Hotel and short-term rental stays in Buffalo are subject to a 5% Erie County hotel occupancy tax plus 4% New York state sales tax and additional local sales tax, producing roughly 13% in combined transient lodging taxes for guests.
Erie County imposes a 5% hotel occupancy tax under its local law authority granted by NY Tax Law §1202. New York State sales tax adds 4% on hotel rooms, and Erie County's local sales tax piggybacks for an additional 4.75%, yielding total combined taxes near 13.75% on hotel stays. The county tax funds Visit Buffalo Niagara tourism marketing. Online booking platforms (Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com) collect and remit Erie County hotel tax under a 2017 voluntary collection agreement. Operators of unhosted short-term rentals must register and remit even if the platform does not collect.
Failing to collect or remit hotel occupancy and sales taxes, or operating an unregistered short-term rental, results in back taxes, penalties, and interest assessed by Erie County and NY State.
Buffalo, NY
Buffalo requires all short-term rental operators to obtain a Short-Term Rental license from the City Clerk under Buffalo Code Chapter 242. Hosts must registe...
Buffalo, NY
Buffalo STR operators must collect Erie County 5 percent hotel occupancy tax plus NY State sales tax (8.75 percent in Erie County). Airbnb and Vrbo collect a...
See how Buffalo's transient occupancy tax rules stack up against other locations.
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