Virginia Beach, VA Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)
Key Facts
- Occupancy tax rate
- 8% + $2 flat per night
- Sandbridge district add-on
- additional 1.5% of room charge
- STR registration fee
- $50 annual, to commissioner of revenue
- Unregistered rental penalty
- $500 per day of violation
- Filing deadline
- 20th of each month
Summary
Short-term rentals in Virginia Beach owe the 8% transient occupancy tax plus a $2 nightly flat fee, and operators must register annually with the commissioner of the revenue for a $50 fee.
There is hereby levied and imposed on each transient a tax equivalent to eight (8) percent of the total amount paid for lodging... plus a flat tax of two dollars ($2.00) for each night of lodging at any lodging place other than a campground. ... An operator of a short-term rental is required to register with the commissioner of the revenue annually... the commissioner of the revenue shall collect a fee of fifty dollars ($50.00).
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 170 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Virginia Beach taxes short-term rentals as accommodations providers under the transient occupancy tax: 8% of the room charge plus a flat $2 per night (except campgrounds), collected by the host or booking platform and remitted monthly to the city treasurer. Properties inside the Sandbridge Special Service District pay an added 1.5%. Separately, every STR operator must register annually with the commissioner of the revenue and pay a $50 fee that funds the registry; renting unregistered draws a $500-per-day penalty, and repeat violators can be barred from registering the property at all.
Violations & Fines
Offering an unregistered short-term rental costs a $500 penal fine per day of violation; repeated convictions can bar the specific property from registering at all, per Sec. 35-169(e)-(h).
Frequently Asked Questions
Do short-term rental hosts pay Virginia Beach's transient occupancy tax?
Is there a separate fee just for listing a short-term rental?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Virginia Beach
How Virginia Beach compares: Cities with the Highest Short-Term Rental Taxes·Compare Virginia Beach to another location·View the Virginia short-term rentals overview
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