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HomeMy WebLinkAbout042-25 (OrdAmendmentChapter155Taxation(TransientOccupancyTax)) 00 ORDINANCE October 8, 2025 The Board of Supervisors of Frederick County, Virginia hereby ordains that the following Sections of Article XIV (Transient Occupancy Tax) of Chapter 155 (Taxation) of the Code of Frederick County, Virginia be amended by enacting amended Sections of Article XIV (Transient Occupancy Tax) of Chapter 155 (Taxation)of the Code of Frederick County, Virginia, as follows (addition shown in bold underline): Section 155-50 (Definitions); Section 155-54 (Collections in trust for County); Section 155-55 (Required reports, remittances); Section 155-56 (Powers and duties of Commissioner of Revenue); Section 155-58(Failure to collect or remit tax); Section 155- 59 ( Preservation of records, examination); Section 155-60 (Persons going out of business); and Section 155-61 (Enforcement). Chapter 155. Taxation Article XIV. Transient Occupancv Tax [Adopted 7-10-1985 (Ch. 9,Art. XVI, of the 1984 Frederick County Code); amended in its entirety 8-28-1985] 155-50. Definitions. For the purpose of this article, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section: COMMISSIONER OF THE REVENUE OR COMMISSIONER The Commissioner of the Revenue of the County of Frederick, Virginia, or any of his duly authorized Deputies or Agents or successors. MOTEL Any publeG 9F pFivate hotel, inn, apartmeRt hotel, hostelry, teuFist heme 9F house, Fngtel, r-eemiRg nGmneRGatien f„rnishoc ledging to any traRsients as hereinafter defined ACCOMMODATIONS Means anv room or rooms lod ins or accommodations in any hotel motel, boardin houses, travel campgrounds, inn, tourist cabin, club short-term rental, or any other lace offerin-g quest rooms rented out for continuous occupancy for fewer than 30 consecutive days or in which rooms lod4ing, space, or accommodations are re ularl furnished to transients for a consideration. "Accommodations"does not include rooms ors ace offered by a person in the business of Providina conference rooms meetin space, or events ace if the person does not also offer rooms available for overni ht sleepin_a. ACCOMMODATIONS INTERMEDIARY Means any person other than an accommodations provider that lit facilitates the sale of an accommodation and 00 either(aj charges a room charge to the customer, and charges an accommodations fee to the customer, which fee it retains as com ensation for facilitatin the sale; b) collects a room charge from the customer; or c charges a fee other than an accommodations fee to the customer, which fee it retains as compensation for facilitating the sale. For purposes of this definition "facilitates the sale"includes brokering, coordinating, or in any other way arranqing for the purchase of the right to use accommodations via a transaction directly, including via one or more payment processors, between a customer and an accommodations provider "Accommodations intermediary"does not include a person: 1 !f the accommodations are provided by an accommodations provider operating under a trademark trade name or service mark belon-ging to such Person 2 Who facilitates the sale of an accommodation if(i) the price paid by the customer to such person is equal to the price paid by such person to the accommodations provider for the use of the accommodations and ii the only compensation received by such erson for facilitating the sale of the accommodation is a commission paid from the accommodations provider to such erson• or 3. Who is licensed as a real estate licensee pursuant to Article 1 (§ 54.1-2100 et se of Chapter 21 of Title 54.1, when acting within the scope of such license. ACCOMMODATIONS PROVIDER Means any person that furnishes accommodations to the general public for com ensation. The term "furnishes"includes the sale of use or possession or the sale of the ri ht to use or possess. PERSON Includes individuals, firms, partnerships, associations, corporations, persons acting in representative capacity and combinations of individuals of whatever form and character as an accommodations provider. 2 ROOM RENTAL The total charge made by any such accommodation motel for lodging and/or space furnished any such transient. If the charge made to such transient includes any charge for services or accommodations in addition to that of lodging and/or use of space, then such portion of the total charge as represents only room and/or space rental shall be distinctly set out and billed to such transient by such accommodation metel as a separate item. TRANSIENT Any person who, for any period of fewer net mere than 30 consecutive days, either at his own expense or at the expense of another, obtains lodging or the use of any space in any accommodation motel, as hereinabove defined, for which lodging or use of space a charge is made. 155-51. Tax imposed. [Amended 4-12-1989; 3-23-2016; 4-10-2019] In addition to all other taxes of every kind now or hereafter imposed by law, there is hereby imposed and levied on each and every transient a tax equivalent to 3.5% of the total amount paid for room rental by or for any such transient to any accommodation motel. 