UK won't follow Irish example in taxing Airbnb hosts
As we reported yesterday, this week Airbnb emailed Irish users informing them that the company is now required to give users' names, and details of rental income to the Revenue Commissioners, and that hosts will be subject to back tax. However, British Airbnb hosts will be safe from such payments as the British government's summer budget extended its rent-a-room tax relief to allow individuals to earn up to £7,500 from renting out rooms without having to pay tax, up from a previous limit of £4,250.
Since Airbnb emailed Irish users informing them that they have been required to give users' names, and details of rental income to the Revenue Commissioners, there has been debate over whether such casual income should be taxed, and confusion over the rate which will be applied.

The crux of the issue is that these short-term stays are excluded from Ireland's 'rent-a-room scheme' which allows you to rent a room to a longterm lodger and earn €12,000 tax free.

Based on conversations with the Revenue Commission, Newstalk understands that this is treated as miscellaneous income - and taxed at the normal rate of income tax, depending on which bracket you are in.

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In the UK the Conservative party setup an independent economic review to look at the 'sharing economy' - a blanket term used to describe services like Airbnb, and user-to-user ride-sharing transport apps like Uber Pop.

In the British government's summer budget it extended its rent-a-room tax relief to allow individuals to earn up to £7,500 (€10,500) by casually renting out rooms without having to pay tax. This was up from a previous limit of £4,250 (€5,980).

Chancellor George Osborne has stated that he wants the UK to be at the fore of the evolution of the 'share economy.'

This measure was warmly welcomed by both Airbnb hosts, and the company itself, who said that it,"further demonstrates the UK government’s commitment to being a world leader in the sharing economy and shows their support for local residents across the country who are sharing their homes."

Airbnb will hold a public meeting in its office in The Watermarque Building, Dublin 2 tonight, where it will make a presentation for users regarding taxes in Ireland, this will be followed by a Q&A session.