Chesapeake, VA Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate
- 8% of room charge plus $2/night flat fee
- Applies to
- Hotels, motels, and short-term rentals under Va. Code § 15.2-983
- Filing deadline
- 20th of each month to Commissioner of the Revenue
- Late penalty
- 5% per 30 days, capped at 25%, $2 minimum
- Fraud penalty
- 50% of tax due on false returns
- Enforcing office
- Chesapeake Commissioner of the Revenue
Summary
Chesapeake taxes every hotel stay at 8% of the room charge plus a flat $2 per night, and the code's definition of 'hotel' expressly folds in short-term rentals under Va. Code § 15.2-983. The Commissioner of the Revenue collects the tax monthly, and $1 of the flat fee funds tourism promotion while the other $1 goes to the Conference Center Special Revenue Fund.
Hotel means any public or private hotel, inn, hostelry, tourist home or house, motel, rooming house, short-term rental (as defined in Section 15.2-983, Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended), or other place within the city offering lodging for compensation to any transient. ... There is imposed on each transient a tax equivalent to eight percent of the total amount paid for lodging by or for any such transient to any hotel, plus a flat rate of $2.00 for each night of lodging. ... One dollar of flat rate will be reserved for expenditures on tourists promotion and cultural activities, and $1.00 will be dedicated to the Conference Center Special Revenue Fund.
Full Breakdown
Every operator collecting lodging payments in Chesapeake, from a downtown hotel to a single-room short-term rental booked through an online platform, owes the transient occupancy tax under Chesapeake City Code Sec. 30-351 et seq. 2-983, Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended)', so Airbnb-style listings are taxed exactly like a Hampton Roads chain hotel. 00 is dedicated to the Conference Center Special Revenue Fund. Where an accommodations intermediary (an online booking platform) facilitates the stay, the intermediary must collect the tax on the 'room charge,' which by Sec.
30-351 includes any facilitation or accommodation fee it keeps, and must report gross receipts and property addresses monthly to the city. Every collector must file a certificate of registration with the Commissioner of the Revenue under Sec. 30-357 and remit collected tax by the 20th of each month. Sec. 30-355 exempts lodging paid by federal, state, or city officials on official business and stays at hospitals or homes for the aged. Failing to remit on time draws a five percent penalty per 30-day period under Sec.
00 minimum, and a 50 percent penalty applies to a false or fraudulent return. Willful failure to collect or remit is a Class 1 misdemeanor, and the Commissioner of the Revenue exercises police powers under Sec. 30-352 and Sec. 30-353 to summon noncompliant operators to general district court.
Violations & Fines
Operators who collect but don't remit face a five percent penalty for every 30 days late, capped at 25 percent, with a $2.00 minimum charge per Sec. 30-358. A knowingly false or fraudulent return draws a 50 percent penalty on top of the tax owed. Willfully failing to collect, account for, or remit the tax is a Class 1 misdemeanor prosecuted through the Commissioner of the Revenue's police powers under Sec. 30-352 and Sec. 30-353.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Chesapeake's hotel tax apply to Airbnb and VRBO rentals?
How much is Chesapeake's transient occupancy tax?
What happens if a host doesn't remit the tax on time?
Is any lodging exempt from the tax?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Chesapeake
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