155-54. Collections in trust for County. All amounts collected as taxes under this article shall be deemed to be held in trust by the accommodations provider seller collecting them until remitted to the County as provided by this article. � 155-55. Required reports remittances. A. Every accommodation provider person receiving payment for a room rental for which a tax is levied under this article shall make a report for each calendar month, showing the amount of charges collected for room rental and the amount of tax required to be collected. B. Unless the accommodation provider is subject to subsection (Q below, the The monthly reports shall be made on forms prescribed by the Commissioner and shall be signed by the seller. They shall be delivered to the Commissioner on or before the 20th day of the calendar month following the month being reported. Each report shall be accompanied by a remittance of the amount of tax due, made payable to the County Treasurer. The Commissioner shall promptly transmit all taxes received to the County Treasurer. C. An accommodations provider shall not be required to submit a report to the Commissioner of the Revenue if i) all retail sales of accommodations owned by the accommodations provider are facilitated by an accommodations intermediary and EJ2 the 3 accommodations provider attests to the locality that all such sales are facilitated by an accommodations intermediary. Such attestation shall be effective for 12 months be-ginninq with the month in which the attestation is made. Thereafter, such attestation shall be due annually on a date determined by the Commissioner of the Revenue, on such forms and in such manner as the Commissioner of the Revenue may rescribe and require. However, such accommodations provider shall make out and submit a rel2ort in accordance with the subsection for the retail sale of any accommodations not facilitated by an accommodations intermediary and shall remit such tax otherwise required by Title_ 58.1 Taxation Chapter 38 Miscellaneous Taxes Article 6 of the Ilr inia State Code. § 155-56. Powers and duties of Commissioner of Revenue. A. It shall be the duty of the Commissioner of the Revenue to ascertain the name of every person operating an accommodation Fnetekin the County liable for the collection of the tax levied in this article. B. The Commissioner shall have the power to adopt rules and regulations not inconsistent with the provisions of this article for the purpose of carrying out and enforcing the payment, collection and remittance of the tax herein levied, and a copy of such rules and regulations shall be on file and available for public examination in the County Administrator's office. Failure or refusal to comply with any rules and regulations promulgated under this section shall be deemed a violation of this article. 155-58. Failure to collect or remit tax. [Amended 1-9-2013] A. If any accommodation providerpefsen whose duty it is to do so shall fail or refuse to collect the tax imposed under this article and make timely report and remittance thereof or if the Commissioner of the Revenue has reasonable cause to believe that an erroneous statement has been filed, the Commissioner shall proceed in such manner as is practicable to obtain facts and information on which to base an estimate of the tax due the County and, in connection therewith, shall make such investigations and take such testimony and other evidence as may be necessary; provided, however, that notice and opportunity to be heard shall be given any person who may become liable for the amount owing prior to any determination by the Commissioner of the Revenue. B. As soon as the Commissioner has procured whatever facts and information may be obtainable upon which to base the assessment of any tax payable by any accommodation provider 4 pefssp►-who has failed to collect, report or remit such tax, the Commissioner shall proceed to determine and assess against such accommodations provider person the tax provided in this article. The Commissioner shall then notify the person, by regular mail or, if the person has consented to electronic notice, by e-mail, sent to his or her last known address on file, that a statutory amount has been assessed due to failure to file and that he or she must contact the Treasurer to obtain the total amount due, including the assessed amount of penalty and interest. The total amount thereof shall be payable 10 days after the date such notice is given. If a corrected assessment is provided to the Commissioner, the statutorily assessed tax, penalty, and interest would be adjusted. 155-59. Preservation of records, examination. [Amended 1-9-20131 A. It shall be the duty of every person liable for collection and remittance of the taxes imposed by this article to keep and preserve, for the current year and the previous three years, records showing all room rentals taxable under this article, the amount charged for each room rented, the date thereof, the taxes collected thereon and the amount of tax required to be collected by this article. B. The Commissioner shall have the power to examine such records at reasonable times and without unreasonable interference with the business of such accommodation provider perseR, for the purpose of administering and enforcing the provisions of this article and to make transcripts of all or any parts thereof. 155-60. Persons going out of business. Whenever any accommodation provider person required to collect and remit to the County any tax imposed by this article shall cease to operate or shall otherwise dispose of his or her business, the tax shall immediately become due and payable and the person shall immediately make a report and remittance thereof. 