Tourist Accommodation Tax

*Public Engagement Session, March 27th, 2025 @ 7:00pm in Council Chamber at City Hall*

Tourist accommodation encompasses any establishment that provides lodging for a fee. This category includes larger commercial properties, such as hotels, resorts, hostels, and inns, as well as short-term rentals (STRs), which usually involve private residences rented out for short stays.

Operators of both larger commercial properties and STRs must obtain a business licence from the City of Yellowknife, and some may require additional permits.

Beginning April 1, 2025, a 4% Tourist Accommodation Tax will be applied to the purchase price, which includes the basic room rate, and any additional charges or fees directly related to the stay. The 4% tax is collected by the operator, and remitted to the City of Yellowknife. The funds collected through this tax will be strategically allocated to grow the tourism sector in Yellowknife. For further details on the specifics of the tax and its intended use, please refer to Tourist Accommodation Tax By-law No. 5099.

Charging tourists the Tourist Accommodation Tax

Operators are required to charge visitors who stay in licensed tourist accommodation within the City of Yellowknife a 4% Tourist Accommodation Tax.

Goods and services tax (GST)

The Tourist Accommodation Tax is required by the City of Yellowknife and is therefore exempt from Goods & Services Tax (GST) for both you and your guests.

The tourism levy is calculated on the total purchase price of the accommodation. Total purchase price is the total amount that a guest pays for the right to use the accommodation, including any additional charges for extra beds, cots, cribs, linens, pets and cleaning, but not including the federal goods and services tax (GST).

For example: You provide a room in your hotel for $200 per night which includes a cleaning fee.

Purchase Price $ 200.00

Tourism Tax ($200 x 4%) $8

Total (not including GST) $ 208.00

Informing your customers

The price and total amount of the Tourist Accommodation Tax must be shown on any invoice, receipt, bill or other document issued for accommodations.

Paying the Tourist Accommodation Tax

The City of Yellowknife will collect the 4% Tourist Accommodation Tax from operators on a quarterly basis. The operator will provide the City with their report via an online portal, and the 4% Tourist Accommodation Tax will be charged based off the total revenue reported. The first reporting and remittance deadline is July 30, 2025 (for the reporting period of April 1, 2025 to June 30, 2025).

Payment and report deadlines

Reporting Period	Payment and Report Deadlines
January 1 to March 31	April 30
April 1 to June 30	July 30
July 1 to September 30	October 30
October 1 to December 31	January 30 (of the following calendar year)

Paying online

Operators will be able to submit their quarterly reports and remittances through an online portal with the City of Yellowknife. This user-friendly portal will go live before the first remittance deadline on July 30, 2025.

Paying by mail or in-person

Payments can be mailed to P.O. Box 580, Yellowknife, NT X1A 2N4
Payments can be made in-person at the Customer Service Desk at City Hall. Cash, cheques and debit are accepted forms of payment
When making a payment, be sure to enclose a copy of the remittance report for the reporting period with your payment and indicate your business licence number on your cheque
A secure drop box is located at City Hall on the side door for drop-offs after hours. Please do not use the drop-off if you pay with cash

Penalties

The penalty for failing to collect or remit payment of the Tourist Accommodation Tax is between $250 to $500 for every conviction.

Quarterly reporting

As an accommodation operator, you are required to submit a Tourist Accommodation Tax Remittance Report four times a year via an online portal, by mail or in-person. For those who wish to submit their report online, a user-friendly portal will go live before the first remittance deadline on July 1, 2025. More information on how to use the online portal will be available once the portal is live.

Those submitting their report by mail or in-person must fill out and print off the form via the online portal, and either mail it to City Hall or drop it off in-person.

Even if no rooms were sold during the reporting period, a Remittance Report must be submitted. You are required to maintain records of accommodation sales, the amount of tax collected, and the taxes paid to the City. These records should be kept for at least six years.

For details on report and payment deadlines, see the table above.

Exemptions from Tourist Accommodation Tax

Operators do not need to charge visitors the Tourist Accommodation Tax under the following circumstances:

The accommodation is outside of the City of Yellowknife’s boundaries
The length of stay for a guest is more than 30 days
The rate billed to the guest is less than $20 per night, or
The guest is one of the following:
- An employee of the Government of the Northwest Territories traveling for work purposes
- A public agency or other reporting body defined in the Financial Administration Act
- A patient and/or their family on medical travel and/or staying at a hospital or healthcare facility

Questions

Bookings prior to April 1, 2025

Q: A customer booked their stay in the fall of 2024 for a visit in summer of 2025. The customer will pay in full the first day of their visit. Does the customer need to pay the 4% marketing levy on this booking?

A: Yes, the customer pays the marketing levy because the payment was made after April 1, 2025.

Q: A customer booked their stay in the fall of 2024 for a visit in Summer 2025. The customer paid a deposit on the booking and will pay the remaining amount on the first day of their visit. Does the customer need to pay the 4% marketing levy on this booking?

A: Yes, the marketing levy is payable on the full amount of the booking because the final payment will be made after April 1, 2025.

Q: A customer booked their stay in the fall of 2024 for a visit in the Summer of 2025 and paid in full at the time of booking. Does the customer need to pay the 4% marketing levy on this booking?

A: No, the customer does not need to pay the marketing levy on this booking because it was paid in full before the marketing levy by-law came into effect.

Q: A customer booked their stay in fall of 2024 for a visit in summer of 2025. The customer provided a credit card to hold the room but was not charged. The payment will be processed 24 hours before their visit. Does the customer need to pay the 4% marketing levy on this booking?

A: Yes, the marketing levy is payable on the full amount because the payment will be made after April 1, 2025.

Will Airbnb collect the Tourist Accommodation Tax on my behalf?

Airbnb will not be collecting the Tourist Accommodation Tax on behalf of Yellowknife short-term rental hosts.

For now, there is functionality to ‘add tax’ through the Airbnb platform. You can do this by following the steps outlined below.

Airbnb offers professional tools that hosts can use to automatically collect custom taxes on their bookings. Once set up, the system will collect these taxes from guests and send them to the host to remit. This tool must be activated by the host. To enable this feature, you may go to your account settings and follow the prompts to get started.

Head to your account settings and opt-in to professional hosting tools.
Click Listings and select the listing you want to edit.
Under Listing editor, click Edit preferences.
Click Taxes, and then tap Add a tax. Choose the Tax type and the Type of charge.
Enter the Amount being collected (4%)
Enter your business licence number under Accommodations tax registration number.
Choose whether your region provides an exemption for long-term stays (if you choose Yes, you’ll be given the option to provide additional details).
Agree to the terms and click Save.

For general inquiries about the Tourist Accommodation Tax or questions on how to set up an account to submit the remittance report and payment, please contact our Economic Opportunities and Investments team at ecd@yellowknife.ca or call (867) 920-5600