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Airbnb Year-End Tax Checklist for Canada and US Hosts (Including the 1099-K)

Nightly Profit · October 21, 2026 · 5 min read

Tax season is easier when the work happens in December rather than the night before your accountant's deadline. This checklist walks through what short-term rental hosts in Canada and the US should gather and organize at year end. The goal isn't to do your taxes. It's to hand your accountant clean, categorized numbers and the right documents, so they spend their time on the decisions that need a professional. Everything here is general information, not tax advice. Rules change and depend on your situation, so confirm everything with your accountant.

1. Pull every income record

Download annual earnings or transaction reports from every platform you use (Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com), plus records of any direct bookings. For each property, you want:

• Gross rental income: accommodation, cleaning fees and other guest fees, before platform fees
• Platform fees deducted from payouts
• Refunds and adjustments
• Taxes collected on your behalf or by you (GST/HST, occupancy taxes)
• Net payouts (what actually hit your bank)

The key habit is recording gross income and fees separately. If you only record payouts, the fees vanish from your records, and your income won't match the tax forms platforms send.

2. Categorize expenses the way the forms do

Sort the year's expenses into categories that line up with the form you or your preparer will use. In Canada, that's Form T776, Statement of Real Estate Rentals, described in the CRA's T4036 Rental Income guide. In the US, rental activity is usually reported on Schedule E, but if you provide substantial services to guests it may belong on Schedule C instead. IRS Publication 527 explains the difference, and your preparer makes that call.

While you sort, flag three things:

• Business-use % for anything used partly for personal purposes (a phone, a vehicle, a property you also stay in)
• Shared costs that apply to more than one property (software, accounting fees)
• Capital items such as a new roof, furniture or appliances, which go on a separate list (see step 5)

3. US hosts: reconcile your Form 1099-K

A Form 1099-K reports payments processed for you by a platform or payment processor. Box 1a shows the gross amount, before fees, refunds and adjustments, according to the IRS instructions for Form 1099-K. So it almost never matches what you were paid out. The form also breaks the total down by month in boxes 5a–5l.

For 2026, the IRS says a platform generally files a federal 1099-K only when gross payments are over $20,000 and there are over 200 transactions (IRS FAQs on the threshold). Some states use lower thresholds. Either way, rental income is reportable whether or not you receive a form.

To reconcile:

1. Start with Box 1a for each payer.
2. Compare it with your gross income for properties paid through that payer.
3. Explain the difference line by line: refunds, timing (bookings paid in one year for stays in another), and income from other channels.
4. Check month by month against boxes 5a–5l if the annual totals don't tie.
5. Keep the reconciliation with your records. If a number on the form looks wrong, ask the issuer to correct it.

4. Canadian hosts: check GST/HST

There are two questions to answer.

Do you need to be registered? The CRA's small-supplier rule is based on $30,000 of worldwide taxable supplies (including those of associates) in a single calendar quarter or over four consecutive quarters. Watch a rolling four-quarter total, not just the calendar year.

Who collects it? Since July 1, 2021, accommodation platforms collect and remit GST/HST on bookings for hosts who aren't registered. Registered hosts give the platform their GST/HST number and handle their own collection and filing (CRA: platform-based short-term accommodation). If you're registered, total the GST/HST you collected and the GST/HST you paid on expenses (input tax credits) for each filing period.

Check your local rules too. From January 1, 2024, the federal government denies income-tax deductions for short-term rentals that don't comply with provincial or municipal licensing and registration rules (CRA tax tip; Income Tax Act s. 67.7). Make sure your licence or registration is in order and keep proof with your records.

5. List capital items separately

Big purchases and improvements usually aren't deducted all at once. In Canada they go through capital cost allowance (CCA) classes, and in the US through depreciation. For each item, record:

• What it is and which property it's for
• The date bought and the date it was available for use (or placed in service)
• Cost, including non-refundable taxes
• Business-use %
• Any items sold or thrown away, with proceeds

CRA lists the classes of depreciable rental property with their rates, and T4036 explains rules such as CCA not being able to create or increase a rental loss. Whether and how much to claim is a decision for you and your accountant. Your job is a complete list.

6. Log mileage before you forget

If you drive to your property for turnovers, repairs or supply runs, a trip log is far easier to build monthly than in April. Record the date, property, from and to, purpose and distance.

For US hosts who use the standard mileage method, the IRS business rates are 70¢ a mile for 2025, and for 2026 72.5¢ a mile from January 1 to June 30 and 76¢ a mile from July 1 to December 31, after a mid-year change. Apply the rate by trip date. Canadian rental owners can deduct motor vehicle expenses only in certain situations. T4036 sets different conditions for owners of one rental property and owners of two or more, and it doesn't allow travel just to collect rent from a single property. Where a claim is allowed, the log is your evidence for the business-use percentage.

7. Count personal-use and rental days (US vacation homes)

If you or your family use the property yourselves, count personal-use days and fair-rental days. IRS Topic No. 415 explains that personal use above the greater of 14 days or 10% of the days rented at fair rental can limit your deductions, and that a home rented fewer than 15 days in the year has special treatment. Note the dates. Your preparer will apply the rules.

8. Build a one-page handoff for your accountant

Accountants work faster, and often bill less, when you hand them one summary instead of a box of receipts. Include:

• Totals per property: gross income, fees, expenses by category, capital items
• Your 1099-K reconciliation (US) and GST/HST summary (Canada)
• Mileage totals and business-use percentages
• Rental and personal-use days
• A documents checklist: platform reports, 1099-Ks, property tax bills, mortgage interest statements, insurance, licence or registration, and receipts for capital items
• Your questions, such as Schedule E or C, whether to claim CCA this year, or how to split shared costs

The December routine

Block two to four hours before the year ends. Download platform reports, finish categorizing expenses, reconcile, total your mileage and update the capital list. Then send your accountant the handoff in January, before their busy season.

General information, not tax, legal or financial advice. Any figures in examples are made up to illustrate the math. Nightly Profit is not affiliated with Airbnb, Vrbo or Booking.com.