Charlottesville, VA Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate
- 9% of room charge
- Who owes it
- Hotels, motels, B&Bs, short-term rentals
- Filing deadline
- 20th of each month
- Records retention
- Current year plus 3 prior years
- Late penalty
- 5% or $2.00 minimum
- Enforcing office
- Commissioner of the Revenue
- Violation
- Class 3 misdemeanor
Summary
In the City of Charlottesville, Virginia, anyone renting a hotel room, motel room, bed-and-breakfast unit, or short-term rental to a transient staying fewer than 30 consecutive days must collect a 9 percent tax on the room charge. The ordinance folds short-term rentals directly into its 'lodging facility' definition, so Airbnb-style hosts and booking platforms owe and remit the same tax as traditional hotels, under the Commissioner of the Revenue's oversight.
Lodging facility means any public or private hotel, inn, hostelry, short-term rental, motel or rooming, boarding or lodging house within the city offering lodging as defined in this section, for compensation, to any transient as defined in this section. ... Short-term rental means any building, structure, or unit, on the same tax parcel, sharing the same mailing address, that is used, or is intended to be used, as a residence or home for one (1) or more persons available for rent or for hire to transients. ... There is hereby imposed and levied upon every transient obtaining accommodations within the city, in addition to all other taxes and fees of every kind now imposed by law, a tax equivalent to nine (9) percent of the total room charge paid for the accommodation by the transient, or on the transient's behalf.
Full Breakdown
Charlottesville City Code § 30-253 levies the tax on the transient, computed on the 'room charge,' which the code defines broadly to include any fee added for facilitating the sale, whether called an accommodations fee or otherwise; long-distance telephone charges are the one carved-out exclusion (§ 30-252). Because § 30-252 defines 'lodging facility' to include hotels, motels, rooming or boarding houses, and short-term rentals alike, a homeowner renting a spare room or an entire house through a booking platform owes the same 9 percent as a downtown hotel.
Collection duties split by channel under § 30-255: an accommodations provider collects directly from a guest booked without an intermediary, while a platform acting as an 'accommodations intermediary' (a booking site or app) is treated as making the retail sale itself and must collect and remit the tax on the room charge it processes. Every collector must file a monthly report with the Commissioner of the Revenue and remit payment to the City Treasurer on or before the 20th of the month following collection (§ 30-256); a provider whose bookings are entirely handled by an intermediary may instead file an annual attestation each March 1.
Collectors must keep accommodation-level records, including the lodging facility's address, for the current year plus three prior years, open to inspection by the Commissioner at any reasonable time (§ 30-257). Certain uses are carved out of the tax entirely under § 30-254: hospitals, nursing and convalescent homes, and dormitories as defined in Chapter 34 pay no transient occupancy tax on care-related lodging. 1-3819.
Violations & Fines
Failing to collect, report or remit the tax is a Class 3 misdemeanor under § 30-251, and conviction does not excuse the unpaid tax. A late report or remittance draws a penalty of 5 percent of the tax owed, or a minimum of $2.00, for delinquencies of 30 days or less (§ 30-259). If a collector never files, the Commissioner of the Revenue may estimate the tax owed from available facts, assess it by certified mail, and demand payment within 10 days; a summons can issue through the Charlottesville General District Court (§ 30-260).
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Charlottesville short-term rentals owe the occupancy tax?
Who actually collects the tax on a platform booking?
What happens if the tax is remitted late?
Is a hospital stay or dorm room taxed?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Charlottesville
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