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Hotel And Lodging Tax In Virginia 2026: TOT Rates By City
Virginia sets its hotel tax locality by locality, and Norfolk defines a long stay differently than the rest of the state. See 2026 rates, the new fee-disclosure law, and common compliance mistakes.
August 28, 2026
7
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TL;DR
- Virginia calls its version the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), set locality by locality under authority the state legislature delegates to each county and city.
- "Hotel tax," "lodging tax," "occupancy tax," "bed tax," and "TOT" all describe the same charge, but the rate and rules are set at the local level, not statewide.
- Combined rates run from about 5% in Williamsburg to 14% in Loudoun County once the state sales tax component is included.
- The long-stay exemption is 30 consecutive days under the general state rule, but Norfolk's own ordinance sets it at 90 days instead.
- Virginia has no voter-referendum requirement for TOT; a county board or city council can set the rate by ordinary ordinance.
- A new state law effective July 2025 requires total-price disclosure of mandatory fees, though it doesn't require taxes themselves to be baked into the advertised price.
- The property collects the tax and remits it, monthly in most localities, though the exact due date varies city to city.
How Virginia's Hotel and Lodging Tax Works
Virginia calls its hotel tax the Transient Occupancy Tax. Because Virginia is a Dillon Rule state, no locality can impose it without specific statutory or charter authority from the state, so there's no self-executing statewide rate, each county board of supervisors or city council sets its own rate by ordinance.
Virginia has no voter-referendum requirement for adopting or raising a lodging tax, unlike its separate meals tax, which does require a public vote in most counties. TOT rates are set by ordinary legislative action of the local governing body.
The default statutory exemption applies to stays of 30 or more consecutive days, but this isn't uniform: cities with independent charter authority can and do define it differently.
Tax Rates and Extra Fees
Because the rate, and even some district add-ons, are set locality by locality, the only way to know what a guest actually owes is to look up the specific city or county. Here's where the major Virginia markets stand as of 2026.
| City / county | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Loudoun County | 14% combined | 8% TOT (2% general fund, 3% tourism promotion, 3% state transportation fund) plus 6% state sales tax |
| Alexandria | 9.5% + $1.25/room/night | 6.5% city plus a 3% state hotel tax component; filed monthly, due the last day of the following month |
| Norfolk | 9% + $3.00/room/night | Defines a long stay as 90 consecutive days or less, not the common 30-day rule |
| Virginia Beach | 9% (10.5% in Sandbridge) | Plus a $2/room/night flat fee; the Sandbridge Special Service District carries its own higher rate |
| Fairfax County | 9% (unincorporated), 5% (incorporated towns) | Explicitly a three-part stacked rate: base TOT, tourism tax, and regional transportation tax |
| Charlottesville | 9% | Since October 2022, booking platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo are directly responsible for filing and remitting, not the host |
| Richmond | 8%, plus 2% for larger hotels | A Richmond Region Tourism Improvement District surcharge applies only to hotels with 40 or more rooms |
| Arlington County | 8% | Some sources cite a higher combined figure; treat any figure above 8% as needing direct county confirmation |
| Dinwiddie County | 8% | Flat rate applied to hotels, motels, tourist homes, and campgrounds |
| Franklin County | 7% | Flat county rate with no district add-on; monthly filing required even with zero rental activity |
| Williamsburg | 5% | The Historic Triangle area also carries a separate 1% regional sales tax add-on for tourism promotion |
Rates change after a local ordinance vote, so treat this table as a starting point and confirm the current published rate with the specific city or county before filing.
A district assessment layer does exist in parts of Virginia, but it isn't one uniform structure. The Richmond Region Tourism Improvement District adds a 2% surcharge, but only for hotels with 40 or more rooms. The Hampton Roads Transportation District instead folds a 1% component directly into the headline TOT rate for five cities, rather than itemizing it separately.
Collection and Remittance
The guest pays TOT, and the property remits it. Monthly filing, due on or before the 20th of the following month, is the norm and is confirmed directly for Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Fairfax County, Loudoun County, and Charlottesville, several of which require a "zero return" even with no rental activity. Alexandria is also monthly, but its due date is the last day of the following month rather than the 20th.
