Judge approves state subpoena for Airbnb records

A state judge has approved the state Department of Taxation’s request to subpoena certain Airbnb records.

Wednesday’s ruling by Circuit Judge Bert Ayabe allows the state and Airbnb to carry out an agreement they reached last week. Airbnb will turn over to the state records of hosts for whom the state does not have the address or taxpayer information and who received more than $2,000 between 2016 and 2018. Airbnb also will send notices to hosts who received less than $2,000 informing them of their legal requirement to collect and remit state general excise and transient accommodations taxes.

The $2,000 threshold singles out the 1,000 hosts with the highest combined revenue for Hawaii listings.

Airbnb’s website does not contain taxpayer information on all of its Hawaii hosts and the IRS is prohibited from sharing the identities of operators who submit federal tax filings.

The company said in a written statement that it is pleased to have reached a compromise with the state that provides the Department of Taxation adequate data to enforce state tax laws while safeguarding hosts’ privacy.

The subpoena is an effort by the state to collect taxes from operators of bed-and-breakfast and short-term vacation rentals. State and federal law prohibit the state from sharing the Airbnb information with the city, which is cracking down on illegal vacation rentals.