Lodging tax by state ranges from nothing at all to roughly 15% before any city or county charges are added, and once local layers stack on, the total on a hotel bill can climb past 20% in some destinations. Most travelers pay a mix of the state’s general sales tax, a dedicated occupancy or lodging tax, and one or more local surcharges, all bundled into a single line at checkout. What you actually owe depends on where you stay, how long you stay, and sometimes the kind of place you book.
How State Rates Are Structured
States take three basic approaches. Some charge a dedicated lodging tax on top of their general sales tax. Some apply only one or the other. And a handful leave lodging taxation entirely to local governments.
Connecticut has the highest flat state-level rate in the country: 15% for hotels and 11% for bed-and-breakfasts.1Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services. Room Occupancy Tax Information Hawaii is in the same tier. Its Transient Accommodations Tax rose to 11% in January 2026, and the state’s 4% general excise tax also applies to lodging, bringing the combined state-level charge to roughly 15% before any county surcharges are added.
Several states stack their sales tax with a separate lodging levy, creating combined state-level rates that approach double digits:
- New Jersey: 6.625% sales tax plus 5% lodging tax, totaling 11.625%
- Rhode Island: 7% sales tax plus 5% lodging tax, totaling 12%
- Wyoming: 4% sales tax plus 5% lodging tax, totaling 9%
- Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont each charge a 9% lodging-specific tax with no additional state sales tax on rooms
Other states apply only their regular sales tax to hotel stays without adding a separate lodging levy. Indiana (7%), Tennessee (7%), Mississippi (7%), and Washington (6.5%) all fall into this category.2National Conference of State Legislatures. State Lodging Taxes The state-level rate is simply the same sales tax applied to any other purchase.
A few states charge no state-level tax of any kind on lodging and leave the entire authority to cities and counties. California is the most prominent example. Neither its sales tax nor any statewide lodging levy applies to room charges. Alaska also collects no state tax on lodging. In both states, local transient occupancy taxes fill the gap, commonly running from 8% to 15% depending on the city.
Oregon is sometimes described as having no state lodging tax, but it actually levies a 1.5% state transient lodging tax, with the revenue directed to the Oregon Tourism Commission.3Oregon Department of Revenue. Transient Lodging Tax Local rates on top of that 1.5% are where Oregon travelers feel the real cost.
How Local Taxes Stack on Top
The state rate rarely tells the full story. Counties, cities, and special taxing districts add their own charges, and those local layers frequently exceed the state amount. A single hotel bill in a major convention city can reflect four separate taxing authorities.
Florida shows the layering effect clearly. The state applies its 6% general sales tax to lodging but imposes no separate statewide lodging levy.4Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Sales and Use Tax Counties, however, can adopt a tourist development tax under the state’s Local Option Tourist Development Act, and most tourist-heavy counties add 5% to 6%.5Florida Senate. Florida Code 125.0104 – Tourist Development Tax The result is a combined rate of 11% to 13% in places like Orlando and Miami-Dade County.
Hawaii layers even more. On top of the 11% state TAT and 4% general excise tax, individual counties impose their own transient accommodations surcharge. Hawaii County adds 3%, bringing the total above 18%.6Hawai’i County. Transient Accommodations Tax Parts of Hawaii are among the most heavily taxed lodging markets in the country.
Special-purpose districts add another layer in some cities. Stadium authorities, convention center districts, and tourism marketing zones receive legislative permission to collect a dedicated percentage of lodging revenue. These special assessments don’t show up at the state level, but they appear clearly on your receipt.
What Kinds of Stays Are Taxed
Lodging taxes reach well beyond traditional hotels. State tax codes typically cover motels, inns, bed-and-breakfasts, vacation rentals, and properties listed on platforms like Airbnb and VRBO. Arizona’s statute, for example, explicitly includes campgrounds, dude ranches, dormitories, rooming houses, and mobile homes parked at a fixed location.7Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 42-5070 – Transient Lodging Classification
The defining factor is the nature of the stay, not the type of building. If you’re paying for a place to sleep on a short-term basis, whether it’s a beachfront condo, a yurt, or an RV pad, the tax generally applies. Some jurisdictions even tax houseboat rentals marketed to tourists. The broad language in most state statutes captures any space offered for temporary overnight use.
Corporate housing sits in a gray area that depends on how the booking is structured. A company that signs a furnished-apartment lease for 30 or more consecutive days from the outset often qualifies for the long-term exemption discussed below. If the arrangement is week-to-week with no guaranteed extended stay, the transient tax applies to each period separately until the continuous threshold is met.
Which Fees on the Bill Are Taxed
The tax doesn’t always stop at the base room rate. In most jurisdictions, any mandatory charge tied to the lodging is part of the taxable amount. Cleaning fees that every guest pays, mandatory resort fees, and non-refundable service charges are generally subject to lodging tax because the guest can’t avoid them.
