Registration Requirements
Within the first fifteen (15) days of the start of business: Portland hotels, motels, Bed & Breakfasts, vacation rentals, and short term rental operators who provide lodging on a transient (non-permanent) basis for eight (8) days or more days in a calendar year and/or operators who advertise or market space for rent to the general public are required to register for a Revenue Division tax account.
Once you have registered, you will be issued a Certificate of Authority that should be posted in an obvious place that is easily seen by guests. This certificates assures the guests that you are authorized to collect the taxes and fees.
Hotel / Motel and Short-term Rental Transient Lodgings Taxes and Fees
Hotel / Motel and Short-term Rental Transient Lodgings Taxes
- City of Portland Transient Lodgings Tax: 6%
(5% to the City general fund; 1% to Travel Portland) - Multnomah County Transient Lodgings Tax: 5.5%
(2.5% Convention Center Phase II; 2.725% Convention Center Phase I; .275% hotel operators)
Portland Tourism Improvement District (TID) Fee
A Portland Tourism Improvement District fee on taxable rents is due from transient lodging operators and intermediaries.
- Transient lodging operators or intermediaries, such as Hotels, Motels, Short Term Rental hosts, Booking Agents, and Online Travel Companies, may pass this charge on to the guest if it is separately stated on the guest's bill as "3% Portland Tourism Assessment."
Beginning July 1, 2021, an additional 1 percent surcharge (for a total surcharge of 3%) will support economic recovery in the tourism industry following the global COVID-19 pandemic and economic recession. The surcharge is scheduled for a sunset review in 2026. Depending on when you report your revenue, there may be an impact to your report.
- Cash Accounting Operator - If a guest booked and paid for a room in March, but the stay wasn’t until July, the Operator would have reported the room rents on the March filing and the 2% TID would have applied. But, if the guest reserved the occupancy in March and didn’t pay for it until July, the Operator would report it on their July filing and the 3% TID would apply.
- Accrual Accounting Operator - The Operator reports the revenues when the occupancy occurs, or is earned, regardless of when the booking is made or paid. So, for a booking made in March for an occupancy in July, the Operator will report the revenues with the filing for July and be subject to the 3% fee, independently of when the guest actually paid.
The funds generated from the TID are dedicated to promoting and marketing Portland's leisure and convention industries.
Nightly Fee on Short Term Rentals
A $4/night fee is due from Booking Agents and Short Term Rental Hosts for each night a guest rents a room. This fee is in addition to the Transient Lodgings Tax being collected.
This fee does not apply to commercially zoned Bed & Breakfasts.
The funds generated from this fee are used to fund affordable housing and homelessness initiatives in the Portland area.
Filing and Payment Requirements
Quarterly Filing Requirements
Hotels / Motels and Short Term Rentals are required to report and remit transient lodgings taxes and fees quarterly, unless otherwise instructed to file monthly.
Quarterly reports and payments are due (and must be postmarked on or before) the last calendar day of the month following the end of the quarter. Transient Lodgings reports and payments are considered delinquent on the first day of the month following the due date.
| Quarter | Due Date | Delinquent Date* |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Quarter | April 30 | May 1 |
| 2nd Quarter | July 31 | August 1 |
| 3rd Quarter | October 31 | November 1 |
| 4th Quarter | January 31 | February 1 |
*If the due date falls on a Sunday or legal holiday, reports and payments are delinquent on the first business day that follows.
Monthly Filing Requirements
Booking Agents (defined in Portland City Code 6.04.010 D) and Online Travel Companies are required to report and remit transient lodgings taxes and fees monthly.
Monthly reports and payments are due (and must be postmarked on or before) the last calendar day of the following month. Transient Lodgings reports and payments are considered delinquent on the first day of the month following the due date.
| Month | Due Date | Delinquent Date* |
|---|---|---|
| January | February 28/29 | March 1 |
| February | March 31 | April 1 |
| March | April 30 | May 1 |
| April | May 31 | June 1 |
| May | June 30 | July 1 |
| June | July 31 | August 1 |
| July | August 31 | September 1 |
| August | September 30 | October 1 |
| September | October 31 | November 1 |
| October | November 30 | December 1 |
| November | December 31 | January 1 |
| December | January 31 | February 1 |
*If the due date falls on a Sunday or legal holiday, reports and payments are delinquent on the first business day that follows.
REMINDER: Collected transient lodgings taxes are not available funds for your operations. You are required to segregate these funds to ensure they can be paid when due.
