Short-term rental bookkeeping — what's actually different about STRs?

Three things make short-term rental bookkeeping different from long-term: the platform payout that hits your bank is *not* your income (it's income minus fees, sometimes minus taxes the platform collected), the transaction volume runs ten times higher per door, and the expense mix includes categories long-term rentals never see — furnishings, supplies, cleaning turns, and occupancy taxes. Book the payouts as income and skip the rest, and your revenue, expenses, and tax exposure are all wrong at once.

STR operators usually discover this at tax time, when the 1099-K from the platform doesn't match anything in their books. Here's the setup that keeps the numbers true all year.

The payout is not the income

An Airbnb or VRBO deposit is a *net* number: gross booking revenue, minus host service fees, minus cancellation adjustments, sometimes minus occupancy taxes the platform remitted on your behalf. The books need the gross revenue and each deduction on its own line — because the platform reports gross to the IRS, your P&L should show the fees you're entitled to deduct, and taxes the platform remitted aren't your expense at all. Booking net looks fine on a bank reconciliation and understates both your revenue and your deductions.

The platform's transaction or earnings report is the source document — not the bank feed. The bank feed just proves the net landed.

Occupancy taxes: collected, not earned

Where the platform doesn't remit lodging or occupancy taxes for you, the tax you collect from guests is a liability — money you're holding for the state or parish — not revenue. It sits in a liability account until you remit it. Mixing it into income inflates revenue and then turns remittance into a fake expense. Multi-jurisdiction operators need this per locality, because the rates and filing schedules differ.

The expense mix is its own animal

• Furnishings and setup. Beds, appliances, the startup buy-out of a whole house — much of this is capital, not "repairs," and the capitalize-vs-expense call is a CPA decision your books should tee up cleanly, not bury.
• Cleaning and turns. High-frequency, per-stay costs; whether you pass them through as guest fees or absorb them changes how they book.
• Supplies and consumables. A real category for STRs; a rounding error for long-term.
• Utilities and subscriptions. Yours, not the tenant's — streaming, internet, smart locks all live on the P&L.

Multiple STRs still follow the class-per-property rule — turn volume makes per-property tagging more valuable, not less, because it's how you learn which unit actually earns after its churn costs.

FAQ

Why doesn't my 1099-K match my bank deposits?

Because the 1099-K reports gross booking revenue and your bank received net-of-fees payouts. Books that record gross revenue with fees broken out reconcile to both documents; books that record deposits reconcile to neither without adjustment.

Do I book income when the guest books, when they stay, or when I'm paid?

For most operators, when the payout is earned per the platform report (tied to the stay) works and keeps you aligned with the 1099. What matters most is picking one treatment, applying it all year, and letting the platform report — not the bank feed — drive it.

The platform says it collects occupancy taxes for me. Am I done?

Partially, in many markets. Platforms often remit state-level tax but not every local layer, and direct bookings collect nothing at all. Confirm per jurisdiction what's covered; the books should show any uncovered layer as a liability you're accruing.

Is a co-host or property manager's cut an expense?

Yes — management expense, booked gross. If the manager collects the revenue and forwards your share, you still want gross revenue and their fee shown separately, or your revenue is understated and their cost invisible.

Running an STR on bank-feed bookkeeping? Book a discovery call — we'll get the platform reports, taxes, and turn costs telling the truth.