Alexandria, VA Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Percentage tax
- 6.5% of room rental
- Flat nightly tax
- $1.25 per unit, per night
- STR coverage
- STRs under 30 days taxed as hotels
- Late penalty
- 10% of tax due or $10 minimum
- Interest rate
- 10%/yr year one, 5%/yr after
- Governing law
- City Code Art. K, §§ 3-2-141 to 3-2-152
Summary
Alexandria charges every hotel guest and short-term rental guest 6.5% of the room rental plus a flat $1.25-per-night fee under City Code § 3-2-142. Because § 3-2-141 folds short-term residential rentals defined in § 3-2-152 into the code's "hotel" definition, Airbnb and VRBO stays under 30 days owe the identical tax as a hotel room.
Hotel. Any public or private hotel, inn, apartment hotel, hostelry, tourist home or house, motel, rooming house, short-term residential rental as defined in section 3-2-152, or other lodging place within the city offering lodging to any transient as hereinafter defined for compensation and, except for short-term residential rental as defined in section 3-2-152, which can lodge four or more persons at any one time. ... Sec. 3-2-142 - Levy and rate. In addition to any other tax imposed by law, there is hereby imposed and levied on each and every transient, (i) a tax equivalent to six and one-half percent of the total amount paid for room rental by or for such transient to a hotel, and (ii) a tax of $1.25 for each day (or portion thereof) of lodging for which room rental is paid by or for such transient to a hotel: provided, that the total tax under clause (ii) for a day (or portion thereof) of lodging in a single unit of lodging shall not exceed $1.25.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 156 | Zoning: Supplement 103).
Full Breakdown
Article K of Title 3, Chapter 2 of the Alexandria City Code imposes the transient lodging tax on every "transient": anyone who rents a room for 90 consecutive days or fewer at a hotel, or fewer than 30 consecutive days at a short-term residential rental. 25 per unit per night no matter how many transients split the room) applies whether the stay is booked through a hotel or an online short-term rental platform. Section 3-2-152, added by Ord. No. 5091 (11/18/17, eff. 1/1/18) and amended by Ord.
No. 5600 (9/13/25), defines a short-term residential rental as a room or dwelling offered for occupancy of fewer than 30 consecutive days for a charge. Section 3-2-143 exempts room rental paid directly by federal, state or city government, rental paid to a hospital, medical clinic, convalescent or aged-care home, and rental paid by a full-time student at a school, college or university within the city. Under § 3-2-144, whoever collects room rental must collect the tax at the same time and hold it in trust for the city; § 3-2-145 requires monthly reports and remittance to the director of finance by the last day of each month, or quarterly with the director's written consent.
Violations & Fines
A hotel or short-term rental operator who fails to remit the tax on time owes a penalty of 10% of the tax past due or $10, whichever is greater, capped at the amount of tax owed, under § 3-2-146. Interest then accrues at 10% per year for the first year the tax remains unpaid and 5% per year after that. Section 3-2-151 makes any violation of Article K a misdemeanor punishable under § 1-1-7, with each day of noncompliance a separate offense in addition to the tax, penalty and interest already due.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Alexandria's hotel tax apply to Airbnb and VRBO stays?
What is the total transient lodging tax rate in Alexandria?
Who is exempt from the transient lodging tax?
What happens if a hotel or host pays the tax late?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Alexandria
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