Join Thousands of Hotels Thriving with roommaster
See how roommaster handles rates, taxes, and reporting for your property. Book a walkthrough with our team.
Table of Contents
Hotel And Lodging Tax In Quebec 2026: Tax On Lodging Rates By Region
Quebec charges a 3.5% Tax on Lodging on top of GST and QST, administered by tourism region rather than by city. Here is how the rate, exemptions and short-term rental rules actually work in 2026.
September 12, 2026
10
min. read
Summarize with AI
TL;DR
- Quebec's official charge is called the "Tax on Lodging" ("taxe sur l'hébergement" in French). It is the same category of charge that other provinces and US states call a hotel tax, lodging tax, bed tax, room tax or occupancy tax, but Revenu Québec's own legal and administrative name for it is Tax on Lodging, not any of those generic terms.
- The rate is 3.5% of the price of an overnight stay, harmonized across the province since November 1, 2016. Before that date, the rate and method varied by region.
- It is administered by tourism region, not by municipality. Quebec has 22 official tourism regions, and the tax applies in 21 of them because each region's regional tourism association (ATR) requested it. Only Nunavik does not apply it.
- On top of the 3.5% tax on lodging, guests also pay 5% GST and 9.975% QST, and both sales taxes are calculated on the total price including the tax on lodging itself, not just the room rate.
- Stays of 32 consecutive nights or more are exempt, along with campsites, youth tourist accommodation, stays of 6 hours or less, and certain occasional rentals (such as a room rented once a year during a local festival).
- Short-term rental hosts need a provincial registration through the CITQ (Corporation de l'industrie touristique du Québec) under the Loi sur l'hébergement touristique, in one of three categories: general tourist accommodation, youth tourist accommodation (tax-exempt), or principal residence.
- Neither Montreal nor Quebec City charges its own separate city-level hotel tax. Both fall under the same 3.5% provincial tax on lodging, just administered through a different regional tourism association.
- A 2022 reform (in force since September 1, 2022) replaced Quebec's old mandatory hotel star-rating "classification" system with a simpler registration and information-sharing process, which is why older articles about "classification" no longer describe the current rules.
How Quebec's Hotel and Lodging Tax Works
Quebec's Tax on Lodging is a 3.5% charge collected on most overnight stays of fewer than 32 consecutive days at a registered sleeping-accommodation establishment. It is set out in the Act respecting the Québec sales tax and administered by Revenu Québec, but its defining feature is how it is deployed: rather than a city council voting to impose a hotel tax the way many US and Ontario municipalities do, Quebec's tax applies region by region. Each of the province's 22 tourism regions has a regional tourism association, and a region only gets the tax applied within its borders if that association formally asked the provincial government to have it apply there. Twenty-one of the 22 regions have done so; Nunavik is the only holdout.
Once collected, Revenu Québec returns the revenue, minus administration costs, to the requesting tourism association under an agreement with the Ministry of Tourism, so the money funds tourism promotion in the same region where it was collected. This is why a hotel in Montreal and a hotel in Quebec City both charge the same 3.5% rate but the money flows to two different organizations: Tourisme Montréal for the island of Montreal, and the Office du tourisme de Québec for the Québec region.
The tax applies to hotels, motels, and other general tourist accommodation, as well as short-term rentals operating as "principal residence" establishments under the Loi sur l'hébergement touristique (the Tourist Accommodation Act), which took effect September 1, 2022 and governs how properties must register. It does not apply to campsites, youth tourist accommodation, or bookings of 6 hours or less. Separately, and in addition to the tax on lodging, every taxable stay also carries GST and QST, which is where a lot of the rate confusion in this guide's FAQs comes from.
Tax Rates and Extra Fees
A Quebec hotel bill can carry up to three separate charges: the tax on lodging itself, GST, and QST. Here is how each one is calculated.
| Component | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tax on lodging (taxe sur l'hébergement) | 3.5% of the nightly room price | Applies only in Quebec's 21 participating tourism regions (all but Nunavik). Calculated on the room price alone, excluding breakfast, parking or other bundled extras. |
| Tax on lodging, intermediary rate | $3.50 flat per night | Used instead of the 3.5% rate when a tour operator or similar intermediary buys and resells the room outside a digital accommodation platform. |
| GST (federal) | 5% | Charged on the total price, including the tax on lodging, not just the room rate. |
| QST (Quebec sales tax) | 9.975% | Charged on the same base as GST (room price plus the tax on lodging), calculated independently rather than stacked on top of the GST amount. |
| Combined effective rate on a $100 room | Roughly 19% in total tax | Because GST and QST both apply on top of the tax on lodging as well as the room price, the real combined burden runs slightly above the simple sum of 3.5%, 5% and 9.975%. |
| Additional city-level hotel tax in Montreal or Quebec City | None | Neither city imposes its own separate lodging or hotel tax on top of the provincial tax on lodging. |
There is no separate district assessment or tourism improvement district charge layered on top of the tax on lodging anywhere in Quebec, unlike some US states where a city tax and a separate tourism district fee both appear on the same bill. The only variable most Quebec operators actually have to track is which of the 21 participating tourism regions their property sits in, since that determines where the collected tax gets reported and remitted, not what rate applies.
Collection and Remittance
The guest pays the tax on lodging at checkout, but the legal responsibility to register, calculate, collect and remit it sits with the operator of the establishment, or with the digital accommodation platform when one is involved. If an accommodation unit is booked through a platform such as Airbnb or Vrbo and both the platform and the property are registered with Revenu Québec, only the platform collects the tax, provided it receives the full payment. If the platform and the property operator each receive part of the payment, each one collects tax only on the portion it actually receives.
