Hotel Room Occupancy Tax 

On May 18, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an executive order that eliminated the 5.875% portion of New York City’s hotel room occupancy tax rate for the three-month period from June 1 to August 31, 2021.

As of September 1, 2021, the full hotel room occupancy tax should be collected and remitted.

One of three taxes and one fee that apply to hotel room rentals in New York City. The Department of Finance collects the New York City Hotel Room Occupancy Tax, also known as the Hotel Tax. The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance collects:

  1. New York State Sales Tax
  2. New York City Sales Tax
  3. New York State Hotel Unit Fee ($1.50 per unit per day)

Who Has to Pay the Hotel Room Occupancy Tax?
The Hotel Room Occupancy Tax must be paid on the occupancy, or the right of occupancy, of a room or rooms in a hotel. A "hotel" includes an apartment, hotel, motel, boardinghouse, bed-and-breakfast, bungalow, or club, whether or not meals are served. The occupant of any room or rooms in a hotel must pay the tax. Hotel operators and remarketers (when a room has been purchased through a re-seller) collect the tax from the occupant.

A building is not considered a hotel if rooms are only rented for up to 14 days or are only rented once or twice during any four consecutive tax quarters of a 12-month filing period. Rentals to permanent residents should not be included in the number of rooms counted as hotel room rentals.

Who is Exempt from this Tax?

  • A permanent resident (one who occupies a room for at least 180 consecutive days)
  • New York State, a political subdivision of the State, or a public benefit corporation,
  • The United States
  • The United Nations
  • A not-for-profit organization that was formed and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, or educational purposes, or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals.
    Filing Information and Forms

Tax Rates
Hotel Room Occupancy Tax is based on the “rent” being charged for a room: 

If the rent for the room is… The tax will be…
$10 or more, but less than $20 50 cents per day per room + the hotel room occupancy tax rate
$20 or more, but less than $30 $1.00 per day per room + the hotel room occupancy tax rate
$30 or more, but less than $40 $1.50 per day per room + the hotel room occupancy tax rate
$40 or more $2.00 per day per room* + the hotel room occupancy tax rate

* A hotel suite may have more than one room. The tax will be $2.00 per room per day on each of the rooms that make up the suite plus the hotel room occupancy tax for the entire suite rental. (For example; The tax on a suite with 3 rooms will be $6.00 per day plus the hotel room occupancy tax for the entire suite rental).

Filing Deadlines

TAX PERIOD DUE DATE
December 1 to February 28 March 20
March 1 to May 31 June 20
June 1 to August 31 September 20
September 1 to November 30 December 20
March 1 to February 28 (small facility operators only) March 20

Special Filing Instructions for periods including June through August 2021
On the quarterly return for the period ending August 31, 2021, enter a zero on line 5 of the return. Annual filers should calculate the additional tax due on line 5 for the period June through August 2021 similarly, i.e., there would include no additional tax due for this three-month period.

Forms and Reports
Forms

Certificate of Registration
Every operator of a hotel or small facility and every room remarketer must file a Certificate of Registration application with the Department of Finance and obtain a Certificate of Authority empowering the operator to collect the Hotel Room Occupancy Tax. In the case of operators opening new hotels, a Certificate of Registration must be filed within three days after guests begin renting rooms. Within five days of registering, the Finance Department will issue a Certificate of Authority. The Certificate of Authority must be prominently displayed at the place of business. In the case of room remarketers that offer New York City hotel rooms via the internet, scanning the Certificate of Authority and displaying it on the remarketer’s website is considered to be prominently displayed