News & Publications

Ruling Affirmed: Tax Exemption for Ohio Property Rented on Airbnb Properly Denied

The Ohio Board of Tax Appeals has ruled that the Tax Commissioner appropriately denied a real property tax exemption on a portion of a property that the owner rents out on Airbnb.

The facts of this appeal are quite interesting when looked at collectively. The property in question is a nature center, and as described in the appeal:

The subject property consists of a dwelling and approximately five acres of land. Appellant uses the property for educational programs, hiking, nature study, and other purposes open to the public. All such programs are provided to the public without regard to the ability to pay. However, appellant also rents out a portion of the main floor on Airbnb. The meeting space rate is $35 for two hours. Overnight rates are $100 per night and $150 per night on weekends.

The Tax Commissioner actually granted the tax exemption for the entirety of the property with a small exclusion for the portion of the main floor that is used for Airbnb rentals, which is quite fair considering, as the Board of Appeals cited, the law is clear that renting property to another for a fee is generally a commercial use. This is regardless of the ultimate use of the proceeds. Therefore, the taxpayer argument used for the appeal that the income is used to fund the other exempt activities conducted on the property is a moot point.

All in all, this appeal was nearly destined to be denied as the appellant did not request a hearing which meant the review would be limited to the evidence in the statutory transcript. Given the basis of the appeal was inadequate to begin with, the likelihood of success without evidence presented at a hearing was miniscule.

Tips for the Taxpayer

Organizations that operate in primarily tax-exempt industries can easily fail to foresee the taxable results of actions or changes they make that may seem inconsequential to them. Further, those appealing tax rulings often fail to realize what is needed to win them and would be better of consulting a tax professional or not filing an appeal at all. Read more on property tax appeals here.

How Can We Help?

Allyn’s tax team is staffed with seasoned tax professionals experienced in all aspects of Federal, multi-state, and local tax compliance and consulting for large US and global corporations. We leverage that experience to your advantage.

We can review your operations or operational changes big or small to determine whether you are facing unforeseen tax circumstances. If you do not like the outcome of a taxing authority’s determination, we can negotiate with them for you or manage formal appeals, with realistic advisement of your chances of success so you don’t compound the issue with wasted time or consulting fees.

Contact us and we can provide a customized cost-effective solution to meet your company’s needs. For further information on Allyn Tax services, please contact: tax@allynintl.com.

For More Information

If you are interested in learning more about this topic or other tax topics, please visit our Tax Publications under News and Events at www.allynintl.com.

Contributor: Jordan Perri


About Allyn International

Allyn International is dedicated to providing high quality, customer centric services and solutions for the global marketplace. Allyn's core products include transportation management, logistics sourcing, freight forwarding, supply chain consulting, tax management and global trade compliance. Allyn clients range from small local businesses to Fortune 500 firms. Allyn conducts business in more than 20 languages and has extensive experience in both developed and emerging markets. Highly trained experts are positioned throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia. Allyn’s regional headquarters are strategically located in Fort Myers, Florida, U.S.A., Shanghai, P.R. China, Prague, Czech Republic, and Dubai, U.A.E. For more information, visit www.allynintl.com.

 

This website uses a variety of cookies, which you consent to if you continue to use this site. You can read our Privacy Policy for details about how these cookies are used. Manage Cookies