The Airbnb host's guide to occupancy tax

01What occupancy tax is

Occupancy tax is a tax a host collects from guests on a short-term stay and passes on to state and local governments. You'll see it called many things depending on where your property sits, lodging tax, room tax, hotel tax, accommodations tax, transient tax, or simply "bed tax", but it works the same way: it's a percentage added to the cost of the stay.

Because the tax is charged on top of the nightly rate, the guest ultimately pays it. The host, however, is legally responsible for registering, collecting the right amount, and remitting it to each authority, that responsibility is spelled out in Airbnb's own terms of service.

02Occupancy tax vs. income tax

It's easy to confuse the two, but they're entirely separate obligations that go to different places on different schedules:

• Income tax: you pay it on your rental profit, filed annually to federal and state governments. It comes out of your earnings.
• Occupancy tax: the guest pays it, you collect and remit it, usually monthly or quarterly, to state and local authorities. There's no federal component, and the rules vary entirely by location.

03Step 1 · Register with the tax agencies

Before you can legally collect occupancy tax, you have to register with each agency that levies it. On registering you'll typically receive a license or permit, and instructions covering which forms to file, how often, and when.

Many hosts have to register in more than one place, for example, with the state and separately with a city or county. To find the right offices, look for your state's Department of Revenue, and at the local level a Finance Department, Tax Collector, or Treasurer's Office. Some states collect every local tax centrally; many do not.

04Step 2 · Know the rate to collect

Your total occupancy tax rate is the sum of every jurisdiction that taxes the property, state, county, city, and any special tourism or district taxes. Add them together to get the rate you charge:

• Identify every authority that governs your address;
• Find each one's individual rate;
• Add them up for your combined rate, e.g. 10% = 6% state + 2% city + 2% county.

A rate isn't always a clean percentage, either. Some jurisdictions add a flat dollar amount per night (sometimes per room or per person) on top of, or instead of, a percentage, so what you actually collect can be "X% + $Y per night". A few real examples:

• New York City adds a $1.50 per-unit, per-night hotel fee alongside its percentage occupancy tax;
• Georgia levies a $5 per-night state hotel fee statewide, on top of state and local lodging taxes;
• Virginia Beach adds a $2 per-night charge on top of its lodging and sales tax.

05Step 3 · Collect it from guests

The tax is added to the guest's rent and collected at payment. A $150 nightly stay at a 10% rate, for instance, is billed as $165. Airbnb doesn't provide a dedicated tax field for every jurisdiction, so where the platform isn't collecting for you, you may need to add the tax yourself, communicated to the guest before booking or handled through Airbnb's Resolution Center after check-in.

• Tell guests the exact tax amount up front;
• Track your rent and the tax you collect as separate figures;
• Many hosts hold guest-collected tax in a separate account so it's ready at filing time.

06Step 4 · File & remit your returns

Each agency sets your filing frequency, most commonly monthly, but sometimes quarterly, semi-annual, or annual. On each return you report your taxable revenue (rent plus any mandatory fees) for the period and pay the tax owed. Most authorities let you file online.

If you're registered in several jurisdictions, expect different frequencies and deadlines for each, and note that many require a return even for periods with no bookings, so a missed "zero return" can still trigger a penalty.

07What Airbnb does, and doesn't, do

In some places Airbnb has agreements to collect occupancy tax from guests at checkout and remit it for you. Where that's the case, you're not responsible for that particular tax. It's a real help, but it's rarely the whole picture.

What Airbnb generally handles:

• Collects and remits certain taxes in jurisdictions where it has an agreement;
• Adds the tax to the guest's total automatically for those covered taxes.

What Airbnb leaves to you:

• It doesn't have agreements everywhere, coverage is patchy and changes over time;
• It may collect one layer (say, state tax) while leaving a city or county tax entirely up to you;
• It doesn't register your property with any authority;
• It doesn't file your returns, and some states (Washington, for example) still require you to file and claim Airbnb-collected amounts as a deduction.

08Does Airbnb collect tax in your state?

Airbnb collects and remits some occupancy taxes in some places, but coverage is uneven and shifts over time. The snapshot below shows where Airbnb typically collects state, county, and city lodging taxes. Wherever it doesn't, those taxes are yours to register for, collect, and file. Select a state for its full guide.

Snapshot for general guidance only, reflecting a point in time, Airbnb's coverage and local tax rules change. Confirm current collection with Airbnb and the relevant authority, or let Monterra track it for you.

09How Monterra helps

Occupancy tax is a lot to track across every property and jurisdiction. Monterra is occupancy tax automation and a lodging tax filing service in one, a modern alternative to services like Avalara MyLodgeTax, that runs the whole cycle for you, so nothing slips through the gaps Airbnb leaves:

• Registration: we identify and secure the state and local licenses each property needs;
• Rates: the correct combined rate is applied to every booking, by exact address;
• Filing & remittance: returns are filed and paid on time, every period, including zero returns and Airbnb deductions;
• One dashboard: every property, platform, and jurisdiction in one place with a clear compliance status.