Separately, state law imposes a mandatory monthly reporting requirement specifically on accommodations intermediaries like Airbnb and Vrbo for the properties and receipts they facilitate in each locality.
Virginia's Fee Transparency Rules
Since July 1, 2025, Virginia law requires any supplier, including hotels, to clearly display the total price inclusive of mandatory fees or surcharges. Lodging establishments have a specific compliance path: they satisfy the law by clearly disclosing the percentage of any automatic or mandatory gratuity in every priced offer or advertisement.
One nuance worth knowing: the law explicitly excludes government-imposed taxes and fees from what counts as a "mandatory fee or surcharge." Violations carry penalties up to $2,500 for a first offense and $5,000 for subsequent ones.
Exemptions From Virginia's Hotel Tax
The default statutory threshold is 30 or more consecutive days by the same individual or group, which exempts the stay from TOT. But this isn't uniform across the state: Norfolk's own ordinance defines a long stay as 90 consecutive days or less instead, a genuine local deviation confirmed directly on the city's own page.
Common Mistakes Hotels Make With TOT Compliance
- Applying the 30-day exemption everywhere. Norfolk defines a long stay as 90 consecutive days, not 30, a property using the statewide default in Norfolk will exempt guests too early.
- Missing a folded-in regional component. The Hampton Roads Transportation District's 1% is built into the headline TOT rate in five cities rather than shown as a separate line.
- Treating Richmond's district surcharge as universal. The Richmond Region Tourism Improvement District's 2% only applies to hotels with 40 or more rooms in member localities.
- Assuming Virginia's new disclosure law covers taxes. The July 2025 fee-transparency law explicitly excludes government-imposed taxes from what must be shown in the advertised total price.
- Using one filing deadline for every locality. Most Virginia localities file by the 20th of the following month, but Alexandria's deadline is the last day of the month.
- Not retraining front desk staff after a rate or ordinance change. Norfolk recently passed an ordinance changing its short-term-rental room tax rate effective January 2026.
Where A PMS Fits Into TOT Compliance
None of the above is about software. It's about a Virginia property tracking which locality-specific rules actually apply to it, from Norfolk's 90-day exemption threshold to Richmond's room-count-tiered district surcharge. Where a PMS actually helps is in keeping each locality's tax code, exemption logic, and filing deadline configured accurately, and pulling revenue reports by date range for whichever cadence that jurisdiction requires. roommaster lets properties configure tax codes per rate and per locality, so an ordinance change is a configuration update once, not a manual recalculation on every folio.
See how roommaster simplifies multi-property tax reporting.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Does Virginia have a statewide hotel tax rate?
No. Virginia's Transient Occupancy Tax is set by each county or city under authority delegated by the state, so the rate varies by locality, from about 5% in Williamsburg to 8% or more in cities like Richmond and Arlington.
2. What is Virginia's hotel tax?
Virginia's hotel tax is the Transient Occupancy Tax, a locally set charge each county board or city council imposes under state-delegated authority.
3. What is Virginia's lodging tax?
Lodging tax is the same charge as Virginia's Transient Occupancy Tax, just a different common name for it. It's set at the local level, not as one statewide figure.
4. Is the long-stay exemption the same everywhere in Virginia?
No. The default statutory threshold is 30 consecutive days, but Norfolk's own ordinance sets it at 90 consecutive days instead.
5. Do Virginia voters have to approve hotel tax increases?
No. Unlike the state's separate meals tax, Virginia has no referendum requirement for the Transient Occupancy Tax. A county board or city council can set or change the rate by ordinary ordinance.
6. Does Virginia require hotels to disclose the total price before booking?
Since July 2025, Virginia law requires hotels to disclose mandatory fees and surcharges in the advertised price, but government-imposed taxes are explicitly excluded from that requirement.
7. Who is responsible for collecting and remitting Virginia's hotel tax?
The property collects the tax from the guest and remits it to the locality, typically monthly, though the exact due date varies: most localities require filing by the 20th, while Alexandria's deadline is the last day of the month.
