Sales Tax Information

Introduction

This publication provides sales tax information for lodging providers. See publication 25 for general sales and use tax information.

Tax Commission publications are reference tools. They are not all-inclusive and should not be used as legal references.

Tax laws may change due to legislative action. Changes to law will supersede information in this publication.

Transient Room Tax

Amounts paid for temporary lodging are subject to both sales tax and transient room tax. Report sales tax on TC-62M or TC-62S, and report transient room tax on TC-62T.

Temporary lodging is the use of accommodations in a hotel, motel, inn, tourist home, trailer court or campground (or similar accommodation) for less than 30 consecutive days.

Rooms and suites not used for lodging, such as convention halls or meeting rooms, are not subject to sales tax or transient room tax.

Lodging stays of 30 consecutive days or longer are exempt from sales tax and transient room tax.

Who Imposes the Transient Room Tax

The transient room tax rate for a location may be a combination of the five following rates:

1. Utah imposes a statewide tax on temporary lodging of 0.32 percent.
2. Counties may impose a county-wide tax on temporary lodging of up to 4.25 percent.
3. Cities and towns may impose tax on temporary lodging of up to 1 percent.
4. Cities and towns that meet certain requirements may impose an additional transient room tax of up to 0.5 percent on temporary lodging.
5. Salt Lake County imposes an extra tourism tax on temporary lodging of 0.5 percent.

Find current tax rates online at tax.utah.gov/sales/rates.

Operations of Lodging Providers

Consumable Items

Temporary lodging providers may purchase consumable items exempt from sales tax if the items are:

1. used by their guests; and
2. included in the full sales price for the accommodation (not stated separately on the invoice).

Examples of consumable items include: meals, snacks, beverages, brushes, combs, hair care products, cosmetics, makeup, nail polish remover, lotion, shower caps, soap, toilet paper, toothbrushes, toothpaste, mouthwash, saline solution, razors, shaving cream, newspapers, magazines, notepads, pens, pencils, sewing kits, shoe shine kits, and similar items.

Consumable items do NOT include: 

1. tangible personal property that is cleaned for reuse (e.g., towels and linens), or
2. products transferred electronically.

Taxable Sales and Services

Sales or rentals of tangible personal property, such as gift shop sales, are subject to sales tax.

The following table shows common fees lodging providers charge guests. Although most of the fees are subject to sales and use tax, not all are subject to transient room taxes.

 

Fees	Sales & Use Tax	Transient Room Tax
Additional room service	Taxable	Taxable
Admission to exercise facilities	Taxable	Not Taxable
Attrition	Taxable (see A. below)	Taxable (see A. below)
Cancellation (less than room amount)	Not Taxable (see A. below)	Not Taxable (see A. below)
Childcare charges	Not Taxable	Not Taxable
Cleaning fees	Taxable	Taxable
Complimentary meals or beverages	Not Taxable	Not Taxable
Concierge fee	Not Taxable	Not Taxable
Copy charges	Taxable	Not Taxable
Damage fees	Taxable	Taxable
Dry Cleaning	Taxable	Not Taxable
Energy surcharges	Taxable	Taxable
Equipment rental	Taxable	Not Taxable
Fax receiving	Taxable	Not Taxable
Fax sending	Not Taxable	Not Taxable
Front desk labor fee	Taxable	Taxable
Groceries and related service fees (mini bar item charges)	Taxable	Not Taxable
Ground transportation/transfers	Not Taxable	Not Taxable
Guest and owner miscellaneous request items	Taxable	Taxable
Hot tub fees	Taxable	Taxable
Interstate telephone charges	Not Taxable	Not Taxable
Late payment fee	Not Taxable	Not Taxable
Laundry/dry cleaning service	Taxable	Not Taxable
Lockout/lost key fee	Not Taxable	Not Taxable
Meeting rooms	Not Taxable	Not Taxable
No show (full room amount)	Taxable (see A. below)	Taxable (see A. below)
Parking fees	Not Taxable	Not Taxable
Pet fees	Taxable	Taxable
Prepaid calling cards	Taxable	Not Taxable
Reservation change fee	Taxable	Taxable
Reservation fee	Taxable	Taxable
Resort fee	Taxable	Taxable
Rollaway bed and cribs	Taxable	Taxable
Room charges/rentals 30 consecutive days and longer	Not Taxable	Not Taxable
Room charges/rentals less than 30 consecutive days	Taxable	Taxable
Safe and safety deposit box rentals	See B Below	Not Taxable
Shipping charges (FedEx, etc.)	Not Taxable	Not Taxable
Sundry items sold	Taxable	Not Taxable
Telephone charges markup	Taxable (see C. below)	Not Taxable
Tickets to ski or gain admission to events	Taxable (see D. below)	Not Taxable
Tips for staff (mandatory)	Taxable	Taxable
Tips for staff (voluntary tips not listed on invoice)	Not Taxable	Not Taxable
Vending machine sales	Taxable	Not Taxable
Video/movie/pay-per-view (assisted by lodging staff) charges	Taxable	Not Taxable
Video/movie/pay-per-view (accessed by guests without any assistance from lodging staff) charges	Not Taxable	Not Taxable

1. When guests do not occupy a room and are charged an amount less than the room rate, the charge is not subject to sales or transient room taxes. When guests are charged the full room rate (whether they occupy it or not), the charge is subject to sales and transient room taxes. A deposit not directly related to the room charge is not subject to sales or transient room taxes.
2. Safe and safety deposit box charges are subject to sales tax if the boxes are tangible personal property. The rental is not subject to sales tax if the boxes are real property. See Pub 42 for definitions.
3. Telephone service providers collect the tax for local and instate long distance calls. However, any markup of these calls by lodging providers is subject to sales tax. Long distance interstate calls are not subject to sales tax.
4. Sales tax is usually collected by the third-party provider (resort, theater, etc.).

