I am interested in renting someone's home in Sonoma, California thru VRBO. In addition to paying for the house rental is it standard procedure for the owner of the house to charge an extra 10% room tax when renting his home to me?

Yep. I rent on VRBO all the time and tax has always been added when I've rented except, I think in Paris.

That depends on local laws. Some places require tax to be charged on all stays less than a certain time. That could be a week or a month or even anything less than a year.

Well, I've rented quite a few times from VRBO (never in California tho) and have never paid a tax.

Sometimes a cleaning fee, but not tax. In my state (Florida) you don't have to collect tax unless you own more than one unit. Every time I use an agent or agency I do pay tax.

I just rented a place in south carolina for next June. On top of the house rental I was charged 7% state tax and 4.5% local tax.

I was quite taken aback but I did some checking and found out that those taxes do exist.

By the way, when I was searching through the VRBO listings, every now and again I would see a house rental price that specified "all taxes and cleaning fees included." Now that I know what a hit that is, it makes a difference when comparison shopping.

I'd agree that it depends on where you are renting. I noticed that "the city of Newport Beach (California) has a 10% tax on all rentals of less than one month" which pops up right away if you click on Newport Beach rentals.

For years I rented off and on at a "suites hotel" in West Hollywood where there was a tax (higher than 10% as I recall) until you passede 30 days, then there was no tax and you got a refund of the first 30 days tax. I made a point to stay 31 days.

This summer I paid an LA city tax on my VRBO rental. I did not pay one nor was anything mentioned about it on my San FRancisco VRBO rental. On my San Diego VRBO rental, the contract clearly stated "city tax included in the price".

Maybe some owners ignore it or maybe they just pay it out of the total, but in many cases you are supposed to be paying a city or county rental tax.

And Joan, when I used to rent my guest house here in Naples, Florida, I did have to charge and file a tax on rentals less than 6 months. For a while it was the only unit I owned, but it was required (unless that's changed since 10 years ago, which is possible).

10% in places like Sonoma, Marin and the like is "Occupancy tax".

BTW~We're renting a VRBO next weekend and it's part of the charge.

It depends where the house is.

In Nantucket or the Cape we don't pay tax, in Maine we do. It's all about local laws.

Should the tax, or the fact that the price includes taxes be mentioned specifically on a web site, or is it legal to advertise without taxes and then just mention them in the final stages when you are about to confirm the booking or sign the contract.

I'm only guessing that it is not illegal to avoid telling about them and then adding them on the final contract -- since they are required to be paid -- sounds legal to add them whenever. But I find it rather unethical and would wonder what else the owner is trying to "pull".

In regards to taxes...don't airlines do that all the time?

You see a price on their website and then you get to the final confirmation stage and you see fuel surcharge, airport tax, security fees, etc.

I just checked out Virgin Atlantic and it was $500 advertised for SFO to London. As I proceeded further into the booking process then you see that it $790 including $290 in taxes and fees.

Off topic I know but wanted to vent...

janiekins, I just browsed through the Sonoma house listings on VRBO and I only saw ONE that mentioned the 10% occupancy tax (although I browsed quickly, so there could be others). That seems weird to me, so I'm curious if the others add it on too, or if most absorb it in the total price.

Neo, I just realized - the house I rent is considered a long term rental. Six months or less is still subject to sales tax (as in your guest house). That's why you collected Sales Tax and I don't...

I would also guess that some owners collect the tax but don't remit it...just a guess of course.

Re airline taxes, two airlines in New Zealand, Air New Zealand and Quantas, have recently been prosecuted by the Commerce Commission for not including taxes as part of the air fare, interesting that airlines in other countries are allowed to advertise a fare and not mention taxes until the very end.

I have a listing in Maine on www.vrbo.com/82624. This state requires a 7% Tax on all vacation rentals less than one month. An owner would be asking for trouble if they were to collect the tax and not send the money to the state.

Janiekins,

Occupancy taxes are determined and administered by local governments. In California, most filing requirements are monthly and the taxes collected are sent directly to the local government. There is a registration and licensing requirement with the local municipality to collect the tax, so if you seriously are doubting this owner you could call and confirm. The tax averages 10% or more on rental revenue.
The IRS.

I agree with the person who owns a rental unit, it would be the exception rather than the rule that someone would collect tax and not remit it to the municipality. If an owner ever did this they would be opening themselves up for felony charges.

yes i use vrbo all the time, it's a great site

We rent a house on Longboat Key, Florida for one week each year, through vrbo.com. At first we didn't have to pay tax. Then the owner told us she'd been slammed with a several thousand dollar fine for not paying the taxes and now tacks on 10% for tax. I have no doubt she's telling the truth on this.

Yes, some people include it, some don't. By rule they should, but for simplicitys (sp?) sake, many will just charge a 'flat rate'.