Airbnb and VRBO hosts: books, rental income and taxes done for you
Free tax review
Find out what we’d handle and what it costs
Thirty minutes by phone; you leave with one written price.
Each month we keep the books, match every Airbnb and VRBO payout to its booking, keep rental and personal days apart, and at year end we prepare the return. Bookkeeping starts at $375 a month, quoted as a flat fee in writing before we start. Based in Santa Clarita, we work with Airbnb and VRBO hosts in any state.
Typical situations
Do you work with Airbnb and VRBO hosts like me?
Yes, we take on Airbnb and VRBO hosts who rent a guest house or a room at their own home, a second place they also use, or a unit they lease and re-rent — and hosts who co-host, running another owner’s listing for a share of the payout.
A host with a guest house on Airbnb
Payouts arrive net of the platform’s fees, and the 1099-K — the form the platform sends reporting gross payments — shows a bigger number than the bank ever sees. If the return uses the 1099-K number alone, the fees never come out and the profit is overstated. We match every payout to its bookings and fees and tie the year to the 1099-K. Bookkeeping from $375 a month — what the monthly books include.
A host who offers mid-stay cleaning and fresh linens
The listing’s amenity list, the cleaner’s mid-stay invoices and the linen receipts sit in a folder, and the rental gets filed on Schedule E, the form for rental income, without anyone asking whether the services make it a business. Filed on the wrong schedule, the return gets the self-employment tax wrong. We pull the amenity list, the invoices and the receipts, and decide between Schedule C, the form for a business’s profit or loss, and Schedule E from what guests actually get.
An owner who uses the beach house two weeks a year and rents it the rest
Personal days and rental days never get counted, so the mortgage, utilities and repairs get split by guesswork and the deduction doesn’t match the booking calendar. We pull the weeks the owner blocks off for family from the booking calendar each month, so the split is ready at year end.
A host paying a cleaner and a co-host every turnover
Nobody collected a W-9, the form with a contractor’s name and tax ID, so the 1099s miss the deadline. We collect each W-9 before the first payment and file the 1099s; for a cleaner or co-host paid $2,000 or more during 2026, the 1099-NEC, the form reporting nonemployee pay, is due February 1, 2027. Filing 1099s on their own starts at $95 — the payroll and 1099 service.
A first-time host who just bought a place and listed it
The first payouts land in the personal checking account, there’s no depreciation schedule — the schedule writing the building’s cost off over years — and no one has asked which form the rental goes on. The first return gets built on guesses, and the building’s write-off never starts. We set up the books and the building’s depreciation from the closing statement and go through the entity question with the owner. The return from $650 for one rental on Schedule E or one business on Schedule C, or from $850 for a partnership or S-corp return with the owner’s personal return included — how we prepare the return and how we compare entities.
A host a year behind, payout reports in the app and receipts in a drawer
Nobody has matched the deposits to bookings, so it isn’t clear which money was rent, which was guest cleaning fees, or how the 1099-K squares with the bank. We rebuild the year from the platform reports, the bank and the mortgage statements; the cleanup and the return are priced separately in one quote. A cleanup from $750 — how a cleanup project runs.
Which form
Does my Airbnb income go on Schedule C or Schedule E?
A short-term rental generally goes on Schedule E, the tax form for rental income, but a host who provides substantial services mainly for guests’ convenience — regular cleaning, changing linen or maid service — reports it on Schedule C, the form for a business’s profit or loss, where the profit can carry self-employment tax.
Self-employment tax is the Social Security and Medicare tax on business profit. We look at what guests receive during a stay and report the rental where it belongs. Here is what self-employment tax charges if your hosting lands on Schedule C.
Personal use
What if I rent out part of my home or use the place myself?
If you use the place yourself, we count personal and rental days and split shared costs like the mortgage and utilities by those days, and a room kept only for paying guests can be treated differently. If the place is also your home and you rent it for fewer than 15 days in the year, the rent stays off your return and so do the rental expenses.
A day the listing sits open but empty counts as neither, and a day you, family or anyone paying below a fair price uses the place counts as personal. We keep the count from your booking calendar all year, so the split is ready when the return is prepared.
Catch-up work
What does a catch-up look like when a short-term rental host’s books are behind?
A catch-up rebuilds the missing months from your bank, Airbnb and VRBO earnings reports, the 1099-Ks and the mortgage statements, then sets the building’s depreciation up from the closing statement so the return can be prepared from real numbers.
What we ask for
We ask for the Airbnb and VRBO earnings reports and any 1099-Ks, the bank and card statements, the mortgage-interest and property-tax statements, the booking calendar showing nights rented and nights used personally, and the closing statement for each property you own.
How the cleanup runs
We put the platform fees and the guest cleaning fees on their own lines — cleaning money collected from guests and paid out to cleaners — count the personal-use days, and set the building’s cost and any improvements up for depreciation.
