Letting via Airbnb: tax, VAT and local rules
Written by Ilias Aarrass7 min read · Published on · Last reviewed on 
In short
If you temporarily let your own home or part of it, you pay income tax on 70 per cent of the rental income less direct costs, and short stays count as accommodation at 9 per cent VAT, unless you stay within the small businesses scheme.
- The room-letting exemption does not apply to letting to tourists; the temporary letting rules apply instead.
- Deductible items include platform fees, advertising, cleaning and your guest's gas, water and electricity.
- A second home you let sits in box 3; if you structurally do much more than let, it can become box 1.
- Platforms report host data to the tax authorities, and on top of that each municipality has notification duties, night limits and tourist tax.
Letting your house for a few weekends a year while you are away, or offering an attic room to tourists: it brings in money and a platform makes it easy. For tax it is less simple than it looks, because three things run together: income tax, VAT and your municipality's rules. Many hosts do not know that part of their rental income is taxable, and that the tax authorities receive data from platforms. This article sets out what applies per situation, so you do not face a correction afterwards.
Temporarily letting your own home: 70 per cent is taxable
If you temporarily let the home you live in, that home stays in box 1 as your own home, but 70 per cent of the rental income is added as income. You may first deduct the costs directly related to the letting, for example the platform's fees and the cleaning. Of what then remains, 70 per cent is taxable at your ordinary box 1 rate.
The same rule applies if you let only part of your home, for example a room or a garden house belonging to it. The room-letting exemption, intended for long-term lodging to someone registered at your address, does not apply to letting to tourists. So use the 70 per cent and enter the amount in your return under your own home.
Four weeks of letting your own home
- Rental income
- € 4,000 over four weeks
- Costs
- € 600 of platform fees, cleaning and linen
- Base
- € 3,400
- Taxable part
- 70 per cent, so € 2,380
- Tax
- at 37.56 per cent roughly € 894
Result: Of € 4,000 in rent you keep roughly € 2,500 after costs and tax. If VAT applies too, another 9 per cent of the rent goes off.
VAT: short-stay accommodation is 9 per cent
Letting a home long term is exempt from VAT, but short stays for tourists are not. That is accommodation, to which the reduced rate of 9 per cent applies, just as in a hotel; see VAT on a hotel stay. If you let regularly, you are an entrepreneur for VAT and must remit that 9 per cent on the rent you receive.
In practice much incidental letting falls under the small businesses scheme: if all your VAT-taxable turnover stays below € 20,000 a year, you can apply the scheme, remit no VAT and file no returns. Note: if you already run a business with VAT-taxable turnover, your rental income counts towards that threshold, and the scheme can also affect your ordinary work.
The platform charges service fees. If that invoice comes from another EU country, it shows no VAT and the VAT is reverse charged to you. If you are a VAT entrepreneur, you report that reverse-charged VAT in your return and deduct it in the same return; see receiving and recording reverse-charged VAT.
| Situation | Income tax | VAT |
|---|---|---|
| Own home or room, temporarily to tourists | 70 per cent of income less costs, in box 1 | 9 per cent, unless you apply the small businesses scheme |
| A second home you let | the property sits in box 3; the rent itself is not separately taxed there | 9 per cent for short stays |
| Letting with many extra services or several properties | can become business profit or income from other activities | 9 per cent, with ordinary VAT returns |
| Long-term letting to a resident | box 3 or own home, depending on the situation | exempt from VAT |
When it becomes box 3 or even a business
If you let a second home, it belongs to your box 3 assets and you are taxed in box 3 on the return on your assets. The actual rental income is not separately taxed there. But if you do much more than letting, for example intensive cleaning, serving breakfast, running several properties or renovating to push up value, the tax authorities may argue you are doing more than ordinary asset management. It then shifts to box 1, as income from other activities or as business profit.
That line cannot be captured in a single figure; it is about the overall picture of your activities. If you occasionally let your own home, you are nowhere near it. If you build a letting portfolio, have it assessed in advance which box you end up in, because the difference in tax is large and lasts for years.
Municipal rules and tourist tax
Besides tax there are local rules, and they differ greatly per municipality. Many cities require notification per letting, a maximum number of nights a year, a maximum number of guests and sometimes a permit. On top of that comes tourist tax, which you as the host must remit; some platforms collect and remit it automatically, others do not. Check that per platform and per municipality.
If you rent your home yourself, there is another layer: subletting is prohibited in most tenancy agreements, and in an owner-occupied flat the owners' association rules can get in the way. Fines for letting without notification or a permit are steep in large cities, so look into that before you post your listing.
- Record the income, platform fees and cleaning costs per letting period.
- Check the maximum number of nights and the notification duty in your municipality.
- Check whether the platform already remits the tourist tax for you.
- Count on 70 per cent taxable for your own home and 9 per cent VAT for short stays.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to declare Airbnb income in my return?
Yes, if you temporarily let your own home or part of it. You declare 70 per cent of the income less direct costs under your own home in box 1.
Do I have to remit VAT on the letting?
Short stays count as accommodation, so 9 per cent VAT. If your total VAT-taxable turnover stays below € 20,000, you can apply the small businesses scheme and that liability falls away.
Does the room-letting exemption apply to Airbnb?
No. That exemption is meant for long-term lodging to someone registered at your address. Letting to tourists falls under the temporary letting rules, with 70 per cent taxable.
Can I deduct my home's costs?
Only costs directly related to the letting: platform fees, advertising, cleaning and the gas, water and electricity your guest uses. Your fixed housing costs belong to your own home and are not deductible against the letting.
Sources
- Temporary letting of your own homeBelastingdienst · belastingdienst.nl
- VAT rate for accommodationBelastingdienst · belastingdienst.nl
Sources checked on
This article provides general information based on the rules known for 2026 and does not replace personal tax advice. For your specific situation, we're happy to take a look with you.
