The Boston tourist tax adds 14.95% to a hotel or traditional short-term rental bill, and 17.95% to many Airbnb and Vrbo stays, on top of the room rate you see advertised. That total combines a 5.7% Massachusetts room occupancy excise, a 6.5% Boston local tax, a 2.75% convention center financing fee, and, for professionally managed or multi-family short-term rentals, an additional 3% community impact fee.1Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Room Occupancy Excise Tax
What You’ll Pay by Lodging Type
The rate that lands on your bill depends on where you’re staying.
- Hotels, motels, and bed and breakfast establishments with four or more rooms: 14.95% total (5.7% state + 6.5% city + 2.75% convention fee).
- Short-term rentals in an owner-occupied single-family home: 14.95%.
- Short-term rentals that are professionally managed, or located in a two- or three-family home: 17.95% (the 14.95% above plus a 3% community impact fee).
- Bed and breakfast homes with three or fewer rooms where the owner lives on-site: exempt, 0%.2General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Part I, Title IX, Chapter 64G, Section 2
On a $250 hotel room, the 14.95% rate works out to about $37.38 per night, or over $260 across a week. A comparably priced professionally managed Airbnb runs closer to $45 per night in taxes and fees, roughly $314 for the same seven nights.
What Each Charge Is
The State Room Occupancy Excise
Massachusetts sets the baseline at 5.7% of the room price: a 5% statutory rate plus a 0.7% surtax. The excise is authorized under Chapter 64G and covers hotels, motels, lodging houses, bed and breakfast establishments with four or more rooms, and, since July 2019, short-term rentals booked through platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo.3General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Part I, Title IX, Chapter 64G, Section 1
The Boston Local Tax
Every Massachusetts city and town can add its own local option tax on top of the state rate. Boston is authorized to charge 6.5%, higher than the 6% cap most municipalities work under, and it has adopted the full amount.1Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Room Occupancy Excise Tax Both the state and city percentages are calculated on the total rent, not on a reduced base.
The Convention Center Financing Fee
A 2.75% charge on Boston lodging funds convention infrastructure, including debt service and operations for facilities like the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. The fee dates to 1997 and applies to hotels, motels, and short-term rentals alike.4Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Technical Information Release TIR 01-15 – Convention Center Financing Fee On Room Occupancy
The Community Impact Fee
Since 2019, Massachusetts cities have been allowed to add a community impact fee of up to 3% on certain short-term rentals, and Boston charges the full amount. The fee applies to professionally managed units (investment properties not occupied by the owner) and to short-term rentals in two- or three-family homes where the operator lives on-site.5General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Part I, Title IX, Chapter 64G, Section 3D It does not apply to hotels or motels, and it doesn’t hit every rental. Someone renting a spare room in the single-family home they live in typically won’t owe it. A standalone apartment or condo booked through a rental platform usually will.
When the Tax Doesn’t Apply
Long Stays
The occupancy tax only reaches stays short enough to count as “occupancy” under the statute. In hotels, motels, lodging houses, and B&B establishments, staying more than 90 consecutive days makes the entire stay tax-free, including the first 90 days. For short-term rentals, the cutoff is 31 consecutive days.6Massachusetts Department of Revenue. 830 CMR 64G.1.1 – Massachusetts Room Occupancy Excise Corporate housing guests and long-term medical patients are the usual beneficiaries.
Federal Employees on Official Travel
Federal employees traveling on official business are exempt from the room occupancy tax, whether the agency pays the hotel directly or the employee pays and gets reimbursed. To claim the exemption, the traveler shows government-issued ID and proof of travel orders at check-in.7Massachusetts Department of Revenue. TIR 01-21 – Room Occupancy Excise Exemption for Employees of the United States State employees do not get the same treatment; Massachusetts regulations explicitly subject employees of state agencies and political subdivisions to the full tax, even on official business.6Massachusetts Department of Revenue. 830 CMR 64G.1.1 – Massachusetts Room Occupancy Excise
Small Owner-Occupied B&Bs and Other Carve-Outs
A bed and breakfast home with three or fewer rooms where the owner lives on-site is fully exempt. So are rooms at federal, state, or municipal institutions, dormitories, and lodging at religious, charitable, educational, and philanthropic institutions when those institutions aren’t running a hotel open to the public. Month-to-month leases and tenancies at will fall outside the tax, as do rooms costing less than $15 per night.2General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Part I, Title IX, Chapter 64G, Section 2
What About Nonprofits?
This one catches people. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit is not exempt from the Massachusetts room occupancy tax when its employees book a commercial hotel. The exemptions for charitable and educational institutions cover those institutions providing lodging themselves, such as a university housing visitors in its own dormitory. They do not extend to nonprofit staff staying at a Marriott, even though the same nonprofits are exempt from Massachusetts sales tax on ordinary purchases.2General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Part I, Title IX, Chapter 64G, Section 2 The room excise is a separate statute with its own rules.
How You’ll See It at Booking
When you book through a major platform like Airbnb or Vrbo, the platform collects the taxes and remits them to the Department of Revenue. Massachusetts law treats these platforms as intermediaries and has required them to handle collection on any rent they process since July 2019. The individual host doesn’t separately report or pay the tax on those bookings.1Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Room Occupancy Excise Tax Book directly with a hotel or an independent host, and they collect at checkout.
A federal rule that took effect in May 2025 changed how the price shows up before you pay. Hotels and short-term lodging providers now have to advertise a total price that includes any mandatory fees. Government-imposed taxes can still be listed separately, but they have to be disclosed clearly before payment.8Federal Trade Commission. The Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees – Frequently Asked Questions Resort fees and similar mandatory charges should now be baked into the displayed nightly rate. The 14.95% or 17.95% in taxes and government fees will still appear on your final bill as separate line items.