Hb 1590

[pressman247]

See below. While it doesn't directly effect me, it likely will effect some on this site.

TAXATION OF SHORT-TERM RENTALS: The Senate passed HB 1590 on a vote of 13-11. The bill would require all short-term rentals of residential properties to include their Rooms and Meals Tax license number in all advertisements. This will enable the NH Department of Revenue to look at online listings on such places as AirBNB and Flipkey and match the listings with their records to determine whether the persons offering the rentals are complying with existing law and paying the tax. The bill now goes back to the House for concurrence with the Senate amendment.

[8gv]

The taxman cometh...

[AC2717]

now they are going to tax the family renting out their cottage to help pay their already large tax bill

[neckdweller]

Interesting. Per IRS regulations (https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc415.html) if you rent out for less than 15 days you don't have to claim the income (and can't deduct any expenses). So NH is going to be stricter than the Feds.

At the end of the day it will mean higher rental costs since those renting out through places like VRBO and AirBNB will add in the tax and then have to file it with the state. I wonder if they'll add in Summer interns with the job description of "vacation rental site web surfer"?

[tis]

I don't think this is a change. You were always required to pay the state rooms and meals tax. I don't think the state had the two week exemption that the feds have. This bill just means you have to include your tax number with the advertisement now. At least that is the way I take it. Most people who rent, charge the amount they want and then add the 9% state tax for the renters to pay. Course it makes more for the renters to pay so possibly harder to rent....

[Winnisquamer]

I don't think this is a change. You were always required to pay the state rooms and meals tax. I don't think the state had the two week exemption that the feds have. This bill just means you have to include your tax number with the advertisement now. At least that is the way I take it. Most people who rent, charge the amount they want and then add the 9% state tax for the renters to pay. Course it makes more for the renters to pay so possibly harder to rent....

9%??? Holy cow, where are we CA, MA, NJ, NY?

[LIforrelaxin]

I do believe a previous poster was correct... owners have always been responsible to pay to the state the 9% room and board tax. and infact that is what the snipet of the bill posted says..... Now having said that If you rent you cottage for only 1 week you probably fall into a exemption clause, even at the state level.

The problem is how many actually follow through with it? The state really has no way of knowing without doing a lot of cross referencing.... This bill they are hoping will allow them to do the cross referencing automatically.

This was one of the reasons we used a rental broker when we rented our place. The rental agency took care of the tax for us.

Now how much does it cost to get meals and rooms tax license? That is the real ticket.... because with this law you will now need one for the advertisement, if you handle your rental on your own.

This really smells like a wolf in sheeps clothing to me.... I believe the real drivers behind this are like rental agencies which are hoping to make it more difficult for private owners to do seasonal rentals on there own....Thus when the private homeowners find out how much the meals and room tax license costs and the paper work involved they will look for a rental agency that will take care of this for them.........

The other wolf I think I see hear is the group of people that want to see a decline in the amount of rental business.. Where they hope that some people will simply opt to no longer rent as they can't skirt around the tax law, and are required to have a meals and rooms tax license.....

[Acrossamerica]

9%??? Holy cow, where are we CA, MA, NJ, NY?

Have you not eaten out in the last few years? every meal or single donut you buy has a 9% tax for the gov. added on top or rolled into the price you pay.

The tax is called the rooms and meals tax slowly being expanded to such things as car rentals and a few other items.

[neckdweller]

I don't think this is a change. You were always required to pay the state rooms and meals tax. I don't think the state had the two week exemption that the feds have. This bill just means you have to include your tax number with the advertisement now. At least that is the way I take it. Most people who rent, charge the amount they want and then add the 9% state tax for the renters to pay. Course it makes more for the renters to pay so possibly harder to rent....
I read a bit more closely and you would have to post your rooms and meals license number, which implies that people actually have a license number. Is this really something that people are supposed to have if they are only renting it out for a week or two during the summer? The rules here (http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/V/78-A/78-A-3.htm) seem to be geared more towards a true business.

[tummyman]

Buy a fresh lobster at the supermarket and you pay no meals tax. Ask them to steam it for you and you get charged the meals tax. But remember, these small taxes are a reason why there is no statewide income tax in NH. Money has to come from somewhere............

[Joebon]

Yes, you need a license. If you use a rental agency, they handle everything for you.


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[songkrai]

This was one of the reasons we used a rental broker when we rented our place. The rental agency took care of the tax for us.



Do you know for a fact that this tax was paid?
Whose tax ID was used?
What forms did you have to sign for this tax to be paid?

[AC2717]

I am guessing they want to be able to catch people in the act of not collecting tax and have the right to do so. Look at some of the renewals on VRBO or homeaway. Some are rented all summer long 4 months out of the year for Thousands a week.

Not saying they should/shouldn't be able to collect it, but looking at where this might be coming from, hotels no they are pretty much booked all season long, but maybe they will be able to raise their rates if private renters are deterred from renting out their place

I think it is the state trying to do a revenue grab of what they were supposed to be collecting anyways but had no way to check and balance it. Now this law will allow them to check and balance. Funny thing is the money they collect will just go to the 4 or 6 new cushy jobs they will have to put in place to set up the check and balance system rendering less money to the state after benefits, retirement and everything else

sometimes you should let sleeping dogs lie, or better yet stop cutting the nose off to spite the face.

The folks in government always only see what is in front of them and not the big picture, I don't know maybe it might be because most of them have never owned a business or worked in large companies or ran their own businesses, or maybe just because they see an opportunity to grab revenue and don't look at the consequences.

There is already a rule on the books for this, if people don't follow it, the onus on them and the violations they can rack up. This is like the Feds putting out the Revenuers on the Bootleggers back in the 20s and 30s.

[Rusty]

Give the two people who created the amendment to this Bill a call if you really want to know why they did it.

Here they are:
Representative Edward Butler [D]
Senator Martha Clark [D]

[Seaplane Pilot]

Give the two people who created the amendment to this Bill a call if you really want to know why they did it.

Here they are:
Representative Edward Butler [D]
Senator Martha Clark [D]

No further explanation needed. The "D" after their names speaks volumes.

[Mr. Prop-B-Gone]

We have a condo in Florida that we rent out. We have to pay the Florida equivalent of the R&M tax. It is simply added on to the rent so that the tenants pay the tax.

[AB_Monterey]

Hopefully, they don't try to bring the Meals and Rooms tax on campgrounds back from the dead as well.

[Begonezvous]

We stopped renting a few years ago but while renting, I registered to collect and pay the tax. The filing was done online and payments made electronically. It was very easy and my renters never complained.

The risk of getting caught was not worth it for me.

[SIKSUKR]

R+M tax has been a NH tax on property rental for a long time. This is exactly why when we rented ski houses we had a 6 month rental. That is considered a lease and not subject to that tax. At least it used to work that way.

[LIforrelaxin]

Do you know for a fact that this tax was paid?
Whose tax ID was used?
What forms did you have to sign for this tax to be paid?


As this was many years ago I don't remember the full details... But with every check we received after a rental, from the rental amount was deducted the commission for the Rental Agent, and the amount owed in Taxes.

Our contract with the rental agent, specified that the rental agency had use of the house, for specific dates, for the purpose of utilizing it in their business and that they where responsible for paying the room and board tax to the state....The renters paid the Agency Directly, and the Agency paid us directly, for the use of our property

It is really not that complicated...