Review three things together: the reservation charge, the expected levy and the amount Airbnb reports collecting. None alone confirms what has reached the council.
Export both sides
Keep a booking or earnings export with stay dates, reservation codes, currency and accommodation-charge detail. Export a separate custom-tax report when the tax detail is held there. Airbnb documents custom-tax reporting in Earnings and explains that added taxes may be paid separately to the host for onward remittance.
Report names and columns can vary. A generic occupancy-tax total may combine taxes. Check what a field represents before treating it as Edinburgh levy.
Match the records
In Imports, choose Airbnb, add the booking file and confirm the mapping. Attach the tax report when available. Matching uses reservation or confirmation codes, currency and listing identity where both files provide it.
Duplicate references, unknown reservations and negative adjustments require investigation. Missing tax rows remain unknown, not zero. See the CSV guide.
Check price components
Net payouts can contain fee deductions and adjustments. Gross earnings may include cleaning or extras. Neither label alone proves the accommodation-only base. Preserve the breakdown, confirm cleaning treatment and avoid deducting a fee twice.
Investigate each difference
| Finding | Next check |
|---|---|
| Collection exceeds expectation | Night cap, charge components, amendments and refund records |
| Collection below expectation | Tax settings, collection timing and absent report rows |
| Cancelled booking with tax collected | Evidence of the tax refund |
| Stay crossing a quarter boundary | Night allocation and transaction evidence |
| Missing reported amount | Obtain detail before calling it an underpayment |
The fictional worked example shows a match, an overcollection and a cancellation. Saved-period comparisons group by source and currency, with missing and cross-period records identified separately.
Keep the reason for each resolution and the original exports. Use the quarterly checklist for submission. Collection, host settlement and council payment remain separate events.