Salem, OR Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate
- 9% of rent charged
- Applies to
- All transient lodging, 30 days or less
- Remittance deadline
- Monthly, by end of following month
- Registration window
- 15 days after starting business
- Late penalty
- 10% then 25% after 30 days
- Revenue destination
- Cultural and Tourism Fund
Summary
Salem imposes a nine percent transient occupancy tax on every hotel, motel, and other transient lodging stay of 30 days or less, charged to the guest and collected by the operator at the time rent is paid (SRC 37.030). The same tax and definition explicitly reach short-term rentals, so a Salem hotel bill and an Airbnb booking both carry the identical nine percent city tax.
Sec. 37.030 - Tax imposed. "For the privilege of occupancy in any transient lodging, each transient shall pay a tax in the amount of nine percent of the rent charged by the operator. The transient shall pay the tax to the operator of the transient lodging at the time the rent is paid. The operator shall enter the tax on the operator's records when rent is collected if the operator keeps records on the cash accounting basis and when earned if the operator keeps records on the accrual accounting basis. If rent is paid in installments, a proportionate share of the tax shall be paid by the transient to the operator with each installment. The tax constitutes a debt owed by the transient to the City and is extinguished only by payment of the tax to the City. In all cases, the rent paid or charged for occupancy may exclude the sale of any goods, services, or commodities, other than those charges associated with the furnishing of rooms, accommodations, and space in mobile home parks or trailer parks."
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 26 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
SRC 37.030 sets Salem's transient occupancy tax at nine percent of the rent charged for any occupancy of transient lodging, a category SRC 37.020 defines broadly to include hotels, motels, inns, bed and breakfasts, and every other type of lodging occupied for 30 days or less. The tax is a debt owed by the guest to the City, extinguished only by payment of the tax to the City, and the hotel operator must separately state it on the guest's receipt and in the operator's own records (SRC 37.050).
Operators register with the City's Finance Officer within 15 calendar days of starting business and receive, within ten business days, a certificate of authority that must be prominently displayed at the property (SRC 37.070). Collected tax is due to the City monthly, by the last day of the month following collection, along with a return detailing the amount collected (SRC 37.080). A handful of stays are exempt from the tax: occupants who stay 30 or more consecutive days, hospital or licensed care-facility patients, federal employees on official travel, foreign diplomats with a valid exemption card, and disaster-shelter occupants paying with government assistance funds (SRC 37.060).
All revenue collected under the chapter is credited to the City's Cultural and Tourism Fund, which also funds refunds when an operator overpays (SRC 37.140(a)).
Violations & Fines
An operator who misses the monthly remittance deadline owes a ten percent delinquency penalty immediately, and a second 25 percent penalty if the tax is still unpaid 30 days later, on top of one percent monthly interest on the unpaid balance (SRC 37.090). The Finance Officer can issue a deficiency determination within three years of the period at issue, and an operator who fails to collect the tax, files a fraudulent return, or otherwise evades the chapter faces an estimated assessment plus penalties and interest (SRC 37.100).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Salem's hotel occupancy tax rate?
Does Salem's occupancy tax apply to Airbnb and other short-term rentals?
Is anyone exempt from Salem's transient occupancy tax?
What happens if a Salem hotel operator doesn't pay the tax on time?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Salem
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