Does Vrbo Send You a 1099? A 1099-K That Doesn't Subtract Refunds

Vrbo sends U.S. owners one federal tax form, a Form 1099-K, and only when the payments it processed for you pass $20,000 and 200 transactions in a calendar year, or a lower state threshold. The total is gross, with Vrbo's commission, its processing fees, and even guest refunds still inside, so it can read well above what reached your bank.

Which form Vrbo sends, and the threshold

Vrbo says it must send a 1099-K when you are a U.S. person and it processed more than 200 payment transactions with a gross amount over $20,000 during the calendar year. That is the test the One Big Beautiful Bill Act restored for payment platforms, so it holds for 2026 too, even though Vrbo's pages still describe it as the 2025 rule. Vrbo also warns that an owner who got a form for 2024, issued under the IRS's transition threshold of more than $5,000 for that year, might not get one for 2025. Our guide to the 1099 threshold covers the other forms the law changed.

If the address on your active W-9 is in a state with a lower threshold and you pass it, Vrbo files a 1099-K with that state only. Unlike Airbnb, which names nine places on its list, Vrbo does not publish which states or amounts apply, so check with your state's revenue department. Non-U.S. owners of U.S. property get a Form 1042-S instead, and Vrbo's help center describes no 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC for owners.

The 1099-K is gross, and refunds stay in it

Vrbo reports the gross value of payments processed on its platform, without reduction for its commission, refunds, payment processing fees, or other fees. To check the figure, Vrbo points you to the Gross booking amount column of your Payout summary, which it defines as rent plus fees such as cleaning fees, pet fees, and taxes you collect and remit yourself.

Refunds are what surprise owners. In Vrbo's own example, a guest pays $1,050, made up of $1,000 in rent and a $50 cleaning fee, then cancels and gets $525 back. The form reports $1,050, and Vrbo says your taxable income should reflect both the payment and the refund. That is the treatment every 1099-K calls for: report the gross, then subtract refunds and deduct Vrbo's commission and fees, which the IRS lists among the amounts you can take off the gross.

Payments under one tax ID share a single form, even across listings. Payouts tied to different tax IDs get a form each, and you add them together to reconcile.

What the form leaves out

Lodging taxes that Vrbo collects and remits for you, where a law or a collection agreement requires it, are not in the Payout summary at all. Taxes you collect and remit yourself are inside the gross, so record the collection and your payment to the tax authority together and they net to zero.

Payments processed outside Vrbo are excluded, and its reconciliation steps tell you to leave them out. Vrbo's off-platform booking policy requires reservations found on Vrbo to be paid through its checkout, so this usually means stays booked on other sites or directly with you. That income still goes on your return.

Refundable damage deposits are the open question. Vrbo says a deposit stays out of your payout unless you keep some or all of it, but it does not say whether deposits count toward Box 1a, so check a stay that had one against the form. For income tax, the IRS says a deposit you plan to return isn't income, and any part you keep is income in the year you keep it. See whether security deposits are taxable.

Reconcile the form with your Payout summary

In the Vrbo Owner Dashboard, go to Payments, then Statements and reports. On the Payout summary tab, set the dates to the previous calendar year, choose Payouts within this date range under Includes, and download the file. Filter the Gross booking amount column to amounts of zero or more. Their total should generally match Box 1a, and their count Box 3, the number of transactions. Note that Vrbo's steps pull payouts dated in the year, not stays.

If the numbers differ, contact Vrbo support with your reconciliation. Vrbo can make corrections before the end of June, including confirmed errors in Box 1a or Box 3 and a payee who isn't the bank account owner. Its pages don't name the company printed on the form, so check the Filer box in the top left corner, which the IRS says shows the issuer.

Property managers and connected software

Vrbo sends the 1099-K to the owner of the bank account the payouts go to, using the W-9 tied to that account. An owner who gets the payouts but has no Vrbo login relies on the property manager who holds the account to request the tax profile link and any corrections. If payouts land in the manager's own account, the form is in the manager's name, and the IRS instructions say a property manager reports the rent it pays over to the owner on Form 1099-MISC, at $2,000 or more for payments in 2026 and $600 for 2025.

Connected software can change who processes the money. Vrbo says you may become the merchant of record, processing the reservation payment yourself while Vrbo processes only its traveler service fee. Vrbo's form covers what it processes, so those payments are not on it. The IRS says that when customers pay you directly by card, your card processor sends a 1099-K no matter how many payments there were or how much they totaled.

The tax profile comes first, the form comes in January

Vrbo needs a U.S. tax form from anyone who is a U.S. person, lists a U.S. property, or sets rates in U.S. dollars, and it holds payouts until a valid one is on file. You reach your tax profile only through an email link from Vrbo, which you can request in the Owner Dashboard under Payments, then Payout accounts, then Tax forms. The link works once and expires after 7 days.

Forms go out in late January, and Vrbo never emails the 1099-K itself. With e-delivery, chosen in the tax profile, an email tells you the form is ready and you download it from the Statements section. Otherwise it is mailed to the address in your tax profile. Vrbo does not mail reprints, so download another copy from the same place.

When the income isn't taxable, and where it goes

If you rent out a home you also use as a residence for fewer than 15 days in the year, the IRS says you don't report the rental income and don't deduct the expenses as rental expenses, form or no form. Past that, most owners report on Schedule E, and services mainly for your guests' convenience, such as regular cleaning, changing linen, or maid service, can move you to Schedule C. See Schedule C vs Schedule E and short-term rental taxes for where that line falls, and rental property tax deductions and Airbnb bookkeeping, which covers Vrbo stays too, for the rest.

This article is general information, not tax advice. Tax rules change and every situation is different. Confirm the details against current IRS guidance or talk to a qualified tax professional before you file.