Chesterfield County, VA Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)
Key Facts
- State authority
- Va. Code § 58.1-3819
- Local rate
- 8% (County Code § 9-152)
- Exemption
- Stays of 30+ consecutive days
- Collector commission allowed by state
- 3%-5%, not adopted locally
- Tax status
- Held in trust for county
- Late penalty
- 10% of tax or $10, greater
Summary
Virginia Code § 58.1-3819 authorizes Chesterfield to tax short-term rental hosts the same as hotels: any facility renting guest rooms for fewer than 30 consecutive days owes the tax. Chesterfield sets that rate at 8 percent under County Code § 9-152, exempts stays of 30 days or more, and collections are held in trust for the county.
Any county, by duly adopted ordinance, may levy a transient occupancy tax on hotels, motels, boarding houses, travel campgrounds, and other facilities offering guest rooms rented out for continuous occupancy for fewer than 30 consecutive days. The tax shall be imposed on the total price paid by the customer for the use or possession of the room or space occupied in a retail sale... The tax imposed hereunder shall not apply to rooms or spaces rented and continuously occupied by the same individual or same group of individuals for 30 or more days... Any county, city or town that requires local hotel and motel businesses... to collect, account for and remit... a local tax imposed on the consumer may allow such businesses a commission for such service... at no less than three percent and not to exceed five percent of the amount of tax due and accounted for.
Full Breakdown
' That language reaches an Airbnb or VRBO host the same way it reaches a hotel desk clerk: renting out a spare room or an entire house for a weekend stay is exactly the kind of sub-30-day occupancy the statute taxes. or other lodging place within the County offering lodging for compensation to any transient,' a definition broad enough to cover a private home rented through a booking platform. 1-3819 exempts stays of 30 or more consecutive days by the same guest. Subsection D lets a locality allow collecting businesses a commission of three to five percent of the tax remitted, but Chesterfield's own collection rules in County Code §§ 9-153 through 9-159 include no such commission, so short-term rental hosts must remit the full eight percent they collect.
Subsection E requires that every dollar collected be held in trust for the county until remitted, and Chesterfield's § 9-153 repeats that trust duty directly.
Violations & Fines
Chesterfield enforces a short-term rental host's tax obligation the same way it enforces a hotel's: under County Code § 9-157, a late or unpaid remittance draws a penalty of 10 percent of the tax due or $10, whichever is greater, plus 10 percent annual interest, and a knowingly false return draws a 50 percent penalty. Failing to collect, report, or remit is a class 1 misdemeanor under § 9-159.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Airbnb and VRBO hosts owe Chesterfield's lodging tax?
Is there a discount for hosts who collect the tax?
What stays are exempt from the tax?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Chesterfield County
How Chesterfield County compares: Cities with the Highest Short-Term Rental Taxes·Compare Chesterfield County to another location·View the Virginia short-term rentals overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.