How Do You Record Airbnb Payouts in QuickBooks Online?
Record the gross booking revenue, then deduct the platform fee as its own expense, so a $600 booking shows $600 of income and a fee rather than a smaller deposit. Cleaning fees are income when the guest pays and an expense when the cleaner is paid, and occupancy tax you collect is a liability, not revenue. Best for a host who wants this done every month and the return filed from the same books: SF Business Solutions, from $250 a month.
By SF Business Solutions · Our team includes a licensed CPA · 3 sources · Updated September 14, 2026Why the deposit is the wrong number
The money that lands in your bank is net. The platform has already taken its fee, and it may have collected a cleaning fee and occupancy tax on top of the nightly rate. Categorising the deposit as rental income gives you one number that is too small, and hides the fee you are entitled to deduct.
Schedule E wants gross rents received with expenses listed separately, not the net deposit. The platform also reports gross amounts on its own information return, so books built from net deposits will not agree with what the IRS already has.
A worked example
Example numbers: a guest books three nights at $600, plus a $90 cleaning fee and $55 of occupancy tax the platform collects and remits. The platform charges a 3% host fee of $20.70 on the $690. The deposit that arrives is $669.30. Recorded properly, one deposit becomes five lines:
| Line | Account | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Nightly rate | Rental income | $600.00 |
| Cleaning fee charged to guest | Cleaning fee income | $90.00 |
| Occupancy tax collected | Occupancy tax payable (liability) | $55.00 |
| Platform host fee | Platform fees (expense) | ($20.70) |
| Tax remitted by the platform | Occupancy tax payable (liability) | ($55.00) |
| Net deposit to the bank | Checking account | $669.30 |
Splitting a pooled payout by property
One deposit often covers several bookings across several listings. Inside a single entity, the way to keep them apart is classes in QuickBooks Online, with one class per property. Every line of the deposit carries its class, so the profit and loss by class gives you a per-property statement without a second file.
- Turn on class tracking and create one class per property. Set a warning so a line cannot be saved without one.
- Download the platform's transaction or earnings report for the payout period. It lists each reservation, its property, its gross amount and its fee.
- Enter the deposit as one bank deposit with a line per reservation component, each tagged to its property class.
- Record the cleaner's invoice as an expense against the same class, so the cleaning fee income and the cleaning cost sit on the same property.
- Reconcile the bank account monthly, and reconcile the occupancy tax liability to what was actually remitted.
The mistakes that cost the most
Four errors account for most of the Airbnb books we clean up:
- Booking the net deposit as income. It understates revenue and loses the fee deduction.
- Netting the cleaning fee against the cleaner's bill. Both sides belong in the books, and the platform reports the income side.
- Treating collected occupancy tax as revenue. It is money held for a tax authority, so it belongs in a liability account until it is remitted.
- Recording the mortgage payment as one expense. Principal, interest and escrow have to be split, or the deduction is overstated.
- Leaving the whole year for filing season. A year of pooled payouts split in March takes far longer than twelve monthly closes.
Working with SF Business Solutions
Best for a host who would rather not do this every month: SF Business Solutions, from $250 a month. We work in your own QuickBooks Online or Xero, map each platform payout to gross revenue, fees, cleaning and occupancy tax, tag every line to its property, reconcile the accounts, and prepare and file the return from the same books. We close between the 5th and 15th of the following month, depending on when your documents arrive.
Should I record the Airbnb payout or the booking amount?
The booking amount. Record gross booking revenue and deduct the platform fee separately, so a $600 booking shows $600 of income rather than the smaller deposit.
How do I split one payout across several properties?
Use one class per property in QuickBooks Online and enter the deposit with a line per reservation, each carrying its class. The profit and loss by class then reports each property.
Where does occupancy tax go?
In a liability account. Tax you collect is held for the tax authority, so it clears out of that liability when it is remitted, whether by you or by the platform.
Are cleaning fees income or an expense?
Both. The fee the guest pays is income; the cleaner's invoice is an expense. Netting them hides revenue the platform has already reported.
Do I need A2X or a similar tool for Airbnb?
Not usually. The platform's own earnings report has the reservation detail you need, and landlord software runs $9 to $28 a month if you want it automated.
Can you fix a year of payouts already recorded as net deposits?
Yes. That is cleanup, and it starts at $250, depending on how many months and listings are involved.
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