HB2383 amends Virginia’s transient occupancy tax laws to clarify how the tax is administered when accommodations are sold through accommodations intermediaries, such as online booking platforms. The bill requires intermediaries to collect and remit the local transient occupancy tax on the room charge, separately state the tax on bills or invoices, and submit monthly returns showing gross receipts, discounts, deductions, exemptions, room nights, and applicable tax rates. It also allows an accommodations provider to avoid filing returns for properties entirely booked through an intermediary if the provider attests to that fact to the locality on an annual basis.
The bill also revises related confidentiality and tax-administration provisions in § 58.1-3 to support local and state tax enforcement. It authorizes disclosure of certain tax information to local officials, state agencies, contractors, and other specified entities under written agreements, while preserving confidentiality and criminal penalties for unauthorized disclosure. The measure adds accommodations-intermediary information to the list of tax data treated as confidential and limits its use to administering and collecting retail sales and use tax, transient occupancy tax, and related local taxes.
Impact
HB2383 changes the Code of Virginia’s rules for transient occupancy tax collection and reporting, especially for short-term rental platforms and other accommodations intermediaries. It shifts administrative responsibility toward intermediaries in transactions they facilitate, requires monthly reporting to localities, and creates an attestation process that can relieve some accommodations providers from separate filing obligations. The bill also expands and clarifies tax-information-sharing authority in § 58.1-3, affecting the Department of Taxation, local tax officials, and certain contracted service providers, while maintaining confidentiality protections and misdemeanor penalties for improper disclosure.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have received broad support throughout the legislative process. It advanced overwhelmingly from subcommittee and committee, then passed the House and Senate by large margins, including unanimous or near-unanimous committee votes in later stages. The voting history suggests general agreement that the measure improves tax administration and clarifies obligations for accommodations intermediaries and local tax officials.
Contention
The main points of contention likely centered on the administrative burden and privacy implications of requiring accommodations intermediaries to provide property addresses, gross receipts, and monthly returns to localities, as well as the expanded disclosure of tax information to outside entities under written agreements. The few negative votes in the House process suggest some concern about the scope of reporting, enforcement, or confidentiality provisions. However, the bill’s final passage indicates those concerns were limited and did not prevent strong bipartisan approval.