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Hotel And Lodging Tax In Victoria 2026: MRDT Rate And Rules
Victoria accommodation carries 5% GST, 8% PST, and a 3% MRDT, a higher local rate than Oak Bay, Saanich, Langford, or the Southern Gulf Islands, which sit at 2%. Rate breakdown, short-term rental license rules, and exemptions.
September 12, 2026
8
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TL;DR
- Victoria's combined accommodation tax is 16%: 5% GST, 8% PST, and a 3% Municipal and Regional District Tax.
- Victoria's 3% MRDT is not the regional norm. Oak Bay, Saanich, Langford, and the Southern Gulf Islands, all within Greater Victoria, collect MRDT at only 2%.
- Sidney, just north of Victoria, only adopted its own 3% MRDT in 2025, expected to raise roughly $410,000 a year, matching Victoria's rate for the first time.
- Some Victoria-area hotels add a separate, voluntary Destination Marketing Fee of around 1%; that fee is set by the hotel or a local hotel association, not the government, and is not part of MRDT.
- "Hotel tax," "lodging tax," and "accommodation tax" in Victoria all describe the same combined GST, PST, and MRDT charge; there is no fourth government tax layered on top the way Vancouver has with its Major Events MRDT.
- Victoria's combined PST and MRDT (11%) stays under the federal 12% threshold that would otherwise trigger GST on the provincial and municipal tax itself, unlike Vancouver.
- Short-term rental hosts need a City of Victoria business licence, $150 a year, on top of the provincial short-term rental registration; the licence is restricted to a host's principal residence and expires every January 15.
- The provincewide 27-consecutive-day exemption from PST and MRDT applies in Victoria exactly as it does across the rest of BC.
How Victoria's Hotel and Lodging Tax Works
A stay at a Victoria hotel, motel, B&B, or licensed short-term rental carries the same 5% GST and 8% PST charged everywhere in British Columbia, plus a 3% Municipal and Regional District Tax that the City of Victoria has been designated to collect under the Provincial Sales Tax Act. That 3% MRDT rate places Victoria at the higher end of what's charged within its own region: several neighbouring Greater Victoria municipalities, including Oak Bay, Saanich, and Langford, along with the Southern Gulf Islands, are designated at only 2%.
Because MRDT designation happens municipality by municipality rather than across a whole metro area at once, Greater Victoria doesn't behave as a single tax zone even though it functions as one tourism market. Sidney, a short drive north of downtown Victoria, only brought its own MRDT online in 2025 at the 3% rate, years after Victoria itself. A guest booking a room in Victoria pays a full percentage point more in MRDT than the same guest would pay a short drive away in Saanich or Oak Bay, a distinction that matters for any multi-property operator or booking engine serving the wider region.
Unlike Vancouver, Victoria's combined provincial and municipal tax rate (8% PST plus 3% MRDT, or 11%) stays under the federal 12% "specified tax rate" threshold, so GST calculates only on the base accommodation charge, not on the tax itself. Revenue from Victoria's MRDT funds Destination Greater Victoria's tourism marketing activity under a tactical plan the organization submits to Destination BC each year, the same program structure described on the provincial hotel tax page, just administered locally for Victoria's designated area.
Tax Rates and Extra Fees
The table below shows what applies specifically to a Victoria accommodation bill.
| Component | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| GST | 5% | Applies to the base accommodation charge only; Victoria's combined provincial/municipal tax stays under the 12% threshold that would otherwise pull it into the GST calculation. |
| PST | 8% | Same provincewide rate as the rest of BC. |
| MRDT | 3% | Higher than Oak Bay, Saanich, Langford, and the Southern Gulf Islands, all at 2%; matched by Sidney's own MRDT since 2025. |
| Destination Marketing Fee (some hotels) | Around 1% | Voluntary charge set by individual hotels or a local hotel association, not a government tax; not collected or reported through MRDT. |
The gap between Victoria's 3% MRDT and the 2% rate charged in neighbouring municipalities is a real cost difference for a guest comparing similarly priced rooms across the region, not just a rounding difference. It's also worth double-checking for any property near a municipal boundary, since the applicable MRDT rate depends on which designated area the property physically sits in rather than which market it competes in.
Collection and Remittance
Victoria properties collect GST, PST, and MRDT at checkout and remit them through the same eTaxBC PST/MRDT return process used across British Columbia; there is no separate city-run tax collection system. The Ministry of Finance handles collection, disbursement, and enforcement, while Destination Greater Victoria, as the designated recipient organization for Victoria's MRDT, receives the revenue and reports annually on how it was spent on tourism marketing.
