Short-term rentals: GST, PST and accommodation taxes
Stays of less than a month at more than $20 a day are generally taxable for GST. In BC, short-term accommodation also carries 8% PST and, in many areas, up to 3% MRDT. Alberta charges a 6% tourism levy on stays booked after March 2026. Booking platforms often collect some or all of these for you.
Which taxes apply to a short stay
The general rules for a stay of less than a month in a house, suite or condo. Exemptions and details follow below.
| Tax | Rate | Where | Booked through a platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| GST | 5% | BC and Alberta, on stays under one month at more than $20 a day | The platform generally collects it if you're not registered. If you are, you charge it. |
| BC PST | 8% | All of BC, unless an exemption applies | A registered online marketplace facilitator collects it on bookings made through it. |
| MRDT | Up to 3% | Participating municipalities and regional districts in BC | Collected the same way as PST. |
| Major Events MRDT | 2.5% | City of Vancouver, until January 31, 2030 | Collected the same way as PST. |
| Alberta tourism levy | 6% (4% if booked before April 1, 2026) | All of Alberta, on stays under 28 days | Whoever collects payment from the guest, host or online broker, registers and remits it. |
Alberta has no provincial sales tax. In BC, PST and MRDT are not part of the price GST is charged on, except in the City of Vancouver while the Major Events MRDT applies.
When a stay is taxable for GST
Long-term residential rent is exempt from GST. Short stays are different. Under the Excise Tax Act, renting a residential unit is exempt only if the same guest has it for at least one month, or if it costs $20 a day or less. A stay of less than a month at more than $20 a day is taxable at 5% in BC and Alberta.
Taxable doesn't always mean you register. If your taxable sales, from rentals and anything else you sell, are $30,000 or less over four calendar quarters in a row, you're generally a small supplier. Past that, you register, charge GST, and claim back the GST you pay on cleaning, supplies and other costs as input tax credits.
Since July 2021, booking platforms that meet the federal accommodation platform rules must register and collect GST on stays booked through them by hosts who aren't registered. Registered hosts charge and report GST on their own bookings.
Selling a property that was used almost entirely for short stays, or switching it to long-term renting, can also have GST consequences. We check before you list it for sale or change how you rent it.
GST for hosts, in short
- Taxable stays
- Less than one month of continuous occupancy, at more than $20 a day.
- Exempt stays
- One month or more with the same guest, or $20 a day or less.
- When to register
- When taxable sales pass $30,000 in one calendar quarter, or over the last four quarters in a row.
- Not registered
- A registered booking platform generally collects GST on your platform bookings. Direct bookings have no GST.
- Registered
- You charge GST on every taxable stay, file returns and claim input tax credits.
Checked 4 Nov 2026 against the Excise Tax Act, Schedule V and CRA's guidance on platform-based short-term accommodation.
BC PST and MRDT on accommodation
BC charges 8% PST on short-term accommodation, including houses, suites, condos, cabins and rooms in a home. In participating areas, the Municipal and Regional District Tax (MRDT) of up to 3% is added on the same basis. Both are charged on the total the guest pays for the stay, including cleaning, booking, pet and extra-guest fees, but not GST.
If you list only on online marketplaces run by facilitators registered to collect PST and MRDT, you generally don't need your own PST number. You remain jointly liable for tax the facilitator doesn't collect. If you also take bookings another way, you register, and your PST number covers MRDT too.
Some stays are exempt, for example a guest staying 27 days or more in a row, or a small host who doesn't list online and earns less than $2,500 a year from the accommodation.
PST and MRDT are filed on separate returns, and must be shown as separate lines on your invoices.
One $200 night in Victoria (3% MRDT)
PST and MRDT figures from the Government of BC's accommodation guidance. In the City of Vancouver, the 2.5% Major Events MRDT is added and GST is charged on the provincial taxes too.
Alberta's tourism levy
Alberta has no PST, but short-term accommodation carries the tourism levy. It rose from 4% to 6% on April 1, 2026: stays booked after March 31, 2026 carry 6%, and stays booked earlier keep the 4% rate. The rate is the fact most likely to change, so check the Government of Alberta's tourism levy page before you set your prices.
The levy is charged on the purchase price, including cleaning, pet and booking fees. Since October 1, 2024, the person who collects payment from the guest registers and remits it: the online broker for bookings it takes payment for, and you for stays guests pay you for directly.
Hosts file one return for all their units, quarterly if they have fewer than 50 sleeping rooms, due 28 days after the quarter ends.
Not subject to the levy
A stay by the same person for 28 days or more, and some very small hosts who don't list online at all.
