense your utilities such as:

• gas
• electricity
• TV bills
• internet

4) Local Service Charges

You can also expense any local council costs relating to your rental property, including rubbish collection and recycling. Of course, if you choose to pass these charges to your guests, you can't claim them back later as an expense.

5) Advertising

Anything you pay towards publicising property you want to rent is fully claimable as an expense.

6) Legal or Accounting Fees

You can also expense any legal or accounting fees you have paid which relate to letting out your Airbnb property. For example, if you have paid for professional advice relating to Stamp Duty, you can include this as a deduction.

7) Insurance

In short, if you've taken out any insurance policy relating to a rental property, you're entitled to claim expenses on any premiums you have had to pay.

However, if you are renting out a room within your own home, you can't expense the entire premium.

8) Mortgage

You can also claim tax relief if you are paying interest on a mortgage taken out to buy or improve the property that you have listed on Airbnb.

9) Conference

If you attend a conference or seminar with a view to educating yourself about property management and starting an Airbnb business, all registration fees can be included as a tax deductible.