Should I request tax reimbursement for business hotel stay booked through Airbnb?

This is actually a pretty common issue with company expense policies not keeping up with modern booking platforms. Here's what you need to know: If your company won't reimburse you, you can potentially claim it as an unreimbursed employee business expense on your taxes, but there's a major catch. Since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, unreimbursed employee business expenses are no longer deductible for most W-2 employees through 2025. These expenses were previously deductible as miscellaneous itemized deductions subject to the 2% AGI floor. Your best bet is to go back to your company with additional documentation. Contact the hotel directly and ask them to provide you with a folio or formal receipt on their letterhead showing your stay dates, room rate, and taxes paid. Many hotels will do this even if you booked through a third party. Explain to your accounting department that the substance of the transaction (staying in a hotel for business) is what matters, not the booking platform.

After dealing with a nearly identical situation (company wouldn't accept my Airbnb receipt even though it was for a legitimate business trip), I found an amazing tool that saved me a ton of headache. I used https://taxr.ai to analyze my receipt and booking confirmation, and they provided me with a detailed report explaining exactly how this expense should be treated for tax purposes. The report clearly showed that the substance of the transaction was a legitimate business lodging expense, and it included all the IRS references my company's accounting department needed to see. Once I showed them the analysis from taxr.ai, they finally agreed to process my reimbursement!

I tried taxr.ai after seeing the recommendation here and wow - it actually worked for my situation! I had a similar issue with my company not accepting a vacation rental receipt for a business conference stay (everything else was booked). The tool analyzed my booking confirmation and receipt, then generated a detailed report explaining why the expense qualified as business travel lodging under IRS guidelines. I forwarded this to our accounting department along with a note from my manager confirming the business necessity, and they approved the reimbursement! Apparently our accounting team was mostly concerned about tax compliance for expense reports, and once they saw the proper documentation they were willing to be flexible. Definitely worth trying before giving up on getting reimbursed!

If your company ultimately refuses to reimburse you and you need to contact the IRS about how to handle this on your taxes, good luck actually reaching anyone. I spent WEEKS trying to get through to a human at the IRS about a similar tax question last year. I finally discovered https://claimyr.com and used their service - you can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. They basically hold your place in the IRS phone queue and call you when an actual agent is on the line. Saved me hours of waiting on hold, and I was able to speak with someone who confirmed exactly how to handle an expense like this.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I tried the Claimyr service from the comment above and it actually worked. I was 100% convinced it would be a waste of time, but I was desperate after trying to reach the IRS for days about a tax issue similar to the hotel reimbursement question. The service called me back in about 47 minutes with an actual IRS agent on the line! The agent confirmed that while W-2 employees can't deduct unreimbursed business expenses anymore, I should still try to get proper documentation from the hotel directly rather than just using the Airbnb receipt. She suggested requesting an itemized folio from the front desk showing the room charges broken down by night with the taxes listed separately. I'm still shocked this actually worked after years of fighting with the IRS phone system. Figured I should report back since I was so skeptical in my initial response.

Have you tried going directly to the hotel and asking for a proper receipt? Even though you booked through Airbnb, most hotels keep records of all guests and can print you an official folio. Just explain your situation - I used to work in hotel management and we'd do this all the time for business travelers who booked through third parties. We'd just look up your stay in our system and print out our standard receipt format.

In the future, you might want to check if your company has a corporate travel booking system or preferred vendors. My company uses Concur and if we book outside their system, even if it's cheaper, they make reimbursement a huge pain. Maybe ask your coworkers how they typically handle travel bookings to avoid this hassle next time?

This is a frustrating situation but definitely not uncommon! I've seen this exact issue come up multiple times with clients. The good news is that you have several options to pursue. First, I'd strongly recommend getting that official hotel receipt as others have suggested - call the hotel directly and explain you need a proper folio for business expense reimbursement. Most hotels are very accommodating about this. If your company still won't budge, document everything thoroughly. Keep your original Airbnb receipt, the hotel folio, correspondence with your company, and any proof that regular hotels were unavailable during your travel dates. This documentation will be crucial whether you end up getting reimbursed later or need to explore other options. One thing to consider: some companies have an appeals process for expense disputes. Check your employee handbook or ask HR if there's a formal way to escalate this beyond the accounting department. Sometimes getting a manager or HR involved can help resolve these policy interpretation issues. Also, make sure you understand whether this was truly a business necessity (sounds like it was) versus a personal preference for accommodation type. The IRS cares about the business purpose and reasonableness of the expense, not necessarily the booking platform used.