Transient Lodging Tax

Hotels that rent rooms or spaces to any person on a transient basis, that is, 90 consecutive days or less, must collect a City tax.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

With the General Assembly's passage of House Bill 2313, certain tax rate changes in the Northern Virginia region will take effect beginning July 1, 2013. This includes the implementation of a state transient occupancy tax in the Northern Virginia region. The new state tax will be assessed at a rate of two percent of the room rate and will be remitted to the locality in which the room or space is located in the same manner as the current local transient occupancy tax.

The City will be sending additional information and updated tax reporting forms to affected businesses in June.  Updated tax forms will be available on this page and on the Tax Forms page as of July 1.

Due Dates

Transient lodging taxes are due the last day of the month following the month being reported.

Computation of Tax

The tax is 6.5 percent (6.5%) of the total amount of the room rental charge plus $1 per room per night.

Filing Procedures

Every hotel collecting a transient lodging tax must file a transient lodging tax return and remit taxes monthly to the City. Monthly returns and remittances must be filed with the Finance Department on or before the last day of each month covering the amount of tax collected during the preceding month.

Persons liable for the tax must file returns with:

Tax Audit, Research & Analysis
Department of Finance
City of Alexandria - Miscellaneous Tax
P.O. Box 34842
Alexandria, VA 22334-0939

Payments may be submitted (along with returns) to the address above or online by eCheck or credit card. Returns may not be submitted electronically at this time.

Report forms may be downloaded here:

2013 Transient Lodging Tax Return and Guidelines (PDF)

Or obtained from:

Tax Audit, Research & Analysis
301 King Street, Room 1700
Alexandria, VA 22314
703.746.3903
Email:

Returns for prior years can be found here.

Definitions

Hotel - Any public or private hotel, inn, apartment hotel, hostelry, tourist home or house, or any other place offering lodging for compensation.

Person - Any individual, firm, partnership, association, corporation, person acting in a representative capacity or any group of individuals acting as a unit.

Transient - Any person who, at his expense or at the expense of another, obtains lodging at a cost in a hotel for a period of not more than 90 consecutive days.

Excluded from Taxation

The following are exempted from the transient lodging tax:

• Room rentals paid directly by the federal, state, or City government;
• Room rentals paid to any hospital, medical clinic, convalescent home or home for aged people;
• Room rentals paid by any person enrolled in, and attending full-time, a school, college or university within the corporate limits of the City; and
• Rentals paid by foreign diplomats holding a tax exemption card issued by the U.S. State Department.

Bonds for Fiduciary Taxes

Any business more than two months past due in the payment of admissions, meal sales, or transient lodging taxes may be required to post a bond for these taxes. Since fiduciary taxes collected from customers are held in trust by the business owner, they should not be commingled with the business' operating funds.

Business Records and Reports Subject to Audit

Persons liable for the tax should keep current and accurate records for a period of three years for audit by the City.