Registered operators and platforms must file a quarterly tax on lodging return with Revenu Québec, due by the end of the month following the calendar quarter, and must report the amount collected separately for each tourism region they operate in. Records supporting each return must be kept for six years. Platform auto-remittance is not universal. Whether a given booking channel automatically collects and remits the tax on lodging depends on that platform's own agreement with Revenu Québec, so operators listing on multiple channels still need to confirm which ones are actually handling it on their behalf.
Quebec's Fee Transparency Rules
Revenu Québec has a specific rule about how the tax on lodging must appear on a guest's bill, and it is worth treating as a compliance item on its own. If the price of the overnight stay is listed separately from other charges, the 3.5% tax must either be shown as its own line item or folded into the listed price with a note explaining that it is included. If the room price is not broken out separately from other charges, the tax on lodging must be shown as its own line and specifically labeled as the tax on lodging, not lumped in with GST or QST or described generically as a "resort fee" or "service charge."
Exemptions From Quebec's Hotel Tax
The long-stay exemption in Quebec kicks in at 32 consecutive days, not the 30-day threshold common in many US states. A guest who books 32 nights or more in a row at the same establishment is not subject to the tax on lodging for that stay, and the exemption applies from the outset once the stay is booked or known to run that long, rather than being refunded after the fact.
- Campsites, meaning any place to pitch a tent or park a recreational vehicle, are excluded entirely.
- Youth tourist accommodation establishments, a distinct CITQ registration category, are exempt regardless of length of stay.
- Bookings of 6 hours or less within a 24-hour period are excluded, since the tax only applies to overnight stays.
- Occasional rentals are excluded, such as a room rented out once a year during a local festival, once a year while the owner is away, or once a year during a school break.
Common Mistakes Hotels Make With Tax Compliance
- Charging GST and QST only on the room rate. Both sales taxes are legally owed on the total price including the 3.5% tax on lodging, so a property that calculates GST and QST on the pre-tax room rate alone is under-collecting on every taxable stay.
- Assuming the exemption threshold is 30 days. Quebec's cutoff is 32 consecutive days, not 30, and front desk staff trained on a generic 30-day rule from another jurisdiction will apply the wrong cutoff.
- Treating the old classification system as still in effect. The mandatory hotel star-rating classification was replaced by a simpler registration process in September 2022, and any internal compliance checklist still referencing "attestation de classification" is out of date.
- Assuming every booking platform automatically remits the tax. Platform handling of the tax on lodging depends on that platform's specific registration status with Revenu Québec, so a property listing across several channels can end up with gaps if it assumes uniform handling.
- Mislabeling the tax on the guest receipt. Revenu Québec requires the tax on lodging to be either broken out as its own line item or clearly identified when the room price is bundled with other charges, and folding it into a vague "taxes and fees" line does not satisfy that rule.
- Not filing separately by tourism region for multi-property operators. A hotel group with properties in more than one tourism region must report the tax collected in each region separately on its quarterly return, and combining everything into one number is a common filing error.
Where A PMS Fits Into Tax Compliance
None of this is really about software. A hotel still has to register with Revenu Québec, register the property with the CITQ, and know which tourism region it sits in before any system can help. Where a property management system like roommaster genuinely helps is in the mechanics once those decisions are made: configuring the 3.5% tax on lodging as its own tax code separate from GST and QST so it compounds correctly rather than being calculated on the wrong base, running revenue reports by date range to support the quarterly return, and showing the full price, including the tax on lodging, GST and QST, on the booking engine before a guest ever reaches checkout so the property is not stitching that math together by hand every quarter.
See how roommaster simplifies multi-property tax reporting.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Does Quebec have its own hotel tax rate?
Yes. Quebec's hotel tax, officially called the Tax on Lodging, is set at 3.5% of the price of an overnight stay in the 21 tourism regions where it applies. It is separate from, and charged in addition to, GST and QST.
2. What is Quebec's hotel tax?
Quebec's hotel tax is the Tax on Lodging, a 3.5% charge on most overnight stays under 32 consecutive days at a registered accommodation establishment. It funds tourism promotion in the region where it is collected rather than going into a city's general revenue.
3. What is Quebec's lodging tax?
Quebec's lodging tax and Quebec's hotel tax are the same charge: the Tax on Lodging, administered by Revenu Québec at 3.5% of the nightly rate. "Hotel tax" and "lodging tax" are just two common English labels for one underlying provincial charge.
4. Which regions in Quebec actually charge the tax on lodging?
Twenty-one of Quebec's 22 official tourism regions apply the tax, including Montreal and Québec (which covers Quebec City). Nunavik is the only tourism region that does not apply it.
5. How much total tax will I pay on a Quebec hotel room?
On top of the room rate, expect the 3.5% tax on lodging plus 5% GST plus 9.975% QST, with GST and QST both calculated on the room price plus the tax on lodging. On a $100 room, that works out to roughly $19 in combined tax.
6. Do Airbnb and other short-term rentals have to collect the tax on lodging?
Yes, if the property is registered as a tourist accommodation establishment under the Loi sur l'hébergement touristique and sits in a participating tourism region. Depending on the booking channel, either the platform or the property operator is responsible for collecting and remitting it.
7. Is there a way to avoid the tax on lodging for a long stay?
Stays of 32 consecutive nights or more at the same establishment are automatically exempt from the tax on lodging. There is no separate application or certificate required; the exemption is based on the length of the booked stay itself.
