Onondaga County Short-Term Rental Tax: Registration and Filing

If you rent a property to guests for stays under 30 days in Onondaga County, you owe a 7% county room occupancy tax plus 8% New York State and local sales tax, for a combined burden of roughly 15% on the nightly rate. Under a 2025 county amendment, the Onondaga County short-term rental tax rules also require you to register with the county, carry at least $300,000 in liability insurance, and display a valid registration number on every listing.

The 7% County Room Occupancy Tax

Onondaga County charges a 7% room occupancy tax on the consideration paid for any guest stay shorter than 30 days.¹ The current rate has been in place since March 1, 2021. Anyone staying 90 or more consecutive days is treated as a permanent resident and falls outside the tax, and stays where the nightly rate is $2 or less per day are exempt.²

You collect the 7% from guests at booking or check-in and hold it in trust for the county. Individual proprietors, partners, and corporate officers are personally liable for the tax, so operating through an LLC or corporation does not shield you from unpaid amounts.³

In September 2025, the county legislature passed Local Law No. 9-2025, which pulled short-term rentals explicitly under the tax. The amendment defines a short-term rental unit as any dwelling unit, room, or sleeping space rented for fewer than 30 collective days and offered for tourist or transient use in the county. It also defines “booking service” to cover platforms that list, advertise, or facilitate reservations and charge fees for those stays, giving the county a basis to hold platforms accountable alongside hosts.²

New York State Sales Tax on Top

Starting March 1, 2025, New York State imposes sales tax on short-term rental occupancy statewide when the nightly rate exceeds $2. This is separate from and in addition to the county’s 7% room occupancy tax.⁴ The combined state and local sales tax rate in Onondaga County is 8% (4% state and 4% county). Add the 7% county room occupancy tax and guests see roughly 15% in total taxes at checkout.

The state defines “rent” broadly for sales tax purposes: the room charge plus any service or other amount required as a condition of occupancy, whether collected by you, a booking service, or someone acting on your behalf.⁴

Sales tax has its own registration. File Form DTF-17 for a Certificate of Authority with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, and file state sales tax returns separately from your county returns.⁵

How to Register With Onondaga County

Before you collect a dollar in room occupancy tax, register with the county. Operators must file a Certificate of Registration with the Commissioner of Finance within three days of first offering the property for rent. Within five days after that filing, the Commissioner issues a Certificate of Authority permitting you to collect the tax.⁶

Under the 2025 amendment, short-term rental registrations are valid for two years and must be renewed. Every listing or advertisement for the property must display your current, valid registration number. You must also carry liability insurance of at least $300,000 covering third-party property damage and bodily injury claims arising from the rental. Tenants who don’t own the property can register only if they are permanent occupants and hold written permission from the owner.²

The registration form is available on the Onondaga County Finance Department website.⁷

When Airbnb or Vrbo Collects for You

If you list on Airbnb, the platform automatically collects and remits the 7% Onondaga County room occupancy tax on reservations of 29 nights or shorter, along with state sales tax.⁸ Guests see the taxes at checkout and the platform sends the money in.

Platform collection does not end your registration or filing duty. You still register with the county, file quarterly returns, and maintain your own records. Your return should reflect what the platform collected for that quarter. If you take direct bookings outside a platform, or use multiple platforms with different collection practices, you are fully responsible for collecting and remitting on any stays the platform did not cover. Track which bookings had taxes handled for you and which did not.

Filing Quarterly Returns

Room occupancy tax returns are due 20 days after each quarter ends:

First quarter (January–March): due April 20
Second quarter (April–June): due July 20
Third quarter (July–September): due October 20
Fourth quarter (October–December): due January 20

Returns must be postmarked by the due date, and the county does not accept metered mail as proof of timely mailing.⁷ File on the Return of Tax on Occupancy of Hotel Rooms form, a fillable PDF on the Finance Department website. Payments go by mail, online, or in person at the Finance Department in Syracuse.

