Washington County short-term rental owners reminded to pay 6% hotel tax

Short-term rental owners in Washington County could soon face increased oversight as leaders plan to roll out new software designed to identify properties and ensure taxes are being paid.

County officials say the move comes as short-term rentals continue to grow in popularity, but many property owners may not realize they are required to pay the same 6% hotel tax as traditional lodging, including hotels.

"Most of them probably don't know that there is a tax or that they have to pay the tax," said Tom Flickinger, the county's treasurer. 

Short-term rentals in Washington County

Karl Matz is listing his lakefront property on Canonsburg Lake on Airbnb, joining many short-term rental hosts across Washington County. 

As more homeowners enter the market, county leaders say not all are following the rules. To address the issue, Washington County plans to implement software that can identify short-term rental properties and track who is not paying the required tax. Officials believe the effort could uncover hundreds of previously unregistered rentals.

"We currently have 35 short-term rentals, and they demonstrated they could find 300 in Washington County," Flickinger said. "So, monetarily, that was anywhere from $300,000 to $500,000 of additional revenue that we weren't capturing."

Where does the money go?

That money would go into the county's tourism fund. For some homeowners, the change may be seamless. Platforms like Airbnb already collect the tax. But not all do.

"I know there's a lot of people who do this sort of outside of Airbnb, and I doubt they're cutting that 6 percent and mailing it to the state, so it does feel right to be able to track that," Matz said.

One property owner told KDKA he's renting his place to help pay down his mortgage. He said he doesn't agree with needing to pay the same tax as a hotel would pay. Flickinger emphasized that the requirement is based on state law and said the county is focused on education before enforcement.

"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," Flickinger said. 

What's next?

County officials say a start date for enforcement has not yet been determined, but they are encouraging property owners to get into compliance now. Once registered, owners will report their rental activity monthly through an online portal and submit payments electronically.

The software system will cost the county about $28,000 per year. Officials say it's a worthwhile investment if it generates hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional tourism revenue.

Meanwhile, Matz remains optimistic that renting out his lakefront property will pay off.

"I think I'm up for it. I'm kind of excited about it. It just sits here, so I think people are going to rent it."