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Hotel And Lodging Tax In Vermont 2026: TOT Rates By City
Vermont's 9 percent Rooms Tax can climb past 10 percent with local option votes, and Burlington runs its own separate city tax. See current town rates, exemptions, and filing rules for 2026.
August 28, 2026
9
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TL;DR
- Vermont's hotel tax, the Rooms Tax, is set statewide at 9 percent under 32 V.S.A. Chapter 225, the same law that also covers the state's Meals Tax.
- Hotel tax, lodging tax, room tax, occupancy tax, and bed tax all refer to the same Vermont Rooms Tax charge.
- Towns can add a 1 percent local option rooms tax, but only after voters approve it at town meeting; Stowe, Manchester, Killington, Woodstock, Elmore, Putney, and Peru have all done so.
- Burlington, Rutland, and St. Albans skip the state's standard local option system and run their own city charter lodging tax instead; Burlington's hotel rate rose to 4 percent as of July 1, 2026, for a combined 13 percent total.
- A separate 3 percent short-term rental surcharge, in effect since August 2024 under Act 183, applies only to unlicensed vacation rentals, not to licensed hotels, motels, or B&Bs.
- Stays of 30 consecutive days or longer become exempt from Rooms Tax going forward, but the exemption isn't retroactive to the first 30 days.
- Local option tax questions appeared on roughly 17 Vermont town ballots in 2026, so the list of towns charging the extra 1 percent keeps changing year to year.
- Returns are filed on Form MRT-441 through myVTax, monthly or quarterly depending on the size of the business, with monthly returns due by the 25th of the following month.
How Vermont's Hotel and Lodging Tax Works
Vermont's hotel tax, called the Rooms Tax, is set statewide at 9 percent under the Meals and Rooms Tax law. Many towns add a 1 percent local option rooms tax that voters approve at town meeting, and short-term rentals face a separate 3 percent state surcharge, so the total a guest pays varies by town and by property type.
The tax is authorized under 32 V.S.A. Chapter 225, with lodging and rate provisions in Section 9241 and definitions in Section 9202. A municipality can only add its own 1 percent local option rooms tax after voters approve it at an annual or special town meeting, not by a simple vote of the select board, which is why adoption tends to cluster around March town meeting season each year. In 2026 alone, local option tax questions appeared on ballots in roughly 17 Vermont towns.
Rooms Tax applies to hotels, motels, inns, bed and breakfasts, campgrounds, and short-term rentals booked for fewer than 30 consecutive days. Licensed lodging establishments under 18 V.S.A. Chapter 85, meaning hotels, motels, and B&Bs holding a state lodging license, are exempt from the additional short-term rental surcharge that applies to unlicensed vacation rentals rented more than 14 nights a year.
Tax Rates and Extra Fees
Vermont's Rooms Tax has up to three layers: the statewide 9 percent rate, an optional 1 percent local option rooms tax in towns that have adopted one, and a 3 percent surcharge that applies only to short-term rentals, not to licensed hotels. A handful of cities, including Burlington, run their own separate lodging tax under city charter instead of the state's standard local option system.
| City / county | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Burlington | 13% | State Rooms Tax 9% plus Burlington's own city charter Gross Receipts Tax on hotels, which rose to 4% as of July 1, 2026. Not part of the standard local option system. |
| Peru | 10% | State Rooms Tax 9% plus 1% local option rooms tax, effective July 2026, the most recently adopted rooms tax in the state. |
| Putney | 10% | State Rooms Tax 9% plus 1% local option rooms tax, effective July 2025. |
| Killington | 10% | State Rooms Tax 9% plus 1% local option rooms tax; Killington also charges local option meals and sales tax. |
| Manchester | 10% | State Rooms Tax 9% plus 1% local option rooms tax. |
| Stowe | 10% | State Rooms Tax 9% plus 1% local option rooms tax; Stowe has floated raising its own rate to 2%, which would need a charter amendment and state legislative approval. |
| Woodstock | 10% | State Rooms Tax 9% plus 1% local option rooms tax, effective July 2015, one of the earliest towns to adopt it. |
| Most other Vermont towns | 9% | State Rooms Tax only; no local option rooms tax has been adopted. |
Burlington, Rutland, and St. Albans don't use the state's standard local option system at all. Each city collects its own charter-authorized lodging or gross receipts tax instead, set by city ordinance rather than the state's 1 percent cap. Burlington's hotel and motel rate under its Gross Receipts Tax rose to 4 percent as of July 1, 2026, on top of the state's 9 percent Rooms Tax, giving Burlington one of the highest combined lodging tax rates in the state.
The 3 percent short-term rental surcharge, in force since August 1, 2024 under Act 183, is a separate charge from any local option or city charter tax. It applies to a furnished dwelling rented to guests for fewer than 30 consecutive days but more than 14 nights a year, and it stacks on top of whatever Rooms Tax and local option tax already apply. It does not apply to a property operating under a state hotel or lodging license.
Collection and Remittance
The guest pays Vermont's Rooms Tax, but the operator, or the booking platform on the operator's behalf, is responsible for collecting, reporting, and remitting it to the Vermont Department of Taxes. Returns are filed on Form MRT-441 through myVTax, with the Department assigning each business a monthly or quarterly filing frequency; monthly returns are due by the 25th of the following month.
For short-term rentals, platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo are required to register with the Department and collect the Rooms Tax, any local option tax, and the short-term rental surcharge on the host's behalf. An independent operator who rents directly, outside a platform, still has to register and file Form MRT-441 directly rather than assuming no return is owed.
