The Pennsylvania lodging tax is a 6% state hotel occupancy tax charged on the rent for any room or short-term accommodation, with additional local taxes that raise the rate to 7% in Allegheny County and 8% in Philadelphia. It applies to stays of fewer than 30 days at hotels, motels, inns, guesthouses, and short-term rentals booked through platforms like Airbnb and VRBO. The lodging operator collects the tax from the guest and sends it to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue.1Department of Revenue. Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax
What Counts as a Taxable Stay
Pennsylvania defines “hotel” broadly under 72 P.S. § 7209 to include any building where the public can get sleeping accommodations for a fee.2New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Pennsylvania Statutes Title 72 P.S. 7209 – Definitions Traditional hotels, motels, inns, guesthouses, and tourist homes are all covered. The statute excludes charitable, educational, or religious summer camps for children, hospitals, and nursing homes, so those facilities do not collect the tax.
The tax is 6% of the rent for occupying a room, which means the total charge for the room itself.3Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Statutes Title 72 P.S. 7210 – Imposition of Tax It applies whenever a guest pays for a stay of fewer than 30 days. Once a guest has stayed in the same place for 30 or more consecutive days, they are no longer a transient and the tax stops applying.1Department of Revenue. Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax
Rates by Location
The statewide rate is 6%, matching Pennsylvania’s sales tax rate.1Department of Revenue. Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax Two counties add a local tax that is collected through the Department of Revenue alongside the state portion:
- Allegheny County adds 1%, for a state-collected total of 7%.4Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. 61 Pa. Code 60.16 – Local Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax
- Philadelphia adds 2%, for a state-collected total of 8%.1Department of Revenue. Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax
Those figures cover only the taxes the state collects. Some counties impose their own separate hotel room rental taxes that are paid directly to the county treasurer rather than through the state filing system. Allegheny County, for instance, levies an additional 7% hotel room rental tax through its treasurer’s office.5Allegheny County Treasurer Office. Hotel Room Rental Tax The authority for these county taxes comes from statutes like the Second Class County Code and the County Code, which 72 P.S. § 7210 references as the basis for additional or optional hotel taxes.3Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Statutes Title 72 P.S. 7210 – Imposition of Tax If you operate in a county with its own hotel tax, expect to register and file with both the state and the county.
Who Doesn’t Owe the Tax
The most common exemption is the 30-day rule. Once a guest has stayed at the same property for 30 or more consecutive days, the tax stops for the rest of the stay.1Department of Revenue. Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax The tax is collected for the first 29 days, then ceases. This is what covers long-term contractors and people in temporary housing between moves.
Federal government employees on official business are also exempt, but only if the federal government pays for the room directly or the employee presents proper documentation. The exemption is claimed on Form REV-1220, and the guest must attach a copy of travel orders or a supervisor’s statement.6Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Pennsylvania Tax Unit Exemption Certificate (REV-1220) Qualifying charitable organizations and other exempt entities use the same form at checkout.
Keep every completed REV-1220. If the Department of Revenue audits your records and you cannot produce the certificate for a particular stay, you can be held personally liable for the uncollected tax. The risk falls on the operator, not the guest.
Airbnb, VRBO, and Other Short-Term Rentals
Pennsylvania applies the hotel occupancy tax to rooms, apartments, and houses booked through online or third-party brokers.7Department of Revenue. Home-sharing/Third-party Broker Rentals Listing a property on Airbnb, VRBO, or a similar platform for stays under 30 days puts you under the same 6% state tax and any applicable local taxes that a traditional hotel would collect.
Some platforms voluntarily collect and remit the tax on behalf of their hosts. If a platform confirms it handles both collection and remittance, and you rent exclusively through that platform, you do not need to register separately with the Department of Revenue.7Department of Revenue. Home-sharing/Third-party Broker Rentals Confirm this in writing with the platform before relying on it. If you take any bookings outside the platform, or the platform does not collect and remit, you must register for a Sales, Use, and Hotel Occupancy Tax License and file the returns yourself.
Under 72 P.S. § 7210, a booking agent that collects payment for rent on behalf of an operator is legally required to collect and remit both the state tax and any applicable local or optional hotel taxes.3Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Statutes Title 72 P.S. 7210 – Imposition of Tax Booking agents must hold two licenses: a Sales, Use, and Hotel Occupancy Tax License, and a Booking Agent License obtained by submitting Form REV-1840 to the Department of Revenue.1Department of Revenue. Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax
Getting Licensed
Before collecting any hotel occupancy tax, get a Sales, Use, and Hotel Occupancy Tax License from the Department of Revenue. Registration is done online through myPATH at mypath.pa.gov using the Pennsylvania Online Business Tax Registration process.7Department of Revenue. Home-sharing/Third-party Broker Rentals Have your business’s legal name, the physical address of the property, and either a federal Employer Identification Number or your Social Security Number ready.8Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Register My Business for Taxes You will estimate your monthly receipts and give a start date during registration, and the Department uses that information to assign your filing frequency.
Filing and Paying
All returns are filed through myPATH.1Department of Revenue. Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax You report your total room rental charges for the period and the system calculates the tax due. Filing frequency depends on volume: smaller operators may file semi-annually, while busy hotels file monthly.
Returns and payments are due by the 20th of the month following the close of the reporting period. If that date falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline shifts to the next business day.9Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. 2025 Pennsylvania Sales, Use, and Hotel Occupancy Tax Returns, Tax Periods, and Administrative Due Dates File a return for every period even if you had zero taxable rentals during that time.1Department of Revenue. Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax Skipping a zero-dollar period because you had no guests is a filing violation. The portal accepts ACH transfers and credit cards and issues a confirmation number for each submission; keep those with your financial records.
Records You Must Keep
Pennsylvania requires lodging operators to retain tax records for at least three years from the end of the calendar year to which they relate.10Cornell Law Institute. 61 Pa. Code 34.2 – Keeping of Records That covers room rental receipts, tax returns filed through myPATH, payment confirmations, and any exemption certificates collected from guests.
Exemption certificates deserve extra care. If the Department audits you three years after a guest claimed a federal employee exemption and you cannot produce the REV-1220 for that stay, you owe the tax as if the certificate never existed.6Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Pennsylvania Tax Unit Exemption Certificate (REV-1220) Storing digital scans alongside physical copies is the simplest protection. Three years is the floor, not the ceiling; keeping records longer costs nothing and gives you a margin if an audit takes time to start.