Innkeeper's Tax

Application of Innkeeper's Taxes

In general, the uniform innkeeper’s tax statute provides that the fiscal body of a county may impose an innkeeper’s tax on those engaged in the business of renting or furnishing, for periods of fewer than 30 days, any room or rooms, lodgings, or accommodations in any hotel, motel, boat motel, inn, college or university memorial union, college or university residence hall or dormitory, or tourist cabin located in the county. Accommodations and lodges generally include, but are not limited to:
  • Rooms in hotels, motels, lodgings, ranches, villas, apartments, houses, bed and breakfast establishments, vacation homes, or resorts;
  • Beginning July 1, 2019, houses, apartments, condominiums, or other personal residences in which rooms, lodgings, or accommodations are rented or furnished for consideration;
  • Tourist cabins and cottages;
  • Houseboats and other craft with overnight facilities;
  • For more information regarding applicability and collection of Innkeeper's Taxes visit IDOR Notice #40.

Collection of Innkeeper’s Taxes 

Innkeeper’s taxes are collected by a retail merchant (i.e., the innkeeper) or a marketplace facilitator (meaning a business that connects sellers to purchasers by use of the business’s marketplace and facilitates the sales of the seller’s products in Indiana through the marketplace, such as an online travel company (OTC) or a peer to peer property rental application). When the accommodation is a personal residence (such as a house, apartment, or condominium), the homeowner has the responsibility to collect the innkeeper’s tax if they are not renting the property through a marketplace facilitator and they do not qualify for the exemption for casual renters. For more information on marketplace facilitators, please refer to Sales Tax Information Bulletin #89.

Innkeeper’s taxes are remitted to either the Indiana Department of Revenue (department) or to the county that enacted the tax. However, if the accommodation is rented through a marketplace facilitator, it is the marketplace facilitator that is required to collect any applicable innkeeper’s tax and remit the tax to the department. If the tax is remitted to the department, the innkeeper will need to register online with the department by registering their business and remitting innkeeper’s taxes monthly via INBiz, the state’s online filing and payment portal. More information related to INBiz is available HERE. Unlike innkeepers, marketplace facilitators registering to collect County Innkeeper's Taxes will need to visit the Department’s website for special instructions. 

Innkeeper’s taxes collected at the county level must be paid monthly and reported on forms approved by the county treasurer. 

Reporting & Payments To The Porter County Treasurer 

If your Innkeeper’s Taxes are not collected by a marketplace facilitator, you must file a monthly Porter County Innkeeper’s Tax Return and any payments due to the Porter County Treasurer. The return and tax check must be submitted by the 20th day of the following month. This return must be filed even though no tax is due.