155-61. Enforcement. A. It shall be the duty of the Commissioner to ascertain the name of every person operating an accommodation Fnetel in the County liable for the collection of the tax imposed by this article who fails, refuses or neglects to collect such tax or to make the reports and remittances required by this article. The Commissioner may have issued a summons for such person or any other person whom the Commissioner believes to have information concerning the collection of the tax imposed by this article and/or the nonpayment of such tax or nonfiling of the reports required 5 by this article, and the summons may be served upon such person by the Sheriff of Frederick County in the manner provided by law. [Amended 1-9-2013] B. In the event any person who has rented a room refuses to pay the tax imposed by this article, the accommodation metel employee on duty may call upon the Sheriffs Department for assistance, and the investigating officer may, when probable cause exists, issue the person who has rented the room a summons returnable to the General District Court as provided by law. Enacted this 8th day of October 2025. Chairman's Seat Vacant John Jewell Aye Gainesboro Seat Vacant Robert W. Wells Aye Blaine P. Dunn Aye Robert Liero Aye Judith McCann-Slaughter Aye A COPY ATTEST Michael Bollhoefer Frederick County Administrator No. 042 ,25 6 ,f reberick (fountp, 'Virginia OFFICE OF COMMISSIONER OF THE REVENUE 107 North Kent Street P.O.Box 552 . WP�A'"° Winchester VA 22601 Winchester VA 22604-0552 tonva.sibert@fcva.us www.fcva.us/cor TONYA C.SIBERT Phone: 540-665-5681 COMMISSIONER Fax: 540-667-6487 September 16, 2025 TO: Steven D.Briglia, Interim County Attorney CC: Michael Bolhoefer,County Administrator Derek Brill,Chief Deputy of the COR FROM: Tonya C.Sibert, Commissioner of the Revenue RE: Code Change and Attestation—Transient Occupancy Tax Persuant to amendments made to§58.1-3827 Administration of transient occupancytax at the 2025 Session of General Assembly, it is required that Frederick County code be revised. Proposed ordinance amendments to Chapter 155 Taxation,Article XIV Transient Occupancy Tax include the following: §155-50 Definitions Introducing more encompassing and modern terms of Accommodations,Accommodations Intermediary and Accommodations Provider to better describe short term lodging(not more than 30 consecutive days) arrangements §155-54 Collections in Trust for County Updated to newterminology §155-55 Required Reports;Remittances Updated to newterminology Introduction of annual attestation option to relieve accommodations intermediary of monthlyfiling requirement §155-56 Powers and Duties of Commissioner of Revenue Updated to newterminology §155-58 Failure to Collect or Remit Tax Updated to newterminology §155-59 Preservation of Records;Examination Updated to newterminology §155-60 Persons Going Out of Business Updated to newterminology §155-61 Enforcement Updated to newterminology The new attestation form and option will be offered to accommodations intermediaries beginning in late 2025 fortransient occupancy tax filings required in 2026. .f COUNTY OF FREDERICK Steven D. Briglia Acting County Attorney • 703-883-0205 540/722-8383 Fax 540/667-0370 E-mail sbriglia@brigliahundley.com MEMORANDUM TO: Board of Supervisors FROM: Steven D. Briglia,Acting County Attorneyjq DATE: September 16, 2025 RE: Proposed amendments to the County Code related to Transient Occupancy Tax provisions ORIGINATING DEPARTMENT: Commissioner of Revenue The Commissioner of Revenue and her staff have worked with the County Attorney to provide proposed amendments to the County Code related to transient occupancy tax code provisions. The proposed revisions, summarized in the Commissioner of Revenue's Memo, relate to updates required following the General Assembly's amendments to the State Code, specifically Virginia Code §§58.1-3826 and 58.1-3827. The proposed Code amendments relate to definitions and the requirement for the accommodations facilitators and accommodations providers to provide information and to submit a report to the Commissioner of Revenue to disclose that an"accommodations intermediary"is facilitating the retail sales of transient accommodations such as Airbnb. The framework for the state code changes was due to extensive lobbying and input from localities to provide a uniform framework for the expanding transient occupancy system of short-term residential rentals. The County Attorney has reviewed and provided input on the proposed County Code amendments, and they are consistent with the Virginia State Code. Following a public hearing, the Board of Supervisors may approve and adopt the proposed amendments in its discretion. Attachments: State Code §§58.1-3826 and 58.1-3827 cc: Michael Bollhoefer, County Administrator Jay E. Tibbs, Deputy County Administrator Tonya Sibert, Commissioner of Revenue 107 North Kent Street • Winchester, Virginia 22601 Code of Virginia Title 58.1. Taxation Subtitle III. Local Taxes Chapter 38. Miscellaneous Taxes Article 6. Transient Occupancy Tax § 58.1-3826. Scope of transient occupancy tax A. The transient occupancy tax imposed pursuant to the authority of this article shall be imposed only for the use or possession of any room or space that is suitable or intended for occupancy by transients for dwelling, lodging, or sleeping purposes. B. For any retail sale of accommodations not facilitated by an accommodations intermediary, the accommodations