Announcing Harmari STR version 10.8

Harmari is pleased to announce a new release of Harmari STR version 10.8. The features include the following: Manual tax entry and cash payment page for City Import file for multiple STR registrations and tax payments Estimated revenue data for past 3 years – added Better reporting and oversight of Compliance Analysts More systematic and

5 Tips for issuing Short Term Rental Permit Numbers

When municipalities seek to regulate short term rentals, often something that is overlooked is the permitting system.  In fact the permit number has significant value to Code Compliance departments that have to make sure everyone’s on the same level playing field.   Here are some suggestions on how to design permit numbers: Always put the year

Solve for X – The Short Term Rental Tax Gap

Harmari recently released a 20-minute training video on the technical challenges associated with detecting short term rentals (STRs, also known as STVRs) that are non-registered or under-reporting for lodging tax (also known as TOT, transient lodging tax, transient occupancy tax, bed tax, accommodations tax, etc).  Key metrics are discussed that help estimate identification and monitoring

What makes us better at short term rental compliance

The short term rental compliance industry has recently sprung up as a major concern amongst cities and counties in North America.   The challenge of ensuring compliance is that many of the major short term rental listing sites do not fully identify the name of the operator/manager and address of the properties offered.  Several vendors out

Short Term Rental Compliance

We offer the following services to help with the short term rental (STR) compliance tasks: 24/7 Complaints Tipline with real-time outbound notifications Direct Mail or Phone-based Outreach to non-compliant STR operators STR web and mobile-enabled registration page for new licensees Licensee and Tax Payment processing via PayPal Receive and compile audio / video documentation of

Hawaii fights Expedia, Orbitz, etc. in tax non-compliance

The State of Hawaii Department of Taxation wins a $150M ruling in its favour to collect taxes owing from a consortium of online travel booking agencies led by Expedia, and Travelocity.  Hawaii has on its state tax books a General Excise Tax (GET) of 4% where a business must pay for the privilege of doing

Vacation Rental Tax Leads

Municipalities seek to bridge the tax gap by ensuring that property owners who provide short-term vacation rentals are paying their registration and rental tax obligations.  Short term vacation rental (STR) sites such as VRBO, HomeAway, AirBnB and others make it easy for property owners to advertise their short term rental (less than 30 days) to