STR Tax Compliance Calculator (Lodging / TOT / GET by State)

How this calculator works

Short-term rental properties trigger lodging tax at one or more layers — state, county, and city — and the platforms (Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com) handle some of the remittance automatically but not all of it. The calculator computes the total monthly lodging tax due at the supplied gross revenue, splits it between the platform-remitted portion and the operator-remitted gap, and estimates the penalty exposure if the operator fails to remit the gap.

The core identity:

monthly gross revenue times combined tax rate equals total monthly tax due

Where combined tax rate equals state plus county plus city. The platform-remitted portion is the platform-handled fraction of the total tax (operator-supplied, because the matrix varies jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction). The operator-remitted gap is the remainder — and it is the single largest source of compliance risk in STR operations.

The penalty exposure estimate models a conservative central case: the operator under-remits the gap for the entire exposure window (default 12 months — the typical first-time-noncompliance audit window in most states), then the state assesses the underpayment principal plus a late-filing penalty (modeled at the 25% statutory cap) plus interest (modeled at 8% annualized — federal short-term rate plus approximately 5%). Worst-case audits with fraud penalties can multiply this exposure by 2x to 3x and can reach back 3-4 years.

Voluntary disclosure programs in most states wipe out the penalty layer in exchange for past-due tax plus interest. The calculator does not model the voluntary-disclosure path because the program terms vary state-by-state; if the calculator's exposure estimate is concerning, the operator should consult a state-tax CPA about voluntary disclosure BEFORE the state's audit team notices the gap.

The framework — lodging tax stack decomposed

Three layers stack on top of each other in most U.S. jurisdictions:

State lodging tax. Imposed under the state's transient occupancy tax statute (TOT) or general sales tax base extended to lodging. Rates vary from 0% (NH, OR, AK, DE — no state lodging tax) to over 10% (HI's Transient Accommodations Tax at 10.25%). Common bands: 4-6% in most southern states (NC, GA, AL); 6-7% in Florida and Tennessee; 7-9% in Connecticut, Maine, Vermont, and parts of the Mountain West; 10%+ in Hawaii. Most platforms remit the state lodging tax automatically in jurisdictions where the platform has a tax-collection agreement with the state revenue department.

County lodging tax. Layered on top of the state base in tourist-heavy regions. Florida county tourist development tax (TDT) runs 4-6% and funds tourism marketing and convention centers. Tennessee, Texas, Colorado, and North Carolina counties layer 1-6% in their tourist-heavy areas. Most other states have minimal county-level lodging tax. Platform coverage at the county level is inconsistent — Airbnb and Vrbo handle some county tax in some jurisdictions but operators frequently bear the remittance burden.

City lodging or occupancy tax. The local layer. Major tourist cities and most ski/beach municipalities layer 2-9% on top of state and county. Representative rates: Nashville Metro 6%, Austin city 9%, Asheville 3%, San Francisco 14%, NYC hotel room occupancy 5.875%, Honolulu County 3%, Denver lodgers tax 10.75%, Park City resort tax 1-3%. Platform coverage at the city level is the weakest of the three layers — operators almost always remit the city tax directly.

Combined effective rates (representative): rural OR / NH 0-2%; suburban GA / AL 4-6%; secondary markets in TN / NC / CO / NM 8-13%; tourist-heavy markets (Nashville, Austin, Asheville, SF, NYC, Honolulu, Denver) 13-18%. The Honolulu combined rate of approximately 17.5% is among the highest in the U.S.; the rural-Oregon rate near 0% is the lowest.

Platform remittance posture

The major platforms have tax collection and remittance agreements with most state revenue departments under which the platform collects the tax from the guest, remits to the state directly, and excludes the tax from the host payout entirely. Coverage varies by platform and by jurisdiction:

Airbnb. State-level coverage in 40+ U.S. states. Some county and city coverage in select jurisdictions (notably Florida county TDT in most counties, San Francisco TOT, NYC hotel room occupancy in select boroughs). The host dashboard surfaces "Local taxes" with the platform-remitted portion broken out per booking.

