Jersey City, NJ Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate
- 6% of room/accommodation charge
- Adopted
- 1999, last amended 3-12-2020
- Payment schedule
- Quarterly, with real property tax dates
- Collector
- Chief Fiscal Officer
- Exempt
- Licensed rooming/boarding houses
- Delinquency remedy
- Tax sale lien, same as property tax
Summary
Jersey City imposes a six percent tax on hotel rooms and transient accommodations under Municipal Code § 304-26, part of Chapter 304's Hotel and Transient Accommodation Occupancy Tax article. The levy stacks on top of the state Sales and Use Tax and any real estate or service charges, and it reaches short-term rental units alongside traditional hotels.
There is hereby imposed a six percent tax on charges for the use or occupancy of transient accommodations and rooms in hotels as authorized by the "Hotel and Motel Occupancy Tax Act," N.J.S.A. 40:48E-1, et seq., as amended. This tax shall be in addition to any and all real estate (ad valorem) taxes or services charges; the tax imposed by the "Sales and Use Tax Act," N.J.S.A. 54:32B-1 et seq.; or any other fee, charge or tax imposed by law.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 52).
Full Breakdown
Article V of Chapter 304, first adopted in 1999 and last amended March 12, 2020, folds short-term rentals into the same six percent levy that applies to hotel rooms. 2 to include apartment hotels, bed-and-breakfasts, motels, inns, boarding houses, rooming houses and condotels, as well as "transient accommodations," meaning rooms booked through an online marketplace or offered by an operator who lists two or more units, unless the stay runs 90 consecutive days or longer. Rooming and boarding houses already licensed under New Jersey's Rooming and Boarding House Act of 1979 are exempt under § 304-27. A. B. A. 3.
Violations & Fines
Section 304-27.1.F enforces delinquent hotel occupancy tax exactly like delinquent real property tax, meaning the city can pursue a tax sale lien against the property to collect it. Every collector is personally liable for tax collected or required to be collected, per § 304-27.1.D, and no operator may advertise that the tax won't be charged or will be refunded to the guest, per § 304-27.1.E.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the hotel occupancy tax rate in Jersey City?
Does the tax apply to Airbnb-style rentals?
Is any lodging exempt from the tax?
How is unpaid hotel tax collected?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Jersey City
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