 

Exempt Sales and Services

Charges to Owner from Manager

Charges to property owners by property managers are not subject to sales tax or transient room tax. These charges include: interstate telephone charges, housekeeping, shipping charges (FedEx, etc.), administrative labor, DSL installation, late payment fees, hot tub fees, smoking and pet fees (cost of damages pass through), commission fees, credit card fees and check-in fees for non-paying guests.

Government

Federal Government Agencies

Sales to federal governmental agencies are exempt from sales tax and transient room tax if the buyer provides the seller proof of exemption that includes one of the following: 

• an exemption certificate (form TC-721G)
• a purchase order
• an invoice or check issued by a government agency

U.S. Dept. of the Interior

U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) bureaus are treated differently than other federal agencies. DOI bureaus that centrally bill travel expenses include: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Geological Survey, Minerals Management Service, Office of Special Trust, Office of Surface Mining, Office of the Secretary and National Business Center.

The travel expenses of DOI bureau employees are exempt from sales tax if the employee provides the seller with a valid exemption certificate (form TC-721G) or uses a DOI SmartPay Travel Card. For help identifying this card, see smartpay.gsa.gov/smarttax/recognizing-your-account.

Foreign Diplomats 

Lodging related sales to foreign diplomats are exempt from sales tax and transient room tax, at the point of sale, if the buyer has a diplomatic tax exemption card issued by the United States or American Institute in Taiwan, and provides the seller with a valid exemption certificate (form TC-721G) and copy of tax exemption card.

Utah Government Agencies  

Lodging-related sales to Utah government agencies are taxable at the point of sale. Qualifying agencies must request a refund of the tax from the Tax Commission. Employee purchases that are reimbursed by the government agency do not qualify for refund. Refund claims may not be made more frequently than monthly.

Religious and Charitable Institutions

Qualifying religious and charitable institutions must have an exemption number issued by the Tax Commission. Tax is paid at the time of purchase on all amounts under $1,000, unless the institution has an exemption certificate and written contract on file with the lodging provider. If the sale is $1,000 or more, the institution may use an exemption certificate to pay for lodging without paying tax. Otherwise, all sales are taxable and the institution must request a refund of the tax from the Tax Commission.

Monthly Rentals

Charges for stays of 30 consecutive days or longer are exempt from sales and use tax and all sales-related taxes.

Trades or Bartering

A trade involving lodging does not create an exempt trade because lodging is not tangible personal property. Complimentary rooms are not taxable because there is no charge. 

Admissions Charges

Admissions and user fees for any amusement, entertainment, recreation, exhibition, cultural or athletic activity are subject to Utah sales tax.

Taxable activities include, but are not limited to, admissions and user fees for: theaters, movies, operas, museums, planetariums, shows, exhibitions, concerts, carnivals, amusement parks, amusement rides, circuses, menageries, fairs, races, contests, sporting events, dances, boxing and wrestling matches, closed-circuit television broadcasts, billiard or pool parlors, bowling lanes, golf and miniature golf, golf driving ranges, batting cages, skating rinks, ski lifts, ski runs, ski trails, snowmobile trails, tennis courts, swimming pools, water slides, river runs, jeep tours, boat tours, scenic cruises, and horseback rides.

Exceptions

Admissions and user fees include season passes, but do not include annual membership dues paid to a private organization whose members, directly or indirectly, establish the level of the membership dues.

Fees beyond annual membership dues, such as a country club’s fees for use of its golf course or pool, are considered admission and user fees and are taxable. See Tax Commission Rule R865-19S-33.

Amounts paid for the following activities are not admissions or user fees:

• Public or private lessons, including lessons that involve equipment or a facility as part of the lesson.
• Sign-ups for participation in amateur athletics if the activity is sponsored by state government or a nonprofit organization whose primary purpose is the sponsoring and promoting of amateur athletics.
• Sign-ups for participation in school activities. This does not include attendance as a spectator at school activities.

Fees for the above activities are subject to tax unless they are listed separately on an invoice. For example, if fees for a golf lesson are included with fees for use of the golf course, the entire amount is subject to sales tax.

Resort Packages

If a third party reserves rooms for its clients, sales tax and transient room tax are due on the rental. If rooms are discounted for the third party but not for the clients (as is often done for large groups), tax is calculated on the discounted price.

If a third party (such as a hotel) arranges for ski lift passes, the ski resort must pay sales tax on the sales of the lift passes. The third party is considered the ski resort’s agent. Transient room tax does not apply to lift passes.

Other situations in which a third party arranges for guests to obtain taxable goods, services or admissions are treated the same way. The third party is considered the final consumer, not the third party’s clients.

Tours

The following guidelines apply to off-road tours, outfitters and providers of similar activities:

• If the tour begins in Utah, sales tax is due on the entire amount of the transaction.
• If the tour begins outside Utah, the transaction is not subject to sales tax.

Translation

To help visitors understand information on this page in a variety of languages, the Tax Commission has added a link at the top to an automated translation service. This type of service is not perfect, and context or meaning may be inaccurately or incompletely translated. As a result, the Tax Commission cannot guarantee the accuracy of translated information. Anyone relying on translated information does so at their own risk. In the event of any disagreement or ambiguity between a translation and the original English document, the original English document is correct.