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“Occ tax” has no single official meaning in Canada, so we’ve assumed the most common one: an occupancy tax, the local charge added to a hotel or short-term rental bill. In Toronto that’s the Municipal Accommodation Tax, 6% of the room price since 1 August 2026, and HST is charged on top of it. If you meant something else by occ tax, the sections below on GST/HST may still apply.
Which occ tax are you looking for?
The term is loose. Searches for it mostly land on accommodation charges, so that’s what this page covers. If you were after a payroll levy or an event permit fee, it isn’t here, and we found no Canadian tax under that exact name.
Two layers can show up on one hotel bill. One is GST or HST, collected under federal rules. The other is a local occupancy charge set by a city or a tourism body, which is where the label “occ tax” usually belongs. Quebec adds its own provincial tax to the mix.
How does the Toronto occupancy tax work?
Toronto’s page says the Municipal Accommodation Tax applies to the room part of the price for stays of four hours or more. Meeting rooms, food and drink, room service, internet and phone are outside it when they’re itemized separately. Hotels and short-term rental hosts, Airbnb hosts included, collect it.
The rate has moved. A temporary 8.5% rate ended on 31 July 2026, and from 1 August 2026 it is 6%. That may change again, so check the city page before you budget. Exemptions on the same page include summer camps with overnight programs, campground tent and trailer sites, condo guest suites and employer-supplied staff housing.
| Line on a $200 room, one night | Amount |
|---|---|
| Room price | $200.00 |
| Toronto MAT at 6% | $12.00 |
| HST at 13% on $212 | $27.56 |
| Total you pay | $239.56 |
The HST line assumes the tax applies to the MAT portion, as the City of Toronto’s page states. Our reverse HST calculator takes a total and works back to the tax, but it doesn’t know about local levies. Add those by hand.
What sales tax lands on short-term stays?
The CRA treats short-term accommodation, meaning stays under a month, as taxable. There’s a narrow exception where rent is $20 or less a day. So expect GST or HST on a normal hotel night, plus any provincial sales tax where you are.
The result depends on the province. Take the same $200 room with no local charge added.
| Province | Sales tax | Tax on $200 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta | 5% GST | $10.00 | $210.00 |
| Ontario | 13% HST | $26.00 | $226.00 |
| New Brunswick | 15% HST | $30.00 | $230.00 |
Use the GST and PST calculator for provinces with a separate provincial tax, but remember it applies BC’s 12% to everything, so it will overstate tax on items with a lower rate. Quebec has its own pair of taxes, covered by the GST and QST calculator.
Where does the occupancy money go?
In Toronto, the city says the money funds Destination Toronto, which supports tourism, and programs visitors use, such as roads, transit and parks. Other cities set their own rates and rules, so a hotel across the province may charge more or less. We didn’t confirm the rates for other Canadian cities or for the levies in other provinces, and we won’t guess them.
Mistakes that make the bill confusing
The most common one is comparing the advertised nightly rate with a final bill and assuming the hotel added fees. Often it’s just two taxes. Another is deducting a room for a business trip without keeping the receipt that shows the tax split. If you’re self-employed, the self-employed tax calculator shows roughly what a deduction saves you, though whether a trip qualifies is a separate question.
Operators make a different mistake. If you rent out a room or a home for short stays, you may have to collect and send in MAT yourself as well as GST/HST. Toronto has separate guidance for operators. Read it before your first booking, not after.
Where the numbers come from
The Toronto rate, dates and exemptions come from the City of Toronto’s Municipal Accommodation Tax pages. The GST/HST treatment of short-term stays comes from the CRA’s travel and convention guidance, and provincial rates from the CRA rate table. The room examples are our own arithmetic on a $200 price.
Frequently asked questions
What is an occ tax in Canada?
There's no official label. We've assumed it means the occupancy or accommodation tax a city adds to hotel and short-term rental bills.
What is Toronto's accommodation tax rate?
The City of Toronto says the rate is 6% from 1 August 2026, after a temporary 8.5% rate ended.
Is HST charged on the accommodation tax?
Toronto's page says HST is also payable on the MAT portion. A $200 room comes to $239.56 at 6% MAT and 13% HST.
Do short-term rentals pay it too?
In Toronto, yes. Hosts, including Airbnb hosts, collect the tax on short-term stays.
Are all hotel stays taxed?
Short stays are generally taxable for GST/HST. The CRA exempts accommodation rented at $20 or less a day.
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Information only. This page is general information, not tax, legal or accounting advice. Tax-Services.ca is an independent publisher: we don't prepare or file tax returns or offer tax services, and we have no connection with the CRA, Revenu Québec, any government or any company named on this page. Check the figures that matter with an official source or a qualified professional.