How do I track cleaning fees and platform fees for vacation rentals?
Cleaning fees and platform fees need separate tracking in your accounting software. They behave differently and show up in different places on your tax return, so combining them creates problems at year end.
Platform fees are what Airbnb, VRBO, or Booking.com charges for using their service. These typically run 3% to 15% of the booking depending on your fee structure. The tricky part is that platforms deduct these fees before depositing money to your bank account, so your deposit doesn’t match the gross booking amount.
Record the full booking revenue as income, then record the platform fee as an expense. If a guest paid $500 and Airbnb deposited $450, you have $500 in rental income and $50 in platform fees. Don’t just record $450 in income because that understates both your revenue and your deductible expenses. You want credit for the full amount you earned, and you want to deduct the full amount you paid in fees.
Cleaning fees work differently. The guest pays a cleaning fee as part of their booking, which means you’re collecting income. When you pay your cleaner, that’s a separate expense. These are two distinct transactions even though they feel connected.
Create separate accounts in your chart of accounts. Use something like “Platform Service Fees” or “Booking Commissions” for the platform charges, and “Cleaning Expenses” or “Turnover Costs” for what you pay cleaners. Some vacation rental operators also create a separate income account for cleaning fee revenue to track it separately from nightly rental rates.
Reconciliation requires looking at your platform statements, not just bank deposits. Airbnb and VRBO provide transaction reports showing gross bookings, fees deducted, and net payouts. Match these to your recorded income and expenses monthly. Bank reconciliation alone won’t catch errors in how you’ve split the platform deductions.
If you manage multiple properties, track fees by property. Knowing your total platform fees for the year helps at tax time, but knowing fees per property tells you which units are actually profitable. A property with high occupancy but frequent turnovers and high cleaning costs might net less than a slower property with longer stays.
Most owners who struggle with this either record only the net deposit as income or lose track of cleaning expenses paid in cash. Both mistakes cost money. Working with virtual bookkeepers in New Mexico who understand short-term rental accounting can help you set up a system that captures everything correctly from the start.
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