Credits
Credits occur in cases where a tax payment exceeds the amount of tax due. The City of Portland will notify the operator in writing that they have a credit. Credits must be claimed on the next tax report. Unclaimed credits will not be automatically applied.
Transient Lodgings Tax Exemptions
1. Monthly Renter Exemption
No transient lodgings tax is due for:
- Occupants renting space for more than thirty (30) consecutive calendar days. The guest is eligible for a refund or credit for the first thirty (30) days if they stay thirty (31) days or longer without a break. Tax should no longer be charged starting day 31.
- People who rent a room on a monthly basis and pay all at once for the entire month (regardless of the number of days in such a month).
2. Incidental Use Exemption
No transient lodgings tax is due for owners who rent private homes, vacation cabins, or a like facility for seven (7) days or less within a calendar year and do not advertise space for rent. Bed & Breakfast Homes and Inns do not qualify under this incidental use exemption.
3. Medical and Government Facilities Exemption
No transient lodgings tax is due for any occupant in a hospital room, medical or mental health facility, convalescent home, home for aged people, or a government-owned and operated public institution.
4. Emergency Shelter/Disaster Relief Exemption
No transient lodgings tax is due for any person housed through an emergency shelter or disaster program where the rent is paid with government assistance funds.
5. Federal Government Exemption
No transient lodgings tax is due for federal government employees traveling on official government business, who present an official Government Exemption Certificate or official travel authorization. To claim an exemption for a government employee, please use the Transient Lodgings Tax Government Exemption Certificate.
Online Travel Companies
The following Online Travel Companies are collecting and remitting transient lodgings taxes to the City of Portland.
| Online Travel Company (OTC) Name | Effective Date | 100% TID Remitter |
|---|---|---|
| Agoda International USA, Inc. | 10/1/2013 | Yes |
| RocketMiles / Rocket Travel | 10/1/2013 | Yes |
| Egencia LLC | 7/1/2015 - 11/1/2021 | No |
| Expedia | 7/1/2015 | No |
| Hopper | 2/1/2023 | Yes |
| Hotels.com LP (report as Travelscape LLC after 12/31/22) | 7/1/2015 - 12/31/22 | No |
| Hotel Tonight, Inc. | 7/1/2015 | Yes |
| Hotwire, Inc. (report as Travelscape LLC after 12/31/22) | 7/1/2015 - 12/31/22 | No |
| Orbitz LLC | 7/1/2015 | No |
| Priceline.com | 7/1/2015 | Yes |
| Trip Advisor | 7/1/2015 | No |
Tourism Improvement District Fee Remittance
Certain Online Travel Companies (OTCs) who book occupancies at hotels and motels have opted to remit the 3% Tourism Improvement District (TID) fee on all the room rents they collect rather than just on their margin. The OTCs are identified in the table above.
Hotel/motel operators should not remit the TID fee on revenues received from these OTCs. Hotel/motel operators should check the “Yes” button/box in the “Remits 100% TID” column of their OTC Reporting Schedule and then carry the sum of revenues from the checked OTCs to the “TID 3%” column of Line 5 on their tax report as a deduction when calculating TID assessable rents.
Hotel/Motel operators shall only check the “Yes” buttons/boxes for those OTCs identified as 100% TID remitters and deduct their revenues when calculating TID assessable rents. Deducting rents from any other OTC will result in a disallowance of the TID deduction.
If a hotel/motel believes an OTC not identified as a 100% TID remitter is doing so for their bookings, the hotel/motel must contact the Revenue Division.
Booking Agents
The following Booking Agents are collecting and remitting transient lodgings taxes to the City of Portland.
| Booking Agent Name | Effective Date | 100% TID Remitter |
|---|---|---|
| AirBNB | 7/1/2014 | Yes |
| TripAdvisor | 2/1/2015 | No |
| FlipKey | 2/1/2015 | No |
| Vacasa | 2/19/2015 | No |
| MisterBNB | 6/1/2015 | No |
| Vrbo/HomeAway | 4/1/2018 | No |
| Loftium | 3/1/2019 | No |
Tourism Improvement District Fee Remittance
Certain Booking Agents (BAs) who book occupancies at hotels and motels have opted to remit the 3% Tourism Improvement District (TID) fee on all the room rents they collect rather than just on their margin. The BAs are identified in the table above.
Hotel/motel operators should not remit the TID fee on revenues received from these BAs. Hotel/motel operators should check the “Yes” button/box in the “Remits 100% TID” column of their OTC Reporting Schedule and then carry the sum of revenues from the checked BAs to the “TID 3%” column of Line 5 on their tax report as a deduction when calculating TID assessable rents.
