Portland Guide

Portland's 31-Night Lodging Tax Rule, Explained

A Portland stay is taxed at a combined 14.5% up to thirty nights and nothing at all from night thirty-one. The threshold is one night wide, and booking on the wrong side of it costs a guest several hundred dollars for no benefit.

Written for guests and hosts in Southeast Portland. Rates and exemption language verified against Portland.gov on 19 August 2026.

What the 14.5% is made of

Three separate charges land on the same taxable rent. Most booking platforms display them as a single line item, which is why the total surprises people.

The City's 6% splits 5% to the general fund and 1% to Travel Portland. The County's 5.5% is earmarked largely for the Oregon Convention Center. The 3% TID fee is collected from lodging operators and booking intermediaries on taxable rents.

The exemption, in the City's own words

The City of Portland exempts "occupants renting space for more than thirty (30) consecutive calendar days." The published guidance goes a step further on refunds:

Two things follow from that sentence, and both matter more than they look.

The days must be consecutive

A break in occupancy restarts the clock. Two 20-night stays a week apart are two taxable stays, not one exempt 40-night stay. Checking out and back in for a weekend trip can cost the exemption on the whole booking.

The first thirty days come back

The exemption is not "tax-free from day 31 onward." Once the stay reaches day 31 without a break, the tax already collected on the first thirty days is refundable or creditable to the guest. On a $6,500 month that is roughly $940 that should not stay collected.

The 30-versus-31 trap

This is the part that actually costs people money. The rule says more than thirty consecutive days, so a 30-night booking sits one night inside the tax and is charged the full 14.5%. A 31-night booking clears the threshold and is exempt.

Airbnb and Vrbo both default their long-stay discounts to a 30-night minimum, which is the taxable side of the line. On a $6,500 monthly rent, the difference between booking 30 nights and 31 nights is roughly $940 in tax against one extra night of rent. Booking the extra night is almost always cheaper than not booking it.

If you are quoted a monthly rate and the total still carries a lodging tax line, ask the host whether the booking is set to 30 nights. It usually is, and it usually can be changed.

What this means if you are a guest

• Book 31 nights or more, in one unbroken stay, whenever your dates allow it.
• Check the quote for a lodging tax line. On a compliant 31-night booking there should not be one.
• If you extend a taxable stay past day 30, ask about the refund or credit on the first thirty days. It is in the City's published guidance, and it is not always applied automatically.
• Paying monthly rent for an entire month is also treated as exempt, regardless of the day count.

What this means if you are a host

• A 30-night minimum is the wrong default. It puts every booking on the taxable side of a threshold your guests will feel.
• Set platform minimums to 31 nights and say so in the listing title. Guests searching for monthly stays are comparing all-in totals, and 14.5% is a large share of that comparison.
• Registration and reporting obligations are separate from the exemption. Being exempt from collecting tax on a stay does not make the filing requirement disappear.

Sources

• City of Portland: Transient Lodgings Filing and Payment Information (rates, exemption and refund language)
• City of Portland: Transient Lodgings Tax Policies
• Multnomah County: Transient Lodging Tax

This is a plain-English summary of published City of Portland and Multnomah County rules, written by a host who books monthly stays in Southeast Portland. It is not tax advice, and rates change. Check the linked sources before relying on any figure here.