Exemptions From Vermont's Hotel Tax
A guest who occupies the same room for 30 consecutive days or longer becomes a permanent resident under 32 V.S.A. Section 9202, and the property stops charging Rooms Tax from that point forward. The exemption isn't retroactive: the operator still owes tax on the first 30 days of the stay and only stops collecting it once the occupancy crosses the 30-day line.
State and federal government employees traveling on official business are exempt from Rooms Tax with the proper exemption certificate, and lodging paid for directly by a qualifying nonprofit or government agency, rather than reimbursed to the traveler, can also qualify. A licensed hotel, motel, or B&B is exempt from the separate 3 percent short-term rental surcharge regardless of length of stay, since that surcharge only targets unlicensed vacation rentals.
Common Mistakes Hotels Make With TOT Compliance
- Charging the short-term rental surcharge at a licensed hotel. The 3 percent surcharge under Act 183 only applies to unlicensed short-term rentals, not to a property already licensed under 18 V.S.A. Chapter 85, so a licensed hotel that adds it is overcharging every guest.
- Assuming every ski town has the same local option rate. Stowe, Manchester, and Killington charge the 1 percent local option rooms tax, but plenty of nearby towns don't, and Stowe has floated raising its own rate to 2 percent, which would need a charter amendment and state legislative approval, not just a town vote.
- Missing Burlington's separate city tax. Burlington doesn't use the state's standard 1 percent local option system at all; its hotel rate is set by city charter and rose to 4 percent as of July 1, 2026, so a property using a generic Vermont rate table can easily undercharge there.
- Treating the 30-day exemption as retroactive. A guest who becomes a permanent resident on day 31 still owed Rooms Tax for the first 30 days; the exemption only stops future charges, it doesn't refund what was already properly collected.
- Assuming a booking platform handles everything. Airbnb and Vrbo are required to collect Rooms Tax and the short-term rental surcharge for hosts who list through them, but an operator who also takes direct bookings still has to register and file Form MRT-441 for those reservations.
- Not retraining staff after a local option vote. Local option tax changes in Vermont often take effect right after a town meeting vote, and with local option questions appearing on roughly 17 town ballots in 2026 alone, a hotel's front desk and booking engine settings can fall out of date quickly if nobody's tracking March town meeting results.
Where A PMS Fits Into TOT Compliance
None of this is about software fixing tax law, it's about a property having a system that keeps up with it. A PMS that lets a hotel configure separate tax codes for the state Rooms Tax, a town's local option tax, and Burlington's or Rutland's own city charter tax reduces the chance a guest gets billed the wrong total after a town meeting vote or city ordinance change. Revenue reports broken down by date range make it easier to reconcile what was actually collected against what's owed when a local option rate takes effect mid-year, as several Vermont towns did in 2025 and 2026. And a booking engine that shows the full nightly rate, including whatever Rooms Tax and local option tax apply at that specific property, gives guests an accurate total before they book instead of a surprise at checkout.
See how roommaster simplifies multi-property tax reporting.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Does Vermont have a statewide hotel tax rate?
Yes. Vermont charges a statewide Rooms Tax of 9 percent on hotels, motels, inns, and similar lodging under 32 V.S.A. Chapter 225. Many towns add their own 1 percent local option rooms tax on top of that, and Burlington, Rutland, and St. Albans layer on their own separate city charter tax instead of the standard local option.
2. What is Vermont's hotel tax?
Vermont's hotel tax is officially the Rooms Tax, part of the state's combined Meals and Rooms Tax law. It's charged at a base rate of 9 percent statewide, plus an optional 1 percent local option tax in towns that have adopted one at town meeting, plus a separate 3 percent surcharge that applies only to unlicensed short-term rentals.
3. What is Vermont's lodging tax?
Lodging tax and hotel tax refer to the same charge in Vermont: the Rooms Tax. It's sometimes also called a room tax, occupancy tax, or bed tax, but all of these describe the same 9 percent state charge plus whatever local option or city charter tax applies in a given town.
4. How much is hotel tax in Burlington, Vermont?
A hotel or motel in Burlington pays a combined rate of about 13 percent: the state's 9 percent Rooms Tax plus Burlington's own 4 percent Gross Receipts Tax on hotels, which took effect July 1, 2026. Burlington sets this rate under its own city charter rather than through the state's standard 1 percent local option system.
5. Does Vermont's short-term rental surcharge apply to hotels?
No. The 3 percent short-term rental surcharge created by Act 183 in 2024 applies only to unlicensed short-term rentals, meaning dwellings rented for fewer than 30 consecutive days but more than 14 nights a year. A hotel, motel, or bed and breakfast licensed under 18 V.S.A. Chapter 85 is exempt from that surcharge.
6. Which Vermont towns charge a local option rooms tax?
Stowe, Manchester, Killington, Woodstock, Elmore, Putney, and Peru are among the towns that have adopted the 1 percent local option rooms tax, bringing their combined rate to 10 percent. Because adoption requires a town meeting vote, the list keeps growing; local option tax questions appeared on ballots in roughly 17 Vermont towns in 2026 alone.
7. How long can a guest stay before Vermont's hotel tax no longer applies?
A guest who occupies the same room for 30 consecutive days or longer becomes a permanent resident under Vermont law, and the property stops charging Rooms Tax from that point forward. The exemption only applies going forward; tax properly collected during the first 30 days isn't refunded.
