Short-Term Rental Taxes and Licenses in Pennsylvania

Five stacked layers of short-term rental rules. From the bottom: state, county, city, special districts, and HOA and CCRs. The state layer is marked, the one this page covers.

Step one of five

Pennsylvania is the layer that never changes.

Everything on this page applies right across Pennsylvania, wherever the property sits. That makes it the one part you can settle before you know the address.

The four layers above it are the ones that move: county, city, special purpose districts, then private rules like an HOA or a neighbourhood covenant that appear in no government database at all. Two properties on opposite sides of the same street can owe different totals.

Run your address for the other four

What Pennsylvania charges statewide

These apply across Pennsylvania. Counties and cities add their own on top, which is where the totals diverge.

Tax	Rate	Applies to	Confidence
Hotel Occupancy TaxPA Department of Revenue	0.06%	Rent plus cleaning fees and any other mandatory charges to the guest by the operator.	High	Source

Drawn from the Pennsylvania jurisdictions researched so far. These are the statewide figures only. Open a city below, or run your own address, for the county, city and district layers that stack on top.

Does the platform collect it for you

The facilitator statute covers ONLY the state hotel occupancy tax, not local hotel taxes. Owners may still be responsible for remitting local county or city occupancy taxes.

Channel	What you charge	Who remits the state layer	Confidence
AirbnbPlatform is merchant of record	Nothing, Airbnb collects all of it for the STATE layer only.	The platform	High	Source
VrboYou are merchant of record	6% of rent plus cleaning fees on all stays of less than 30 consecutive days.	You do	High	Source
Booking.comYou are merchant of record	6% of rent plus cleaning fees on all stays of less than 30 consecutive days.	You do	High	Source
ExpediaYou are merchant of record	6% of rent plus cleaning fees on all stays of less than 30 consecutive days.	You do	High	Source
GoogleYou are merchant of record	6% of rent plus cleaning fees on all stays of less than 30 consecutive days.	You do	High	Source
WhimstayYou are merchant of record	6% of rent plus cleaning fees on all stays of less than 30 consecutive days.	You do	High	Source
DirectYou are merchant of record	6% of rent plus cleaning fees on all stays of less than 30 consecutive days.	You do	High	Source

Still yours to charge: Local hotel or occupancy taxes.

Questions owners ask about Pennsylvania

Does Airbnb collect the Pennsylvania hotel occupancy tax for me?

Yes, Airbnb collects and remits the 6% state hotel occupancy tax on eligible reservations in Pennsylvania. However, Airbnb does not collect or remit any local county or city hotel taxes, so you may still be responsible for those.

Source

What is the Pennsylvania state lodging tax rate for short-term rentals?

Pennsylvania charges a 6% hotel occupancy tax at the state level on stays shorter than 30 consecutive days. Cleaning fees and other mandatory guest charges are included in the taxable base.

Source

Is there a long-stay exemption from the Pennsylvania state lodging tax?

Yes, any rental of 30 consecutive days or more to the same guest is exempt from the state hotel occupancy tax. A signed lease may be required to document the exemption.

Source

Do I need a Pennsylvania state license to operate a short-term rental?

You must register for a Pennsylvania Sales and Use Tax license, which includes registration for hotel occupancy tax collection. You can register online through the state's PA-100 portal, and there is no registration fee.

Source

When are Pennsylvania hotel occupancy tax returns due?

Returns for the state hotel occupancy tax are due by the 20th of the month following the close of each tax period. Monthly filing is typical, but some may be approved for quarterly filing.

Source

What happens if I file the Pennsylvania tax return late or miss a month with no rentals?

A minimum $50 penalty applies for late filing, and returns are due even when no tax is owed. Pennsylvania will penalize missing or late filings rather than only the missing payment.

Source

Are cleaning fees taxable in Pennsylvania?

Yes, all mandatory fees charged to guests, including cleaning fees, are subject to the 6% hotel occupancy tax.

Source

Do platforms like Vrbo or Booking.com collect the Pennsylvania hotel occupancy tax?

No, platforms other than Airbnb do not routinely collect or remit the Pennsylvania state hotel occupancy tax. If you book through Vrbo, Booking.com, Expedia, or direct, you must collect and remit the tax yourself.

Source

Does the state law cover local county or city hotel taxes in Pennsylvania?

No, the marketplace facilitator law only applies to the 6% state hotel occupancy tax. Owners must register, collect, and remit any separate local lodging taxes themselves.

Source

Already researched

Nothing in Pennsylvania yet

No Pennsylvania jurisdiction has been run. Start one and the page publishes itself, usually within a few minutes.

Run the first one

After the research

Setting the rates takes an afternoon. Running the property never stops.

The tax setup on this page is a one-time job, and you can do it yourself. Owners call us about everything underneath it.

The work How often

Channel tax settingsRates entered on each platform, direct included Once

Pricing against the marketRates moved as comps, events and pace change Daily

Guest messagingEnquiries, check-ins, problems at 2am 24/7

Listings and distributionContent, photos and settings across every channel Ongoing

Turnovers and coordinationCleans, maintenance, the gaps between stays Every checkout

Reviews and reputationFollow-up that earns the five star, disputes that do not Every stay

We run 300+ properties across 50+ cities and 7 countries, remotely, without standing in any of them. A property in Pennsylvania is no harder for us to take on than one down the road from our last partner.

See how Corzly manages properties

We do not register, file or remit for you, and we are not tax professionals.