Which Charges Are Taxable

Not every fee you charge is subject to the county room occupancy tax. The county treats these categories as follows:⁷

Taxable: room charges (unless the guest is tax-exempt), pet fees, no-show or late cancellation fees, and charges for early check-in or late check-out.
Not taxable: smoking fees, meeting room charges, vending machine revenue, parking fees, and dry cleaning charges.

Keep line items separate on guest invoices. If you bundle parking or cleaning into the nightly rate rather than listing it separately, the whole charge is likely treated as room consideration and becomes taxable.

Penalties for Late Filing, Non-Payment, and Operational Violations

The county runs two penalty tracks. Missing the filing deadline triggers 5% per month you do not file, capped at 25%. Failing to pay tax you owe adds a separate flat 5% on the unpaid amount. On top of either penalty, interest of 1% per month accrues on any unpaid balance from the original due date.⁷

The 2025 amendment added a separate track for operational violations such as failing to register, listing without a registration number, or operating without the required insurance. The county issues warning notices without penalty for the first and second violations. A third violation can carry a fine of up to $200. Each violation after that can result in fines of up to $500 per day.²

Personal liability for individual proprietors, partners, and corporate officers means unpaid room occupancy taxes cannot be hidden behind a business entity.⁷

Federal Income Tax on Rental Income

County and state taxes are not the whole picture. Rental income is generally taxable at the federal level, and the IRS pays attention to how involved you are in hosting.

The 14-Day Exclusion

If you rent your home for fewer than 15 days in a tax year and also use it as your personal residence, the rental income is completely excluded from gross income. You do not report it. In exchange, you cannot deduct rental expenses for those days. This rule is sometimes called the Augusta Rule and is codified at 26 U.S.C. § 280A(g).⁹ Once you cross 14 rental days, the full amount becomes reportable.

Schedule E vs. Schedule C

Most short-term rental income belongs on Schedule E. It moves to Schedule C, and becomes subject to self-employment tax, if you provide significant services to guests beyond basic property access. The IRS states that heat, light, cleaning of common areas, and trash collection are not significant services. Maid service, daily linen changes, meals, and concierge-type amenities are.¹⁰ Get this right before your first filing.

Syracuse Rental Registry

If your property sits within the City of Syracuse, you may face a separate city registration on top of the county tax rules. Owners of one- and two-family rental properties in the city must register with the Division of Code Enforcement and obtain a Rental Registry Certificate. The certificate costs $150, requires a property inspection, and must be renewed every three years or after a sale. Owner-occupied properties where the owner lives in one unit of a two-family home and rents the other are generally exempt, provided no more than two adults live in the owner-occupied unit and one is related to the owner by blood, marriage, or adoption.

Operating without a Rental Registry Certificate violates the city’s Property Conservation Code. Criminal penalties can include a $150 fine, 15 days in jail, or both. Civil penalties enforced by the city’s Law Department can reach $100 per day. These are separate from and in addition to any county room occupancy tax penalties.

Recordkeeping

Between county returns, state sales tax filings, and federal income tax, you need organized records. At a minimum, track check-in and check-out dates for each guest, the nightly rate, any additional taxable fees, the room occupancy tax collected, and whether a platform handled collection. Keep copies of every quarterly return and any confirmation receipts from the Finance Department. Store records for at least three years, the standard audit lookback under New York tax law, though holding them longer gives you a cushion if questions come up later.

1
Onondaga County. Summary of Onondaga County 2023 Hotel and Motel Room Occupancy Tax Report
2
Onondaga County Legislature. Local Law No. 9-2025 Amending Hotel Room Occupancy Tax Law
3
Onondaga County. a href=”https://onondaga.gov/finance/occupancy/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Room Occupancy Tax Rules and Regulations
4
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Sales Tax on Short-Term Rental Unit Occupancy
5
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Instructions for Form ST-101 New York State and Local Annual Sales and Use Tax Return
6
Onondaga County. Room Occupancy Tax Information
7
Onondaga County. Room Occupancy Tax Rules and Regulations
8
Airbnb. Occupancy Tax Collection and Remittance by Airbnb in New York
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 280A – Disallowance of Certain Expenses in Connection with Business Use of Home
10
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Schedule E (Form 1040)