Airbnb hosts' contracts reviewed by tax authorities in investigation'.

The owners of thousands of apartments who rented out their homes through Airbnb between 2017 and 2021 failed to pay 21% rental tax on the commissions they received. All of them turned out to be tax suspects. Following the preliminary seizure of €799.4 million from Airbnb Ireland, which is accused of tax evasion for failing to fulfill its statutory role as a tax agent, a parallel investigation by the Public Finance Service and the Tax Authority from this summer could lead to tax penalties for owners who failed to pay 21% tax on their income.

Tax audits conducted by the Public Finance Service have revealed that short-term rentals in Italy have brought in over''$3.7 billion in turnover during the period covered by the investigation. This amount refers only to the fees of non-professional hosts, that is, those who have one or more apartments but renting is not their primary business.

The last few months

The last months of the year have been devoted to examining all the contracts signed, and a detailed analysis by the State Financial Service has revealed even more serious cases, such as illegal renting and extreme cases where some owners owned several apartments and rented them out, while declaring officially income that did not correspond to their property.

Hosts who paid the rental tax at the time

need not worry. According to the law,''confirmed by two rulings by the European Court of Justice and the Supreme Court, Airbnb, as a tax agent, should have paid a 21% tax to the Italian tax office.

Yesterday Milan prosecutor Marcello Viola, along with officials from the State Financial Service and the Tax Authority, held a meeting with prosecutors Giovanni Polizzi, Cristiana Roveda and Giancarla''Serafini. The investigation could be extended for fiscal years through 2023. At the same time, arrangements with Ireland are being prepared.