Whoever rents a room via Airbnb and has not paid tax on the income is likely to experience an unpleasant surprise soon: The Hamburg tax investigation department has enforced that the internationally active company must forward the landlords’ data to the authorities.
The Hamburg tax investigation department will now sift through this data and search for undeclared or untaxed rentals. Data on such tax evasions will also be passed on to the responsible authorities in other federal states. Hamburg’s Senator of Finance Andreas Dressel described the blow against Airbnb as a great success for Hamburg’s tax investigation department. The resolution had made it possible to clear up a large dark area and to track down previously untaxed income and subject it to taxation.
Income from self-employment, which includes renting via Airbnb, is taxable from an amount of 520 euros per year, as long as the total income is above the tax-free allowance of 9,408 euros (for single persons). If income has not been declared despite the fact that tax has been paid, a conviction for tax evasion is imminent. In addition to the penalty, the evaded taxes of the last ten years will have to be paid retroactively, whereby an interest rate of six percent will be added.
