Arlington County, VA Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate on STR bookings
- 5.25% of room charge
- STR defined by
- Virginia Code Section 15.2-983
- Who remits for STRs
- Accommodations intermediary, direct to Treasurer
- Home-based hosts
- May qualify for quarterly filing
- Late penalty
- 5% plus interest after 1 month
- Criminal penalty
- Up to $300 fine or 30 days
Summary
Arlington County's 5.25% transient occupancy tax reaches short-term rentals booked through platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo. Under County Code Section 40-4, when the accommodation is a short-term rental as defined in Virginia Code Section 15.2-983, the booking platform, called an accommodations intermediary, must collect the tax on the room charge and remit it directly to the County Treasurer.
For any retail sale of accommodations facilitated by an accommodations intermediary, the accommodations intermediary shall collect the tax imposed pursuant to this chapter, computed on the room charge. When the accommodations are at a hotel, the accommodations intermediary shall remit the taxes on the accommodations fee to the Treasurer and shall remit any remaining taxes to the hotel, which shall remit such taxes to the Treasurer. When the accommodations are at a short-term rental, as defined in Virginia Code § 15.2-983, or at any other accommodations, the accommodations intermediary shall remit the taxes on the room charge to the Treasurer.
Full Breakdown
Section 40-1 defines an "accommodations intermediary" as any person other than the host that facilitates the sale of an accommodation, charges the guest a room charge, and keeps an accommodations fee as compensation for arranging the booking, a definition that covers short-term rental platforms. 2-983, or at any other accommodations," the intermediary must remit the tax on the entire room charge straight to the Treasurer itself, with no pass-through step to the host. The intermediary is not liable for tax it already forwarded to a host that the host then fails to remit, and a host's own liability is limited to the discount room charge portion, and only once the intermediary has actually paid that amount over.
The intermediary must separately state the tax on the guest's bill or invoice and add it to the room charge. Section 40-5 requires monthly reports and remittance to the Commissioner of Revenue by the 20th of the following month, but the Commissioner may allow quarterly filing for people offering transient rentals as a home-based occupation, a provision aimed squarely at individual short-term rental hosts operating out of their own homes.
Violations & Fines
The same penalty structure that governs hotels applies to short-term rental tax failures. Section 40-6 adds a 5% penalty plus accruing interest once a required remittance is a month delinquent, computed under Section 27-3. Section 40-10 additionally treats noncompliance with Chapter 40 as a criminal offense carrying a fine of up to $300, up to 30 days imprisonment, or both, with each day of violation a separate offense, and conviction does not erase the underlying tax debt.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Airbnb and Vrbo collect Arlington's occupancy tax for hosts?
What tax rate applies to a short-term rental stay?
Can a host who rents out a room from home file less often?
Is a host on the hook if the platform fails to pay over the tax?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Arlington County
How Arlington County compares: Cities with the Highest Short-Term Rental Taxes·Compare Arlington County to another location·View the Virginia short-term rentals overview
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