DAC7 in Italy 2026: What Airbnb Sends to Agenzia Entrate (and HMRC, IRS)

DAC7 in Italy 2026: What Airbnb Sends to Agenzia Entrate (and HMRC, IRS)

DAC7 turns Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo into permanent informants for Agenzia delle Entrate (Italian tax authority). For UK and US owners, the same data flows back to HMRC and the IRS through automatic exchange. Below we map what the platforms report, when, and how to reconcile your Italian, UK and US filings to avoid an audit notice.

Directive (EU) 2021/514 (DAC7) came into force across the EU on 1 January 2023 and was transposed into Italian law via D.Lgs. 32/2023. Since the first reporting year (FY2023, reported by 31 January 2024), Airbnb and Booking.com have annually pushed your Italian rental data to Agenzia delle Entrate. The 2026 reporting wave (FY2025) is the third, and Italian tax inspectors now treat the data as gospel.

What Airbnb and Booking.com Report Under DAC7

The platforms transmit the following data points per host, per quarter and per property:

• Host's full legal name, date of birth, address, codice fiscale (or foreign tax ID for non-residents)
• Property address and CIN (Codice Identificativo Nazionale) where assigned
• Number of nights booked per quarter
• Gross consideration paid by guests (before platform commission and any host-side cleaning fees)
• Platform fees retained
• Bank account or payment method receiving the payouts (IBAN or PayPal)

For non-resident hosts, the platforms also collect the foreign tax ID (UK UTR or US SSN/ITIN) and the country of residence. This information is what enables Agenzia delle Entrate to forward the data to HMRC or IRS under the broader Common Reporting Standard and DAC7 cross-border channels.

Cross-Border Data Flow: Italy to UK and US

Once Agenzia delle Entrate receives your Italian rental data, it does not stay in Italy:

• UK: Italy and the UK exchange tax data under the OECD Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance and the post-Brexit UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement art. 31. HMRC's connect system ingests DAC7 data and matches it against your SA106 Foreign Pages
• US: the US is not in DAC7 directly but exchanges similar data with Italy under the 1986 US-Italy income tax convention art. 26 (exchange of information) and the FATCA IGA. The IRS receives Italian rental information for US persons through these channels
• Within the EU: an Irish landlord with an Italian Airbnb sees the data flow from Agenzia delle Entrate to Revenue Commissioners through DAC7 EU central directory

What Agenzia Delle Entrate Does With Your Data

Three concrete uses by Italian tax inspectors:

1. Pre-filled Modello Redditi PF: from FY2024 onward, Italian residents see their Airbnb income pre-filled in the dichiarazione precompilata. Non-residents do not get the pre-fill but the data is still on file
2. Mismatch alerts: if Airbnb reports EUR 28,000 of payouts and your Modello Redditi PF declares EUR 18,000, an automatic accertamento notice is generated. This is the leading source of post-2024 audits
3. CIN cross-check: Agenzia delle Entrate cross-references DAC7 host data against the BDSR (Banca Dati Strutture Ricettive) CIN register. Hosts with payouts but no CIN trigger the EUR 800 to 8,000 fine under DL 145/2023 art. 13-ter

Reconciling Italian, UK and US Filings: A Practical Workflow

For a UK landlord with an Italian Airbnb generating EUR 30,000 a year:

Filing	What to declare	Conversion rate	Deadline
Italian Modello Redditi PF	EUR 30,000 gross	n/a (in EUR)	30 November (for prior tax year)
UK SA106 Foreign Pages	GBP 25,500 (gross)	HMRC monthly average	31 January (online, for prior 5 April year)
UK SA106 box 22	GBP 5,355 (cedolare 21%)	HMRC monthly average	Same as above

The two figures must reconcile within reason. Acceptable variance is the FX rate noise (typically 1 to 3 percentage points). A larger gap triggers HMRC enquiry powers under TMA 1970 s. 9A.

For a US landlord, the workflow adds Schedule E and Form 1116 in USD using IRS yearly average rates, plus state-level filing. A 4-way reconciliation (Italy + IRS federal + state + FBAR) is unavoidable for properties owned through an LLC or held in an Italian bank account.

Reporting Calendar: Critical Dates Through 2026

The DAC7 reporting cycle has hardened since 2024 and now runs on a tight schedule:

• 31 January 2026: Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo and others must transmit FY2025 data to Agenzia delle Entrate
• 28 February 2026: hosts receive their downloadable Earnings Summary in the platform dashboard
• 31 March 2026: Agenzia delle Entrate publishes the dichiarazione precompilata for Italian residents pre-filled with DAC7 data
• 30 June 2026: cedolare secca acconto due (40% of prior year tax)
• 30 November 2026: Modello Redditi PF deadline for FY2025
• 30 November 2026: cedolare secca saldo plus second acconto (60%)

For UK and US hosts, add the SA106 (31 January 2026 for FY April 2024-April 2025) and the Form 1116 (15 April 2026 plus extensions) into the same calendar. Missed-deadline cascade is the most common reason for fines.

