Who Pays the Levy
The levy is paid by all guests/visitors at the time of purchase of a room/unit in a registered tourist accommodation within the boundaries of Truro, Colchester, Stewiacke and Millbrook. A tourist accommodation is a roofed accommodation that is rented for 30 days or less at one time.
The levy is paid to the tourist accommodation operator by a guest/visitor at the time of purchase of the room/unit. The accommodation operator collects the levy and reports it monthly to the Municipality of Colchester. Levies are remitted either to the Municipality of Colchester or to the Town of Truro, depending upon where the accommodation is located. Levies are used for regional marketing initiatives to benefit accommodations by attracting more guests/visitors.
Levy Amount
The levy is 3% and is calculated based on the per-night purchase price of the accommodation. The levy is subject to HST collected and remitted to the CRA by the accommodation operator.
Rental Through Online Platforms (e.g.; AirBNB, VRBO)
Most major short-term accommodation rental applications and websites offer host booking tools that allow the application of a levy fee and its itemization in the host's payment reporting. Accommodation operators should contact their online platform rental provider for details on how to add the levy fee.
Interest on overdue levy payments will be charged at a rate of 15% per annum (1.25/month).
The penalty for failure to collect and/or failure to remit payment from collections of the marketing levy is between $500 to $1,000 for the first conviction and between $1,500 to $5,000 for subsequent convictions.
Information Provided to Visitors/Guests
The purchase price for the tourist accommodation and the total amount of the marketing levy must be shown on any invoice, receipt, bill or other document issued for accommodations rentals. Accommodation operator's guests/visitors should be informed that the levy is subject to HST.
