US Occupancy Tax: Who Collects It, Who Files It
Occupancy tax — also called lodging tax, transient occupancy tax (TOT) or bed tax — is a tax on the guest's stay, charged on top of the nightly rate. The guest pays it, but in most US jurisdictions the host is legally responsible for making sure it is collected and sent to the tax authority. If it never reaches them, they come after the host, not the guest.
Why it confuses hosts
There is no single US occupancy tax. A booking can stack a state rate, a county rate and a city rate at the same time — combined rates commonly land anywhere from about 3% to over 17% depending on the address. And whether your platform handles it depends on agreements between the platform and each tax authority, which change over time.
The four situations you can be in
| Situation | Platform collects | You still have to |
|---|---|---|
| Platform has a full agreement with your state, county and city | All occupancy taxes on that platform's bookings | Keep your permit/registration current; keep records |
| Platform has a partial agreement (e.g. state level only) | Part of the stack | Collect and file the remaining county/city parts yourself |
| No agreement for your address | Nothing | Register, collect the full tax from guests, and file on schedule |
| Direct bookings (any address) | Nothing — there is no platform | All of it: register, collect, file |
Airbnb collects and remits occupancy taxes automatically in the many jurisdictions where it has collection agreements; Vrbo does the same in many areas. Neither covers everywhere, and coverage can differ between the two platforms for the same house.
How to check your own situation (10 minutes)
1. In your Airbnb listing settings, open the Taxes section for the listing — it shows which taxes Airbnb collects for that address. Do the same check in Vrbo.
2. Look up your city and county short-term rental / lodging tax page and note which levels of tax exist for your address, and the filing frequency (often monthly or quarterly).
3. Compare: every level of tax that exists should be either platform-collected or registered under your own tax account. Any gap is yours to file — including "zero filings" for periods with no bookings, where your jurisdiction requires them.
4. Stays of 30+ nights are exempt from occupancy tax in many jurisdictions — but the paperwork rules vary, so confirm rather than assume.
A quick example
A booking subtotal of $1,110 in a jurisdiction with a combined 12% occupancy tax means $133.20 of tax charged to the guest. If the platform collects it, you never touch it. If you collect it yourself (or take the booking direct), that $133.20 is not income — it is money you hold for the tax authority until your filing date. Hosts get into trouble by treating a few months of collected tax as cash flow.
Run your own address
Stack your state, county and city rates and tick which ones your platform collects — the occupancy tax calculator shows what is left for you to file, per booking and per year.
Two traps
"The platform collects the tax" is not the same as "I am compliant." Many cities separately require a short-term rental permit or registration, safety rules and sometimes night caps. Tax collection does not grant any of those.
Rates and agreements change. A platform can start or stop collecting in your area, and local rates are revised. Recheck every January, and whenever your platform emails you about tax changes.
General information for US hosts, checked October 2026 — not tax advice. Your obligations depend on your exact address; confirm with your local tax authority or a CPA. For the money side, see the payout calculator and the income calculator.