Vrbo. Similar state-level coverage to Airbnb in most U.S. jurisdictions. Weaker on county and city. The Vrbo dashboard shows "Lodging tax collected" if the platform handles it.

Booking.com. Narrower U.S. lodging-tax-collection coverage than Airbnb / Vrbo. Operators frequently remit even the state-level tax directly for Booking.com bookings. The Booking.com partner dashboard shows lodging tax under "Commission and tax."

Direct booking. No platform — the operator collects and remits the entire stack directly.

The calculator's platformRemittancePct input captures this. Common values: 0% if booking direct or on Booking.com in most jurisdictions, 30-50% if booking on Airbnb / Vrbo in a state-only-coverage jurisdiction, 80-100% if booking on Airbnb / Vrbo in a fully-covered jurisdiction (rare but exists in a handful of states). Verify the actual posture in the host dashboard rather than assuming.

Inputs explained

Nightly rate. Average daily rate (ADR) across bookings in the modeled month. Most lodging tax statutes assess on the total amount charged to the guest including cleaning fees and other line items — the gross figure should reflect the lodging-tax-assessable total.

Nights per month. Total nights booked in the month. A property at 65% occupancy averages roughly 20 nights per month. Use the trailing-90-day average for a defensible baseline.

State. Drives the default state lodging tax rate. The calculator covers representative defaults for TN, TX, NC, CA, CO, NY, HI, OR, NH, AZ, with city-specific tags for Nashville, Austin, Asheville, Honolulu, and NYC that pull the state default. Use "other" with the state-rate override for any uncovered jurisdiction.

State rate override. Optional manual rate. Use when the state lodging tax has changed since the calculator was last reviewed, or when the property is in a jurisdiction not covered by the state-select defaults. Rates change frequently — verify against the state revenue department.

County rate. County-level lodging or tourist development tax. Pull from the county revenue department or the Avalara MyLodgeTax reference. For Florida properties, use the dedicated FL vacation-rental calculator.

City rate. City-level occupancy tax. Pull from the city revenue department or Avalara MyLodgeTax.

Platform remittance percentage. Fraction of the total tax stack the platform handles automatically. Verify in the host dashboard under "Local taxes" or "Lodging tax." Booking-level data is the most reliable source — the published platform matrices are directional but lag actual coverage changes.

Exposure window. Months of operator under-remittance to model for the penalty estimate. Default 12 months reflects the typical first-time-noncompliance audit window. Set to 36-48 for the worst-case audit scenario (most states can reach back 3-4 years for an unfiled-return assessment).

Industry benchmarks

The standard third-party reference for U.S. lodging tax is Avalara MyLodgeTax — a maintained state-by-state database covering rates, registration requirements, filing frequency, and platform-coverage status. Updated regularly but lags real-world rate changes by 30-90 days; verify against the state revenue department for current rates. The Avalara reference is the de facto industry standard for property managers, accountants, and STR auditors.

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) publishes a state-and-local lodging tax overview that covers the legislative authority for each tax layer. Useful for understanding the statutory framework but does not provide current rates.

The platforms' own published jurisdiction matrices (Airbnb tax collection list, Vrbo tax collection list) document where the platform remits automatically. These are authoritative for the platform side but do not cover the operator gap.

Typical patterns by market type (operator-side gap, not total tax):

Urban tourist markets (Nashville, Austin, Asheville, NYC, SF, Honolulu): operator gap is typically the full county and city portion (often 8-12% of gross revenue). Platform handles state only.

Beach and ski markets (Florida, Outer Banks, Park City, Lake Tahoe): operator gap varies. Florida properties have strong platform coverage at the state level and increasingly at the county TDT level. Park City requires direct operator remittance of the 1-3% resort tax. Lake Tahoe properties span CA and NV — the operator gap varies by state.

Rural and secondary markets (Smokies, Hocking Hills, rural cabin destinations): operator gap is typically minimal because there is no county or city lodging tax layered on top of the state base. State is platform-handled. Operator-side compliance burden is low.

Direct booking everywhere: operator gap is the full stack. No platform remits.

