Medford, OR Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)

Section 8.801(1) of the Medford City Code sweeps short-term rentals directly into the tax base: "transient lodging" covers not only hotels and motels but "(c) Houses, cabins, condominiums, apartment units or other dwelling units, or portions of any of these dwelling units that are used for temporary human occupancy." Because of that definition, an Airbnb, VRBO or similar short-term rental in Medford collects the same 11% tax on rent that hotels charge, under § 8.802(1), and the host or the booking platform acting as a "transient lodging intermediary" is responsible for collecting and remitting it (§ 8.801(12)-(14), § 8.803(1)).

The tax is computed on the total retail price charged for the stay, in addition to any state lodging tax, and is due to the Chief Financial Officer by the last day of the month following collection (§ 8.807(1)). Short-term rental operators must register as a lodging tax collector with the Chief Financial Officer within 15 days of starting to rent, and must post the resulting registration certificate at the property (§ 8.806). Section 8.805(3) carves out one narrow exemption: a private residence used by the general public for temporary occupancy for fewer than 30 days total per year owes no tax at all.

That threshold is measured across the whole year, not per booking, so a host who rents out a room or unit on 30 or more days in a calendar year loses the exemption and must collect the tax on every stay. Guests who stay 27 consecutive days or more, or who rent the same unit on a running monthly basis, are treated as non-transient tenants and fall outside the tax entirely (§ 8.801(11), § 8.805(6)).