Bethlehem, PA Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)

Before renting a bedroom or an entire home to a transient visitor, a Bethlehem property owner must first obtain a Short Term Lodging License from the Department of Community and Economic Development. 04(B), each applicant pays the City an annual license and inspection fee set out in the separate Housing Inspection Fee Schedule Resolution rather than a flat dollar figure printed in the ordinance itself. That license cannot be sold or transferred to a new owner, and it automatically expires the day the property is conveyed to someone else, so a buyer cannot simply inherit the seller's license and must apply fresh.

05(H) layers on a second, ongoing tax obligation: the owner must apply for and keep current a City of Bethlehem Business Privilege Tax License for as long as the property operates as a Short Term Lodging Facility. 05(G) further requires an annual inspection by the Bureau of Housing, paid for by the owner, and failure to schedule or pay for that inspection results in revocation of the Short Term Lodging license outright. Owners of the two license types the ordinance recognizes, the owner-occupied specific-bedroom arrangement (up to two bedrooms, 24 hours to 30 consecutive days) and the entire-residence arrangement (7 to 30 days a year), both fall under the same fee and tax structure. 06.