What you get
You get the rebuilt year, the return prepared from the rebuilt books, and quarterly estimates figured from reconciled numbers — plus a clean baseline the monthly close can start from.
See how a cleanup project runs.
The monthly close
What do you check every month on a short-term rental’s books?
Each month we close the books on the rental: every Airbnb and VRBO payout reconciled to the bank, the fees and cleaning money on their own lines, and the personal-day count updated from the booking calendar.
- Airbnb and VRBO payout reports reconciled to the bank deposits
- Platform fees, and guest cleaning fees collected and paid out, kept on their own lines
- Cleaner and co-host payments matched to a signed W-9
- Mortgage interest, property tax, insurance and utility statements coded
- Supplies, linens and restocks coded
- Rental and personal days updated from the booking calendar
- Any 1099-K checked against the platforms’ earnings reports
- Money still owed to you by a platform carried until it lands
Each month you get the profit and loss statement (P&L), the balance sheet and a short note on what needs attention. Here is what monthly bookkeeping includes.
California
What’s different for a short-term rental host in California?
In California, four things change for a short-term rental host: City of Los Angeles home-sharing registration, the City’s transient occupancy tax, the City’s business tax registration, and Santa Clarita’s own transient occupancy tax.
- City of Los Angeles home-sharing: for an address inside the City, hosting is limited to your primary residence and up to 120 days a year without an extended registration. The registration is yours; we keep the rental-day count in the books.
- The City’s transient occupancy tax — its hotel tax: a host registers and pays it monthly, and Airbnb is the only platform the City lists as collecting it, only on its own bookings. We keep any tax you collect and pay separate from rental income in the books.
- The City’s business tax registration: a host registers with the Office of Finance for a Business Tax Registration Certificate with the transient-occupancy classification. The registration is yours to file.
- Santa Clarita has its own transient occupancy tax; we keep what’s collected and paid on its own lines in the books.
Pricing
How much do a short-term rental host’s books and taxes cost in 2026?
In 2026, bookkeeping for a short-term rental host starts at $375 a month, the return alone at $650 for one rental on Schedule E or one business on Schedule C or $850 for a partnership or S-corp return with the owner’s personal return included, and a cleanup at $750. Filing 1099s for co-hosts and cleaners on its own, without monthly books, starts at $95. Each is a flat fee quoted in writing before we start.
Matching payouts to bookings, the personal-day count, the depreciation schedule and 1099 filing for your cleaners sit inside the quote; there’s no separate charge for them. If anyone you pay is on payroll, payroll starts at $95 a month. What moves a quote: how many properties and listings you run, how many platforms you list on, bookings in a month, the people you pay, and how far behind the books are. The quote is the price.
Books
from $375/mo
- Every payout matched to its bookings and fees
- Cleaning fees in and cleaner payments out tracked
- Personal-day count kept current
- Monthly P&L, balance sheet and a short note
The return alone
from $650
- One rental on Schedule E or one business on Schedule C
- Depreciation schedule set from the closing statement
- Repairs and improvements sorted line by line
- From $850 for a partnership or S-corp return — the owner’s personal return included
How it works
What happens after the free call?
The free 30-minute call comes first; the engagement letter is sent during the call, and once it’s signed you get a portal invite and a short checklist.
The 30-minute call
About six questions: how many properties you host, whether it’s your own home, a separate unit or a place you lease and re-rent, the average guest stay, who cleans and what guests get during a stay, whether a 1099-K arrived, and how far behind things are. It ends with one flat price for the work we’d take on, in writing.
The engagement letter
It’s sent during the call and signed when you’re ready — it doesn’t expire. Signing schedules a short onboarding call.
Access and documents
The portal invite, read-only bank feeds or the QuickBooks file, the Airbnb and VRBO earnings reports, last year’s 1099-Ks and the closing statement from the purchase. A short checklist goes with it so nothing is missed.
Behind first
If the books are behind, the cleanup comes first, then the first monthly close.
You see the return before it’s filed
Half the return fee starts the work and the balance is due before e-file; an extension is free if April gets tight.
Communication
You’ll know where your payouts, your cleaners’ 1099s and the return stand.
The person who answers the phone is on the same team that keeps your books and prepares your return.
The same-day rule
Call or email during business hours and you’ll hear back the same day — all twelve months.
Questions reach the people doing the work
A question about a payout, a cleaner’s 1099 or a letter from the IRS goes straight to the team preparing your return.
Admitted to practice before the IRS
Our team of IRS representation specialists is admitted to practice before the IRS. If an IRS letter shows up — one asking about unreported rental income, for example — forward it: how we handle IRS letters.
The N&T Tax & Advisory Group team
For a short-term rental host, we keep the books, file 1099s for the cleaners and co-hosts, run payroll for anyone you put on it, and prepare the return.
