Lodging taxes rise in several Utah counties

Short-term rentals (STRs) in several Utah counties are subject to higher transient room tax (TRT), effective October 1, 2025. The TRT rate increased from 4.25% to 4.5% in Beaver, Box Elder, Cache, Daggett, Duchesne, Garfield, Grand, Juab, Kane, Millard, Piute, Rich, San Juan, Sevier, Tooele, Uintah, Utah, and Wasatch counties.

Other counties may follow suit due to a new amendment to state law, House Bill 456, that increased the allowable county TRT rate by 0.25% to a maximum of 4.5%. The law went into effect July 1, 2025, and applies to all counties except Salt Lake County, which levies a total lodging tax of 4.75% (4.25% TRT plus a 0.5% tourism transient room tax). TRT applies to all short-term accommodations, including STRs, hotels, motels, campgrounds, and trailer courts.

The bill also changed how counties can use TRT funds. Counties may use TRT revenues for promoting tourism, recreation, film productions, and conventions and to pay for facilities such as convention centers, visitor information centers, museums, and sports and recreation facilities. The amendment also adds expenditures for trails to that list. 

Counties may also use TRT funds for transit service, parking, and airport costs for routes to recreation destinations and mitigation costs for tourism and recreation needs including emergency medical services, search and rescue, and road repair. 

The law increases the required percentage of TRT revenue spent on promotion and reduces what counties can spend on mitigation. However, it also creates the state-managed Outdoor Recreation Mitigation Grant program, funded by state TRT that’s imposed in addition to county TRT. The law raised the state TRT rate to 1.07%. The grant program provides funds to counties to help them cover visitor-related safety and emergency costs.

The law also:

• Authorizes counties to enter into an agreement with a municipality within the county to share county TRT funds and administration
• Allows certain municipalities to appoint board members to a tourism tax advisory board
• Requires counties to submit an annual report on TRT expenditures to the state auditor

Utah STR operators are required to comply with lodging tax rules. Operators must register with the Utah State Tax Commission to receive a state tax ID number, collect lodging taxes from guests, and file lodging tax returns. Depending on their location, Utah operators may be required to collect state sales tax and state and local transient room tax. All Utah lodging taxes are administered by the state. 

For tax purposes, Utah defines STRs as reservations of less than 30 consecutive days. Utah imposes lodging tax on short-term accommodations rental charges, including fees such as pet fees, damage fees, reservation fees, and cleaning fees. Cancellation fees and parking fees aren’t taxable. Some fees may be subject to sales tax but not to transient room tax, and vice versa.

Guests are exempt from TRT if they pay directly for the accommodations and provide proof of exemption for:

• Federal government agencies
• Foreign diplomats with a U.S.-issued tax exemption
• Qualified religious and charitable organizations

In Utah, “marketplace facilitators” such as Airbnb and Vrbo are required to collect lodging taxes. Operators are still required to file lodging tax returns if a marketplace collects for them, but they don’t need to report transactions made through a marketplace. If taxes aren’t being collected for operators, such as when guests book directly rather than through a marketplace, hosts are responsible for collecting and remitting lodging taxes to tax authorities.

Avalara MyLodgeTax can help Utah STR hosts automate and simplify city and state lodging tax compliance, from registration to tax return filing. If you have tax questions related to Utah STR properties, drop us a line and we’ll get back to you with answers. See our vacation rental tax guide for more on lodging taxes in the state.