Sanctions for Mismatched DAC7 Data

Three sanction layers when your declared income deviates from DAC7:

• Italian sanction: 90% to 180% of the unpaid tax under D.Lgs. 471/1997 art. 1, plus 0.4% per month interest. Reduced to 1/9 of minimum (10%) under ravvedimento operoso within 90 days
• UK sanction: penalty under Sch. 24 FA 2007 ranging from 0% (mistake despite reasonable care) to 100% (deliberate concealment) of the lost tax. HMRC nudge letters typically request a corrected SA106 within 30 days before formal penalty
• US sanction: failure-to-file Form 8938 (FATCA) is USD 10,000 base plus USD 10,000 per 30 days of continued failure, capped at USD 50,000. Plus 40% accuracy-related penalty under IRC s. 6662(b)(7) for undisclosed foreign income

Common DAC7 Mistakes That Trigger Audits

• Reporting net of platform commission instead of gross: DAC7 reports gross. If you report net on Modello Redditi PF, the gap is automatic
• Forgetting cleaning fees passed through Airbnb: cleaning fees collected by the platform from the guest count as host revenue under DAC7
• Mixing personal and rental Airbnb accounts: if you have a single Airbnb host account spanning your London flat (UK income) and your Florence flat (Italian income), the platform may misallocate. Use separate hosting accounts or carefully segregate by listing ID
• Late codice fiscale provision to Airbnb: the platform withholds 21% Italian tax until you provide a valid codice fiscale. The withholding is then reported to Agenzia delle Entrate but is hard to recover if you missed the cedolare election

The Airbnb 21% Withholding Trap for Foreign Hosts

Since 2017 (DL 50/2017 art. 4), Airbnb is appointed by Italian law as a sostituto d'imposta and withholds 21% from each Italian payout, paying it directly to Agenzia delle Entrate. For Italian residents who elect cedolare 21%, this is invisible: the withholding satisfies the cedolare obligation.

For non-residents who elect cedolare 26% (properties two through four) or who file under IRPEF, the 21% is only an acconto. You need to pay the difference via F24 and reconcile in Modello Redditi PF. Without the reconciliation, Agenzia delle Entrate calls in the gap with interest and a 30% sanction.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I see exactly what Airbnb reported about me to Agenzia delle Entrate?

Yes. Airbnb provides an annual Earnings Summary by 31 January each year showing the data transmitted under DAC7. Download it from your Host Dashboard, Tax section. Booking.com offers the same through its Extranet under Finance, Tax Reports.

What happens if my Airbnb payout report disagrees with my own bank records?

DAC7 reports gross consideration paid by guests, before platform commission. Your bank shows the net payout. The difference (typically 14% to 20%) is the Airbnb host service fee. Always reconcile to the gross figure on your Italian return; HMRC and IRS expect the same gross.

Does DAC7 cover Vrbo, Plum Guide and smaller platforms?

Yes. DAC7 applies to any "platform operator" facilitating immovable property rentals in the EU, regardless of platform size. Vrbo, Plum Guide, HomeAway, OnefineStay, Booking.com and Agoda all report. Direct bookings through your own website do not trigger DAC7 (the duty falls on you to self-declare).

Is there a de minimis threshold below which Airbnb does not report?

Yes. Airbnb does not report hosts who in the calendar year had fewer than 30 rentals AND less than EUR 2,000 in total consideration. For most STR hosts, this threshold is exceeded by July.

Can I delete my old Airbnb data to avoid DAC7?

No. The reporting duty sits with the platform, not with you. Even if you close your Airbnb account, Airbnb keeps the historical data for 10 years (Italian record retention) and continues to report retroactively for the years you were active.

How does HMRC use DAC7 Italian data in practice?

HMRC's Connect system flags any DAC7 figure (Italian payout in EUR converted to GBP) that exceeds your declared SA106 income by more than 10%. The flag generates a "nudge letter" inviting you to file an amended SA. If you ignore the nudge, a formal s. 9A enquiry follows.

Need a clean reconciliation between your Airbnb DAC7 data, Italian Modello Redditi PF and HMRC SA106 (or IRS Schedule E)? Check the Standard Package HostReady (Italy): full document set, CIN BDSR walkthrough and tax-reconciliation templates designed for foreign owners.