Tax Commission
Transient Room Taxes
Transient room tax (TRT) can be imposed by a county, city or town to rent temporary lodging for stays of less than 30 consecutive days at:
- Hotels
- Motels
- Inns
- Trailer courts
- Campgrounds
- Tourist homes
- Similar accommodations
TRT is charged in addition to sales and other applicable taxes. However, it doesn’t apply to charges for:
- Exercise facilities
- Dry cleaning services
- Safety deposit box rentals
- Telephone charges
- Vending machines sales
- Video/movie charges
- Rooms not used for lodging (meeting and convention rooms, etc.)
- For other non-taxable charges see Pub 56
See Pub 56, Sales Tax Information for Lodging Providers or the online Sales & Use Tax Workshop for more information on all TRT and lodging accommodations.
Counties or municipalities may adopt this tax to support tourism, recreation, cultural, convention or airport facilities within their jurisdiction. It is assessed in addition to sales and use taxes on rentals of lodging accommodations that are less than 30 consecutive days.
Rentals exempt from sales and use taxes are also exempt from this tax.
Tax Rates
Tax rates vary from one location to another and may change quarterly. For more information please refer to our Sales Tax Rates.
Exemptions and Adjustments
For more information about possible exemptions or adjustments please refer to the Exemption Information below and Publication 56.
To apply for a sales-related tax account, use our Taxpayer Access Point.
Important: When applying, you must first select Sales and Use Tax to proceed.
For details on how to file, please review the filing instructions.
Filing and Payment Frequency
For instruction on how to file please see filing instructions.
Due dates for sales and related taxes are based on the previous year’s sales tax liability, as determined by the Annual Sales Tax Liability Table.
Sales and related tax returns are due the last day of the month after the filing period. For example, returns for annual filers are due January 31. If a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the due date is the next business day.
New businesses estimate the amount of sales and use tax liability when applying for a license and are assigned a filing status. The Tax Commission reviews accounts annually and notifies businesses in writing if the filing status changes.
Forms and Publications
Statues and Rules
Revenue
Used by the county or municipality that imposed the tax
Sales and Use Tax General Information is in Publication 25
Reporting and Paying Transient Room Tax
TRT is reported and paid using Taxpayer Access Point (TAP) – TC-62T,Transient Room Tax Return. (See Utah Code Ann. §59-12-302.)
Exemptions
Government Entities
To qualify for the lodging-related sales tax exemption, purchases must be:
- Used for an essential government function; and
- Paid directly by the government agency
Note: Purchases are not “paid directly” if the employee pays with their own funds (even if the money is reimbursed).
This exemption only applies to purchases by:
- Foreign diplomats with a U.S. issued tax exemption, or
- Federal government agencies
Utah State and Utah local government entities must pay transient room taxes at the time of purchase and request a refund from the Utah State Tax Commission.
State and local government entities of other states are not exempt from Utah sales or transient room taxes.
Religious and Charitable Organizations
To qualify for the lodging-related sales tax exemption, purchases must be:
- For $1,000 or greater with a TC-721 Exemption Certificate; or
- Pursuant to a contract with the lodging provider with a TC-73 Sales Tax Exemption Contract (a purchase order is not considered a contract for this purpose).
Note: Purchases are not “paid directly” if the employee pays with their own funds (even if the money is reimbursed).
Religious and charitable organizations that do not meet either condition above must pay sales tax at the time of purchase and request a refund from the Utah State Tax Commission.
Exemption Refund Process
If you are a Utah State or local government agency, you must first apply for a sales tax exemption number by completing form TC-160G, Sales Tax Exemption Number Application for Government Agencies.
If you are a Religious or Charitable Organization, you must first apply for a sales tax exemption number by completing form TC-160, Application for Sales Tax Exemption Number for Religious or Charitable Institutions.
Once you have been approved, you will receive a coupon booklet with 12 coupons and an address Change form (sent upon approval and annually each January).
You may claim refunds each month or wait until you have paid sales tax for several months. However, you must claim your refund within 3 years from the date you paid the sales tax. We must deny claims filed after 3 years.
Remember these guidelines when submitting your coupon:
- Complete and send original coupons.
- Use the coupon for the correct tax period. (The Tax Period is the month you send your refund request; not the month you paid the sales tax.)
- Discard any coupons you don’t use.
- Don’t send coupon copies.
Use the Change form in the booklet for address corrections. Use form TC-69C, Notice of Change for a Tax Account, for other corrections.
Keep the following records for 3 years from the refund request date. You may have to provide these records to the Tax Commission:
- Receipts
- Invoices
- Schedules
- Work papers used to calculate the refunds
Additional Information
Contact the Tax Commission with questions at:
Utah State Tax Commission 210 N 1950 W Salt Lake City UT 84134 [email protected] 801-297-7705 1-800-662-4335 ext. 7705