James City County, VA Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Base tax rate
- 5% of total price paid
- Add-on tax
- $2.00 per room per night
- Filing deadline
- 20th of each month
- Late penalty
- 10% plus 10% annual interest
- Fund split
- Half of $2 fee to Historic Triangle Marketing Fund
- Governing section
- James City County Code Sec. 20-14
Summary
James City County taxes every overnight stay at a hotel, motel, inn, tourist home, campground or short-term rental in the county. Sec. 20-14 levies a 5 percent tax on the total price paid for the room, plus a flat $2.00 per room per night on top of it, collected by the accommodations provider or booking platform and remitted to the commissioner of the revenue.
(a)There is hereby levied and imposed, in addition to all other taxes and fees of every kind now imposed by laws, on each transient a tax equivalent to five percent of the total price paid for the use or possession of any accommodations by or for any such transient to any accommodations provider. Such tax shall be collected from such transient at the time and in the manner provided by this article.(b)In addition to the tax provided for in subsection (a) above, as provided in section 58.1-3823(C) of the Virginia Code, there is hereby levied and imposed an additional transient occupancy tax of $2.00 per room per night for the use or possession of any overnight guest room rented by a transient. Such additional tax shall be collected from such transient at the time and in the manner provided by this article. Of the revenues generated by this tax, one-half of the revenues shall be deposited into the Historic Triangle Marketing Fund, created pursuant to section 58.1-603.2 (E)(1) of the Virginia Code, and one-half of the revenues shall be retained by the county.
Full Breakdown
Sec. 00 per room per night, authorized by Va. Code Sec. 1-3823(C). The county splits that second tax down the middle: half goes to the Historic Triangle Marketing Fund that promotes Williamsburg, Jamestown and the county together, and half stays with the county. 'Accommodations' is defined broadly in Sec. 20-15 to cover hotels, inns, motels, rooming houses, tourist homes and travel campgrounds, so a short-term rental booked through a platform is taxed the same way a hotel room is. Collection duties differ depending on who books the room: under Sec.
20-16, a property that rents directly to a guest collects and states the tax itself, while a booking platform that facilitates the sale collects tax on its own accommodations fee and passes the rest through to the property. Sec. 20-17 requires every accommodations provider and intermediary to file a monthly report and remit the tax to the treasurer before the 20th of the following month; the money is held in trust until it's turned over. Miss that deadline and Sec. 20-18 adds a ten percent penalty on top of the tax owed, plus interest at ten percent a year computed from the original due date, though the penalty can never exceed the tax itself.
If a provider refuses to collect or report altogether, Sec. 20-19 lets the commissioner of the revenue estimate the tax due from whatever information is available and assess it directly against the provider by registered mail.
Violations & Fines
Failing to file the monthly report or remit collected tax by the deadline draws a ten percent penalty under Sec. 20-18, plus ten percent annual interest computed from the original due date; the penalty itself is capped at the amount of tax owed. A provider that never collects or reports the tax at all faces a commissioner's estimate-and-assess action under Sec. 20-19, with the full estimated tax, penalty and interest due within ten days of mailed notice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the tax apply to Airbnb-style short-term rentals?
What is the total tax rate on a hotel room in James City County?
Who has to file the monthly tax report?
What happens if a short-term rental host never registers or pays?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in James City County
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