Compliance failure rates by market type are not publicly tracked but anecdotally run highest in (a) tourist-heavy cities with material city-level tax (Nashville, Austin, San Francisco have aggressive audit programs), (b) Hawaii (the combined TAT+GET+county stack is unusually complex), and (c) direct-booking operators in any jurisdiction (no platform to handle anything).

What this calculator does NOT model

Florida-specific tourist development tax workflow. Florida county TDT has a county-by-county registration and remittance workflow that differs materially from other states. Use the dedicated FL vacation-rental calculator instead of this one for Florida properties.

Hawaii GET (General Excise Tax). Hawaii layers a 4-4.5% GET on top of the 10.25% TAT for short-term lodging. The calculator models Hawaii under a single state rate covering TAT; operators should add GET to the state-rate override or to the county rate to capture the full Hawaii stack.

Long-term rental exemption. Most state lodging tax statutes exempt rentals of 30 days or more (sometimes 28, 90, or 180 days depending on the state). The calculator assumes all bookings are short-term. Operators with mixed short and long stays should compute lodging tax separately for the short portion only.

Marketplace-facilitator law variations. Some states have marketplace-facilitator laws that mandate platform collection of lodging tax regardless of the operator's filing status; others have voluntary collection agreements that depend on the platform's election. The legal framework affects whether the platform's remittance discharges the operator's filing obligation or whether the operator must still file an informational return showing the platform-remitted amount. Consult a state-tax CPA.

Federal income tax treatment. Lodging tax is a state-and-local layer. Federal income tax on STR income is handled separately under Schedule E (passive rental) or Schedule C (active trade or business). See the IRS Publication 527 reference and the companion STR Nightly Rate Breakeven Calculator's federal-tax FAQ.

Voluntary disclosure program terms. Most states offer voluntary disclosure agreements (VDAs) that waive the late-filing penalty in exchange for past-due tax plus interest. Program terms vary state-by-state (look-back period, eligibility, anonymity rules). The calculator's penalty estimate assumes no voluntary disclosure — the worst-case path. Operators with material exposure should consult a state-tax CPA about VDA eligibility before relying on the calculator's central case.

Local registration requirements. Most jurisdictions require STR-specific registration with the state and local revenue departments before collecting tax. Some require a registration number displayed on the listing. Some cap STR licenses or prohibit non-owner-occupied STRs entirely. The calculator computes tax math; verify the registration and licensing posture separately.

Audit-frequency variation by jurisdiction. State audit programs vary in aggressiveness. Florida, Tennessee, California, New York, and Hawaii run active STR audit programs and routinely cross-reference platform data against filed returns. Smaller states audit less frequently but still assess back taxes when noncompliance is discovered. The calculator's exposure model is jurisdiction-agnostic.

Sources

• State revenue departments — authoritative source for current lodging tax rates, registration requirements, and filing frequency. Verify against the state DOR before relying on any third-party reference.
• Avalara MyLodgeTax — state-by-state lodging tax reference covering rates, registration, filing frequency, and platform tax-collection-agreement status. The de facto industry standard for property managers.
• NCSL — State and Local Lodging Tax Overview — National Conference of State Legislatures overview of the statutory framework.
• Airbnb Tax Collection List — current published list of jurisdictions where Airbnb collects and remits lodging tax on behalf of hosts.
• Vrbo Tax Collection List — current published list of jurisdictions where Vrbo collects and remits lodging tax on behalf of hosts.
• IRS Publication 527 — federal income tax treatment of residential rental property. Lodging tax is a separate state-and-local layer.
• Representative state statutes: TN Code Title 67 Ch 4 Part 14; TX Tax Code Title 2 Ch 156; NC Gen Stat § 105-164.4F; HI Rev Stat § 237D (TAT) plus § 237 (GET); NY Tax Law § 1105(e) plus NYC Admin Code § 11-2502; CO Rev Stat § 39-26-104; CA Rev & Tax Code § 6201; AZ Rev Stat § 42-5070.

Last reviewed: 2026-05-16 against the Avalara MyLodgeTax state-by-state reference, the Airbnb and Vrbo tax-collection lists, and the statutes cited above. Statute-level rates change frequently; verify against the state revenue department before relying.