Bookkeeping · Sales tax returns · Tax preparation · Tax planning · IRS representation · Direct line: (661) 554-4495
Reviews
Rated 5.0 on Google
★★★★★ Twelve reviews, every one five stars, every one verifiable. Read all of them on Google →
"Alex helped me resolve a complicated tax situation that had been causing me a lot of stress. He was extremely knowledgeable, responsive, and efficient throughout the entire process."
Kevin B. — via Google
"Working with Alex was straightforward. I hadn't looked at my books all year, but he made my life easy and handled the whole profit and loss at the end of the year so I could get my taxes done."
Levon B. — via Google
"I came to this company with previous tax years and bookkeeping that were done incorrectly. They're very knowledgeable about what they do and help me get everything in order at a very reasonable price."
Sayra A. — via Google
Where we work
Do you work with Airbnb and VRBO hosts outside California?
Yes — based in Santa Clarita, we work with Airbnb and VRBO hosts remotely in any state. Documents move through the secure portal, and calls and screen share cover the monthly report. If you work in another state, we work to that state’s payroll and filing rules and price it into your quote.
What we don’t do
We don’t advise on which property to buy, property management, city permits and registrations, or leases and HOA rules, and we don’t prepare cost segregation studies or reviewed, compiled or audited financial statements. Legal questions — whether a rental arrangement is allowed, liability, guest disputes — go to an attorney.
Worth reading
What can you read before you call?
Short articles from our blog: the receipts to keep, 1099s for people you pay, first-time quarterly payments, a co-owned rental held in an LLC, getting current on unfiled years, and the tax side of selling a rental.
What Receipts to Keep for Taxes in 2026: The Self-Employed Owner’s Keep-or-Toss Guide
Which rental receipts to keep — supplies, linens, repairs and furniture — and which you can toss.
1099sI paid a helper in cash. Do I have to send a 1099?
For a host paying a cleaner or co-host in cash: when a 1099 is due and what the 2026 threshold is.
Quarterly taxesQuarterly Taxes for the First Time: What to Pay, When, and How in 2026
For a host whose W-2 withholding doesn’t cover the rental profit: what quarterly payments look like.
Co-owned rentalsHow to File Taxes for an LLC Partnership: Form 1065, K-1s, and the March 15 Deadline
If you co-own the rental through a multi-member LLC.
Several years unfiledNot Filed Taxes in 3 to 5 Years? What Each Missing Year Costs and How to Get Current
For a host with unfiled years: what getting current looks like.
SellingHow to avoid taxes when selling a rental property?
For a host thinking about selling the place: the tax side of the sale.
FAQ
What should a short-term rental host ask before the free call?
Do I have to report Airbnb income if I didn’t get a 1099-K?
Yes — unless the place is your home and you rented it fewer than 15 days in the year, Airbnb and VRBO income is reportable whether or not a 1099-K arrives. For 2026 a platform must file the form only when your payments pass $20,000 and more than 200 transactions. We tie the year’s payouts to the bank and the 1099-K, so the return reports the year you actually had.
Do I pay self-employment tax on my Airbnb income?
Not if the rental stays on Schedule E: rental profit there doesn’t carry self-employment tax. If you provide substantial services mainly for guests’ convenience, such as regular cleaning, changing linen or maid service, the rental goes on Schedule C, where the profit can carry it. Before filing, we go through what a guest actually receives, so the profit carries the right tax.
Can my short-term rental losses offset my W-2 income?
It depends on two tests — the average guest stay and how involved you are — and we check both on your records before saying so. Average stay is nights rented divided by the number of stays; at seven days or less, the IRS doesn’t treat the activity as a rental. Then what matters is whether you materially participate: more than 500 hours in the year, or more than 100 hours and at least as much as anyone else, including your cleaner or co-host. We figure the average stay from your booking calendar and tally your hours from your records, then tell you where you land; we don’t promise the result.
How does depreciation work on my rental?
Depreciation means writing off the cost of the building over a set number of years — never all at once — and the land under it is never depreciated. Furniture and appliances are tracked on their own schedules, separate from the building. We set the schedule up from your closing statement, keep improvements apart from repairs, and carry it forward year to year.
My books are a year behind. Can you catch them up?
Yes. Send the earnings reports, bank statements and the closing statement, and we rebuild the year before the return is prepared. A cleanup project starts at $750, billed half to start and the balance on delivery.
Should my short-term rental be in an LLC or an S-corp?
Either can work; an S-corp is a tax election an LLC can also make, so the choice is about how the rental is taxed on your own figures, and a California LLC owes the $800 annual tax. We model both before you form or elect anything — our entity-selection page shows how the comparison runs.
Ready to hand the books and the return to one team?
One free 30-minute call. You’ll leave knowing what we’d handle and what it costs — whether or not you hire us.
Rather talk now? Call (661) 554-4495 — reach us during business hours and you’ll hear back the same day.
Our team of IRS representation specialists is admitted to practice before the IRS. This page is general information, not tax advice for your specific situation.