Short-term rental hosts face a second, separate obligation to the City of Victoria itself. A short-term rental business licence costs $150 a year, is restricted to a host's principal residence, and expires every January 15, requiring annual reapplication rather than automatic renewal. A host who is away can rent their entire principal unit for up to 160 nights in a calendar year; while they're living there, they can rent no more than two bedrooms in the unit at a time. This city licensing regime runs alongside, not instead of, the mandatory BC provincial short-term rental registration number every host also needs, and alongside, not instead of, the PST and MRDT that still has to be collected and remitted on every taxable booking.
Exemptions From Victoria's Hotel Tax
The relevant tax exemption in Victoria is the same provincewide rule described on the British Columbia hotel tax page: PST and MRDT stop applying once a guest stays 27 or more consecutive days at the same property. Victoria doesn't apply a different or additional threshold at the municipal level.
Two other Victoria-specific numbers matter for short-term rental hosts but are licensing limits, not tax exemptions: the 160-night annual cap on renting an entire principal residence while away, and the two-bedroom cap on what can be rented out while the host is living there. Staying under either limit doesn't change what tax is owed on a taxable booking; it only affects whether the rental activity stays within what the city's business licence permits.
Common Mistakes Hotels Make With Tax Compliance
- Assuming every Greater Victoria municipality charges the same MRDT. Victoria's 3% is a full point higher than Oak Bay, Saanich, Langford, or the Southern Gulf Islands at 2%, so a rate configured for "Victoria area" generally will be wrong for several nearby properties.
- Billing the Destination Marketing Fee as if it were a government tax. The roughly 1% fee some Victoria hotels add is a private, voluntary charge set by the hotel or a local association, not part of MRDT, and should be itemized separately from GST, PST, and MRDT on a guest folio.
- Confusing the 160-night licensing cap with a tax exemption. The 160-night limit on renting an entire principal residence while away is a business licence condition, not a threshold that changes PST or MRDT liability.
- Letting a short-term rental licence lapse at the January 15 renewal. Victoria's licence must be reapplied for every year rather than auto-renewing, and there's no grandfathering if a host misses the deadline or later becomes ineligible under updated rules.
- Assuming Victoria's combined tax triggers the same GST-on-tax effect as Vancouver. Victoria's combined PST and MRDT (11%) stays under the federal 12% specified tax rate, so, unlike Vancouver, GST applies only to the room charge, not to the tax itself.
- Renting out more than one principal dwelling. Victoria's rules only permit a short-term rental in an operator's own principal residence, not a second unit or an entire self-contained suite rented out on its own.
Where A PMS Fits Into Tax Compliance
None of this is about software until a Victoria-area operator running properties in more than one Greater Victoria municipality has to track a 3% MRDT in Victoria itself against a 2% rate a few minutes away in Saanich or Oak Bay, on top of keeping an optional Destination Marketing Fee separate from the government tax lines on every folio. roommaster's PMS lets each property location carry its own tax code and rate, so a multi-property operator in the Greater Victoria area doesn't have to manually recalculate MRDT depending on which municipality a given property sits in, and can keep a voluntary marketing fee itemized distinctly from GST, PST, and MRDT rather than blended into a single tax line that misrepresents what guests are actually being charged.
See how roommaster simplifies multi-property tax reporting.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Does Victoria have its own hotel tax rate?
Yes, in the sense that Victoria's 3% MRDT is set for the City of Victoria specifically, and it's higher than the 2% MRDT charged in several neighbouring Greater Victoria municipalities like Oak Bay and Saanich.
2. What is Victoria's hotel tax?
It's the combination of 5% GST, 8% PST, and 3% MRDT applied to hotels, motels, B&Bs, and licensed short-term rentals in the City of Victoria, for a combined 16%.
3. What is Victoria's lodging tax?
The same charge as Victoria's hotel tax. "Lodging tax" and "hotel tax" both refer informally to the combined GST, PST, and MRDT total described above.
4. How does Victoria's hotel tax compare to Oak Bay or Saanich?
Victoria charges a 3% MRDT, while Oak Bay, Saanich, Langford, and the Southern Gulf Islands are designated at 2%, so a room in Victoria carries one percentage point more municipal tax than a similarly priced room just outside the city.
5. Is there a hotel marketing fee in Victoria?
Some Victoria hotels add a voluntary Destination Marketing Fee of around 1% to fund tourism promotion. It's set by the hotel or a local hotel association, not the government, and is separate from MRDT.
6. Do I need a license for an Airbnb in Victoria?
Yes. Victoria requires a short-term rental business licence, $150 a year, restricted to a host's principal residence, alongside the mandatory BC provincial short-term rental registration number.
7. Is there a long-stay exemption from Victoria's hotel tax?
Yes, the same provincewide rule that applies across BC: PST and MRDT stop applying once a guest stays 27 or more consecutive days at the same property.