Reported at checkout
A stay is reported in the collection period in which it ends, even if it was booked and paid earlier.
GST still applies
Federal GST rules are the same in Alberta as in BC: 5% on taxable stays once you or the platform must collect it.
Where host sales tax usually goes wrong
Most of these show up only when CRA, the province or a buyer's lawyer asks questions.
Missing the $30,000 line
Not counting every taxable sale towards the small-supplier test, and registering late.
Direct bookings with no tax
Taking repeat guests or your own website bookings without charging the PST, MRDT or levy the platform would have collected.
Tax on the nightly rate only
Leaving the cleaning fee and other guest fees out of the price PST, MRDT or the levy is charged on.
Platform tax counted as income
Booking taxes the platform collected and remitted as your income, or reporting them twice on your own returns.
Old Alberta rate
Still charging 4% tourism levy on direct bookings made after March 31, 2026.
No plan for the sale
Selling or changing the use of a property that was mostly short stays without checking the GST first.
One price, set for how you host
Pricing is explained on the business membership page. We confirm your price before any work starts.
- Which taxes you're registered for
- How many units and booking channels you have
- How often each return is filed
- Whether there are past periods to catch up
Short-term rental sales tax, answered
Do I charge GST on a short-term rental in BC or Alberta?
Generally, yes, once you're registered. A stay of less than one month at more than $20 a day is a taxable supply at 5% GST. If your taxable sales are $30,000 or less over four calendar quarters in a row, you're generally a small supplier and don't have to register. Stays of a month or more are generally exempt.
Does the booking platform collect GST for me?
If you're not registered for GST, a booking platform that is registered under the federal accommodation platform rules generally collects GST on your stays booked through it. These rules started in July 2021. If you are registered, you charge and report the GST yourself, including on bookings made through a platform.
What is the PST and MRDT on a short-term rental in BC?
BC charges 8% PST on short-term accommodation, plus up to 3% MRDT in participating areas. The City of Vancouver adds a 2.5% Major Events MRDT until January 31, 2030. Both are worked out on the full price the guest pays for the stay, including cleaning and other fees, but not GST.
Do I need to register for BC PST if I only list on a booking platform?
Generally not, if every booking goes through an online marketplace facilitator that's registered to collect PST and MRDT. You stay jointly liable for any tax it doesn't collect. If you also take bookings another way, such as your own website or repeat guests paying you directly, you must register.
What is Alberta's tourism levy on short-term rentals?
Alberta's tourism levy is 6% of the purchase price of accommodation booked after March 31, 2026, and 4% for stays booked before April 1, 2026. Since October 1, 2024, whoever collects payment from the guest, the host or the online broker, registers and remits it. Stays of 28 days or more are not subject to the levy.
Can you file my GST, PST and tourism levy returns?
Yes. We work out which taxes you're responsible for and which your booking platforms already collect, register you where it's needed, and prepare the GST, BC PST and MRDT, or Alberta tourism levy returns from your books. Pricing is explained on the business membership page, and we confirm your price before any work starts.
Sources, checked 4 Nov 2026. Rules have exceptions and can change. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice for your situation.
- Excise Tax Act, laws-lois.justice.gc.ca: Schedule V, Part I, s.6 (exempt residential stays of one month or more, or $20 a day or less); s.211.1 to 211.22 (accommodation platform operators, registration from July 2021, platform deemed supplier for unregistered hosts).
- CRA, Platform-based short-term accommodation (GST/HST for digital-economy businesses), canada.ca; CRA, When to register for and start charging the GST/HST: the $30,000 small-supplier threshold.
- Government of BC, Accommodation (publication date 21 May 2026), gov.bc.ca: 8% PST, up to 3% MRDT, Major Events MRDT, exemptions, registration with online marketplace facilitators, worked examples.
- Government of BC, Bulletin PST 142, Online Marketplace Facilitators and Sellers (changes effective 1 July 2023), gov.bc.ca.
- Government of Alberta, Tourism levy, alberta.ca (rate notice checked 4 Nov 2026): 6% rate from 1 Apr 2026, 4% for stays booked before then, online brokers from 1 Oct 2024, exemptions, filing.
Let's check your tax setup
Book a free 15-minute call by video or phone. Tell us where your units are, how guests book and what you're registered for, and we'll explain what we'd do and confirm your price before any work starts.
Which office?
Book a free 15-minute call15-minute calls every weekday at 10 am and 2 pm Pacific (11 am and 3 pm Mountain), except holidays.
Typical next slots, confirmed when you book:
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