Hotel/Motel operators shall only check the “Yes” buttons/boxes for those BAs identified as 100% TID remitters and deduct their revenues when calculating TID assessable rents. Deducting rents from any other BA will result in a disallowance of the TID deduction.
If a hotel/motel believes an BA not identified as a 100% TID remitter is doing so for their bookings, the hotel/motel must contact the Revenue Division.
Short Term Rentals
If you own a Bed & Breakfast, vacation rental (owner/operator does not live at home), or "home stay" (owner/operator lives at home), you are operating a short term rental and need to:
- obtain a permit from the Bureau of Development Services (call 503-823-7300 for more information) and
- register your business activity with the City of Portland and establish a Revenue Division tax account for the Transient Lodgings Tax and Business Tax programs. You can register for an Revenue Division tax account online or by mail (call 503-823-5157 for more information).
Booking Agents listed above are registered with the City of Portland Revenue Division and collect, report, and remit Transient Lodgings taxes and fees on behalf of their hosts to the City of Portland.
- If guests book with you directly and/or use any reservation platform not listed above, you are required to register with the Transient Lodgings Tax Program, file Transient Lodgings tax reports, and remit the taxes and fees to the City of Portland Revenue Division.
- If your reservations are made exclusively using one or more of the reservation platforms listed above, you are required to register with the Transient Lodgings Tax Program, but you are not required to file Transient Lodgings tax reports. In this case, the platform is collecting and remitting the taxes and fees on your behalf.
Short Term Rental Registry
All valid short term rental (STR) permits are listed in the Short-Term Rental Registry.
Use the PortlandMaps Report: Short-Term Rental API documentation to programmatically access Registry data.
Platforms will be deemed in compliance with Ordinance #189557 (passed by Portland City Council on June 12, 2019) when listing based on information in the Registry.
Applications for a permit will display on the Registry with a status of “Application” and a renewal date of “TBD” until the permit has been fully issued. These applications are considered valid unless removed from the Registry. Once a permit has been issued, the listing will update to display a status of “Issued” and a renewal date.
For questions about the Short-Term Rental Registry, please contact the Bureau of Development Services at (503) 823-2633.
Close your Transient Lodgings Tax account
If you have stopped all of your transient lodgings activity (including advertising short term rentals) in the City of Portland, you must notify the Revenue Division.
Guest Information
Lodging establishments are required by City of Portland and Multnomah County Transient Lodgings Tax Codes to collect a total of 11.5% occupancy taxes from guests. You may also be charged an additional 3% for the Portland Tourism District, but only if it's itemized separately on your bill as "3% Portland Tourism Assessment".
Exemptions from the Transient Lodgings Taxes
Monthly Renter Exemption
If you stay for more than 30 consecutive days, you will stop paying the tax and any taxes collected in the first 30 days should be returned to you. You do not pay any taxes as long as there are no breaks in your stay.
Government Exemption
Federal government employees travelling on official federal government business are exempt from paying the tax if they can provide the hotel with:
- Employment verification (government ID)
- Travel orders (including statements authorizing travel on agency official letterhead)
- Government exemption certificate (includes tax exemption card issued by the State Department)
Federal employees are employees of a federal governmental department, agency or instrumentality (e.g., IRS, FDA, US Forest Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs). By an act of Congress, additional exemptions are granted for employees of the American Red Cross, Amtrak, and Federal Credit Unions traveling on official business.
There is no exemption for federal contractors or employees of the state, county, municipal, or tribal governments.
Refunds for Transient Lodgings Taxes
From the Lodging Establishment
A refund may be issued by the lodging establishment when the tax has been collected and it is later determined that the guest stays in the room for more than 30 consecutive days.
The operator is responsible for reporting the collection and refund on their tax report.
If the operator erroneously collected the tax and has already submitted the tax report to the City, then the guest must apply for a refund from the City of Portland instead of the lodging establishment.
From the City of Portland
The City of Portland will issue a refund when:
- A guest pays the tax; and
- The tax has already been reported to and deposited by the City; and
- It is determined that the tax was collected in error; and
- Less than 3 years have passed since the date of payment.
You must request a refund in writing, stating the reason(s) for the refund. You must include your receipts that show when and where you stayed, and the tax you paid. Mail your refund request to:
City of Portland - Transient Lodgings
P.O. Box 8791
Portland, OR 97207
Prior to issuing a refund, the Division will perform an audit of the lodging establishment to verify records.