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How to calculate the short stay levy
Description
If you accept bookings for short stays in Victoria, you may have to pay the short stay levy.
Transcript
If you accept bookings for short stays in Victoria, you may have to pay the short stay levy.
A short stay is any stay less than 28 consecutive days, excluding the check-out day.
The levy is 7.5% of the total booking fee.
The total booking fee is the total amount a guest pays for the stay, and includes charges like cleaning fees, late check-out fees and GST on any component of the booking.
However, the total booking fee does not include charges for a particular payment method, like a credit card surcharge, or any amount refunded to a guest.
Let’s look at an example.
A guest is charged $780 for accommodation, $100 for cleaning and $10 for GST on the cleaning fee for a short stay booked via a booking platform – $890 in total.
The booking platform also itemises a levy contribution of 7.5% of that amount – $66.75.
That brings the total booking fee the platform charges the guest to $956.75.
In the relevant return, the booking platform must pay the short stay levy on the total booking fee of $956.75, which is $71.76 (rounded down to $71.75).
If a levy amount is not a multiple of five cents, it must be rounded down to the nearest multiple of five cents.
A booking platform may choose not to itemise a guest’s booking fee. In this case, the booking platform must pay the short stay levy on the total booking fee paid by the guest.
The levy may not apply to charges for damage or optional add-ons like transportation.
For more examples of calculating the short stay levy, and further information about which charges the levy applies to, visit our website: sro.vic.gov.au/shortstay