Optional charges and refundable deposits usually fall outside the tax. A pet fee that applies only to guests with animals, a separate parking charge, or a refundable security deposit is typically excluded from the taxable base. Mandatory versus optional, refundable versus non-refundable: that’s the dividing line in most state tax codes. Some localities tax nearly everything anyway. Certain Florida counties include pet fees and damage waivers in the taxable rental amount.
Booking platform fees add another wrinkle. When a platform charges the guest a separate service fee or host fee, the taxability of that charge depends on the jurisdiction. Some states treat it as part of the charge for occupancy. Others tax only what goes to the property operator.
The 30-Day Exemption and Other Ways to Skip the Tax
The most widely available exemption kicks in when a guest stays 30 or more consecutive days. At that point, most states reclassify the occupant as a long-term resident rather than a transient guest, and the lodging tax stops applying. Of the 47 states and the District of Columbia that tax lodging, 44 offer some version of this long-term exemption, with 30 consecutive days being the most common threshold.8Colorado Office of the State Auditor. Long-Term Lodging Sales Tax Exemption
How the exemption works in practice varies. In Texas, guests who notify the hotel of a planned stay of 30 days or longer at check-in skip the tax entirely from day one. Guests who don’t provide that notice pay the tax for the first 30 days and then become exempt going forward.9Texas Film Commission. Hotel Occupancy Tax Exemptions If you know at the start that your stay will run past a month, say so at check-in and get the paperwork handled upfront.
Government Employees
Federal employees traveling on official business can avoid lodging taxes in many states, but only when paying with a centrally billed government purchase card like the GSA SmartPay card. Individually billed travel cards don’t receive this treatment in every state.10General Services Administration. United States Tax Exemption Form State and local government employees on official travel are sometimes exempt as well, though the rules and required documentation differ by jurisdiction.
Nonprofits
Tax-exempt nonprofits recognized under section 501(c)(3) can sometimes avoid lodging taxes when the stay is directly related to the organization’s mission. The exemption almost always requires presenting a state-issued exemption certificate at check-in. Without the paperwork in hand, the hotel is legally required to collect the full tax regardless of who’s paying the bill. The exemption belongs to the organization, not the individual traveler, so personal stays don’t qualify even when booked under the same name.
Who Collects the Tax and Who Owes It
The property operator, whether a hotel chain or an individual renting out a spare bedroom, is legally responsible for collecting lodging tax from every guest and remitting it to the government. Filing is typically monthly or quarterly depending on the jurisdiction and the volume of collections.
Online booking platforms changed this picture. After the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, more than 30 states now require platforms like Airbnb and VRBO to collect and remit lodging taxes on behalf of their hosts.11Supreme Court of the United States. South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. In those states, the platform handles tax calculations and filings, relieving individual hosts of the need to navigate every local jurisdiction.
Where a platform has entered into a collection agreement with the local taxing authority, the host’s job is mostly supervisory: confirming that the correct rate is being charged and that the listing information is accurate. In jurisdictions where no such agreement exists, the host remains fully responsible for registration, collection, and remittance. Assuming the platform handles everything without checking is one of the more common and costly mistakes new hosts make.
Registration Before You Collect
Before collecting any lodging tax, most jurisdictions require the operator to register for a tax account or obtain a permit. The typical process involves applying for a transient occupancy tax certificate through the state or local revenue department.12Mass.gov. Room Occupancy Excise Tax Some cities layer a separate short-term rental license on top of the state tax registration, with requirements that can include liability insurance minimums, neighbor notification, and posting the license number on all listing platforms.
Registration fees run from under $100 in some areas to well over $1,000 in cities with extensive permitting. Renewal is typically annual, though some jurisdictions renew every two to five years. Operating without a valid registration is one of the fastest ways to attract enforcement attention. Even if you’ve been collecting and paying the correct amount, the absence of a valid permit can trigger fines and back-assessed penalties.
Penalties for Non-Compliance
Penalties for late or missing lodging tax payments are steep. Most jurisdictions charge a percentage-based penalty on the unpaid amount, commonly 1% to 10% per month of delinquency, plus interest that keeps accruing until the balance is cleared. Some states escalate the penalty structure the longer the delinquency persists, so a two-month delay costs far more than twice a one-month delay.
Sustained non-compliance can also lead to revocation of the business license or rental permit. Some jurisdictions hold the property operator personally liable for taxes they failed to collect, meaning you can owe the government the full tax amount even if you never charged it to your guests. This “trust fund” treatment reflects the legal view that the tax belongs to the government from the moment the guest pays for the room.