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County outlines rollout plan for short-term rental occupancy tax; registration starts before June collection date
Summary
County staff walked supervisors through a schedule to register short-term rental (STR) hosts and begin collecting a state-authorized occupancy tax on June 1, 2025. Staff said registration will be online, hosts must register each property separately and that Airbnb is not currently collecting on the county’s behalf.
County staff provided a multi-step rollout plan for implementing the short-term rental (STR) occupancy tax required under New York State law and answered supervisors’ questions about registration, platform collection and revenue distribution.
Brenda (county project lead) told the board the county will send an initial launch letter to identified short-term rentals on May 1 to provide 30 days’ notice ahead of implementation. The county plans to begin collecting the 4% occupancy tax on June 1, 2025. Hosts will be required to register online; registration is property-specific, and registrations are due every two years. The county will provide a dedicated email and phone help line through the treasurer’s office for registration and payment questions.
Brenda said New York State began collecting related sales tax on March 1 and that counties must separate state sales tax remittance from the county occupancy tax. She explained the rule that governs bookings: if a booking is paid before June 1, the 4% county occupancy tax will not apply; if the booking is paid on or after June 1, the county tax must be collected.
Brenda and other staff described coordination with Granicus, a vendor contracted to identify and list advertisement-based STRs. Granicus will supply an initial dataset of advertised STRs and periodic updates (weekly or monthly). Towns and villages will receive access and training on the Granicus database; local building or code officials are expected to submit a monthly baseline/updates file to the county for addresses Granicus does not identify.
On platform collection, Brenda said Columbia County does not currently have an agreement with Airbnb to collect the occupancy tax for the county. Airbnb has paused new agreements in New York pending its review of state requirements; the county could only contract directly with Airbnb if it opted out of the state’s collection arrangement, which staff said the county does not plan to do.
Supervisors asked about enforcement and compliance. Brenda said the state law requires booking platforms to check registration before posting a booking and that there are statutory penalties for noncompliant platforms; how the state will enforce that provision remains unclear. Staff said local enforcement of whether a host obtains a town permit is the responsibility of the town or village; the county will share registration numbers for cross-checking.
Brenda gave a revenue estimate for a midyear rollout: roughly $500,000 to $1,000,000 for the six-month period after implementation, subject to final accounting and distribution rules. Staff said distribution between county and towns is unresolved in detail; towns will receive a share of collections, and chargeback arrangements for local Granicus services were discussed.
County staff said they will issue guidance and an externally polished document for towns to post; they will also provide the Granicus access and training links now. The county will provide periodic updates and an initial dataset to supervisors and towns so local permit offices can reconcile their permit lists with the county’s registration database.
