The Complete Rhode Island Airbnb Host Lodging Tax Guide: Airbnb Rhode Island Occupancy Tax Breakdown

Thinking about launching your Airbnb in Rhode Island? Before you welcome your first guest, it’s crucial to understand the state’s lodging and occupancy tax landscape. Rhode Island has a layered system of state and local taxes that apply to short-term rentals, and compliance is non-negotiable. Here’s your up-to-date, host-friendly breakdown for 2025.

State-Wide Lodging and Occupancy Taxes in Rhode Island

All short-term rentals, stays of 30 days or less are subject to the 7% state sales tax plus state lodging taxes. Rhode Island also imposes a total hotel tax of 6% on room rentals and 1% on whole-home rentals​. This means that renting a room in your home is treated like a “hotel room,” while renting an entire house is taxed at the lower 1% rate. These taxes apply in addition to the sales tax on the rental price, including cleaning and other fees.

You can learn more about Rhode Island taxes from the official Department of Taxation.

Does Airbnb or VRBO Collect and Remit Taxes in Rhode Island?

Rhode Island treats online marketplaces as “hosting platforms,” and they are required to register and remit taxes on behalf of hosts. According to Rhode Island Division of Taxation rules, a hosting platform “is required to register, collect and remit both sales and hotel tax on the rental charge” for each booking​. This means Airbnb, VRBO, and similar sites automatically collect the applicable lodging taxes from each reservation and remit them to the state and local authorities.

However, it’s still important for hosts to verify that their platforms are collecting all required taxes. If a host books guests off-platform, the host must still register with Rhode Island Taxation and file monthly returns for sales and lodging taxes.

City-Specific Local Tax Requirements

Aside from the statewide taxes above, most Rhode Island municipalities do not impose additional occupancy taxes on short-term rentals. This means that most rentals are only required to remit the State Sales Tax (7%) and the Hotel Tax (6% or 1% for whole-home rentals), for a total of 8% for whole-home rentals, and 13% for room-only rentals.

Newport City

The notable exception is the City of Newport. Newport is one of the major tourist cities in Rhode Island and has its own lodging tax on top of the state rates. Newport’s rooms tax is 6% on short-term rentals. Newport also collects a 1% local tax on whole-home rentals.

These local Newport taxes are collected by the city: the 1% local tax on whole-home rentals goes entirely to Newport, and the 6% rooms tax is remitted to the city as well.

Overall, guests renting a room in Newport pay a combined 19% tax rate and 15% for those renting a whole home.

Example Lodging Tax Calculation For an Entire Property in Rhode Island, outside of Newport City.

A 2-night stay at $250 per night.

• Total nightly Rate: $250 x 2 = $1250
• Cleaning Fee: $40
• Total Listing Price for a 2-night stay: ($250 × 2) + $40 = $540
• Rhode Island State Sales Tax (7%): $540 x 0.07 = $37.8
• State Hotel Tax (1%): $540 x 0.01 = $5.4
• Total Tax Collected (8%): $43.2
• Total Guest Payment: $540 + $43.2 = $580.2

Wrapping Things Up

Rhode Island’s short-term rental tax structure is straightforward but layered. Airbnb and VRBO make compliance easier by handling tax collection for you, but hosts must stay vigilant, especially when handling direct bookings or if local rules change. Taxes support the local communities that make Rhode Island such a special place to host-so staying compliant isn’t just the law, it’s good for everyone.

These tax ranges are meant for general information purposes. Local counties and even cities can have more specific rates that only apply to them. For this reason, we still highly recommend checking out the local STR regulations in your area or contacting local officials for more information.