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US: Washington County, Pennsylvania, will introduce software to identify short-term rental (STR) properties and support the collection of state hotel taxes.
County authorities said that as STRs grow in popularity, some operators may be unaware of, or not complying with, requirements to pay Pennsylvania’s 6 per cent hotel occupancy tax. To address this, the county will use software to identify what officials estimate could be hundreds of previously unregistered properties.
“We currently have 35 short-term rentals, and they demonstrated they could find 300 in Washington County,” county treasurer Tom Flickinger said. “So, monetarily, that was anywhere from $300,000 to $500,000 of additional revenue that we weren’t capturing.”
While the levy is a state tax, revenues are used to support tourism promotion funding at a local level.
A date has not been confirmed for the software’s implementation, but Flickinger said operators had been notified.
“We’ve been trying to be fair and advertise and let short-term rental people know that this is coming to become aware of it, and eventually there will be a date where they’ll have to register online and start paying those taxes,” he said.
Once implemented, property managers will be required to report rental activity monthly through an online portal.
Highlights:
- Washington County, Pennsylvania, will introduce software to identify short-term rental properties and support enforcement of the state’s 6 per cent hotel occupancy tax.
- Officials estimate the system could uncover up to 300 previously unregistered properties, compared with 35 currently registered.
- The county said improved compliance could generate between $300,000 and $500,000 in additional revenue for tourism promotion funding.
- A launch date has not been confirmed, but operators have been notified and will be required to report rental activity monthly once the system is in place.