provider shall collect the tax imposed pursuant to this article, computed on the total price paid for the use or possession of the accommodations, and shall remit the same to the locality and shall be liable for the same. C. For any retail sale of accommodations facilitated by an accommodations intermediary, the accommodations intermediary shall be deemed under this article as a facility making a retail sale of an accommodation. The accommodations intermediary shall collect the tax imposed pursuant to this article, computed on the room charge, and shall remit the same to the locality and shall be liable for the same. D. For any transaction for the retail sale of accommodations involving two or more parties that meet the definition of accommodations intermediary, nothing in this section shall prohibit such parties from making an agreement regarding which party shall be responsible for collecting and remitting the tax, so long as the party so responsible is registered with the locality for purposes of remitting the tax. In such event, the party that agrees to collect and remit the tax shall be the sole party liable for the tax, and the other parties to such agreement shall not be liable for such tax. E. In any retail sale of any accommodations in which an accommodations intermediary does not facilitate the sale of the accommodations, the accommodations provider shall separately state the amount of the tax in the bill, invoice, or similar documentation and shall add the tax to the total price paid for the use or possession of the accommodations. In any retail sale of any accommodations in which an accommodations intermediary facilitates the sale of the accommodation, the accommodations intermediary shall separately state the amount of the tax on the bill, invoice, or similar documentation and shall add the tax to the room charge; thereafter, such tax shall be a debt from the customer to the accommodations intermediary, recoverable at law in the same manner as other debts. F.An accommodations intermediary shall submit to a locality the property addresses and gross receipts for all accommodations facilitated by the accommodations intermediary in such locality. Such information shall be submitted monthly. 2005, c. `0;2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 383;2022, cc. 7, 640;2025, cc.458, 473. The chapters of the acts of assembly referenced in the historical citation at the end of this section(s) may not constitute a comprehensive list of such chapters and may exclude chapters whose provisions have expired. 1 9/16/2025 12:00:00 Code of Virginia Title 58.1. Taxation Subtitle III. Local Taxes Chapter 38. Miscellaneous Taxes Article 6. Transient Occupancy Tax § 58.1-3827. Administration of transient occupancy tax A. The tax-assessing officer of a county, city, or town shall administer and enforce the assessment of, and the treasurer of such county, city, or town shall collect, transient occupancy taxes from accommodations intermediaries. B. In administering the assessment of transient occupancy taxes from accommodations intermediaries, the tax-assessing officer of a county, city, or town shall provide adequate information to accommodations intermediaries to enable them to identify transient occupancy rates, the applicable jurisdiction, and any discounts, deductions, or exemptions. C. Every accommodations intermediary required to collect or pay the transient occupancy tax, on or before the twentieth day of the month following the month in which the tax shall become effective, shall transmit to the tax-assessing officer of a county, city, or town a return showing the gross receipts, any allowable discounts, deductions, or exemptions, and the rate applied to the resultant net receipts and shall remit to the treasurer of such locality the total local transient occupancy tax due, as well as any penalties and interest due, arising from all transactions taxable under this chapter during the preceding calendar month.Where applicable, the return shall also include the number of room nights and the room tax rate applied, the total amount of room tax due, and any regional transportation transient occupancy taxes due. Thereafter, a like return shall be prepared and transmitted to the tax-assessing officer of a county, city, or town by every accommodations intermediary on or before the twentieth day of each month, for the preceding calendar month. D. An accommodations provider shall not be required to transmit a return to the tax-assessing officer of a county, city, or town if(i) all retail sales of accommodations owned by the accommodations provider are facilitated by an accommodations intermediary and (ii) the accommodations provider attests to the locality that all such sales were facilitated by an accommodations intermediary. Such attestation shall be effective for 12 months beginning with the month in which the attestation is made, and thereafter, such attestation shall be due annually on a date determined by the locality. However, such accommodations provider shall transmit returns for the retail sale of any accommodations not facilitated by an accommodations intermediary as otherwise required by this article. 2023, c. 410;2025, cc. 458, 473. The chapters of the acts of assembly referenced in the historical citation at the end of this section(s) may not constitute a comprehensive list of such chapters and may exclude chapters whose provisions have expired. 1 9/16/2025 12:00:00