Municipal Accommodation Tax

The Municipal Accommodation Tax comes into effect on July 1, 2026.

The MAT is five per cent in Clarington.

The Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) is a tax applied to the cost of short-term accommodation such as hotels, motels, and short-term rentals like Airbnb and Vrbo for stays of 29 consecutive nights or less. The length of stay is based on continuous occupancy, regardless of how a booking is structured, and back-to-back bookings with no interruption are treated as one continuous stay for the purposes of MAT.

The MAT applies only to the cost of the room used for accommodation. It does not apply when a room is used exclusively for purposes such as meetings, events, or merchandise displays. Other charges, such as meeting room rentals, parking, food and beverage, internet, and phone services, are also exempt from MAT, provided they are itemized separately on the guest invoice.

 Yes. Clarington’s Municipal Accommodation Tax does not apply to certain accommodations and organizations, including:

• Rooms or accommodation provided by the Province of Ontario, the Government of Canada, or their agencies.
• Educational institutions, including school boards, universities, colleges, and recognized post-secondary institutions (including dormitory accommodation they provide).
• Hospitals, long-term care homes, hospices, retirement homes, and homes for special care.
• Hotel or motel rooms used by the Municipality, the Region of Durham, or their service providers for shelter purposes.
• Treatment centres receiving private funding or provincial aid.
• Charitable, non-profit, or philanthropic shelters providing emergency or supportive housing.
• Houses of refuge or facilities used for offender rehabilitation.
• Tent or trailer sites at campgrounds, tourist camps, or trailer parks.
• Non-serviced roofed accommodation (such as cabins or shelters without services), regardless of location.
• Lodging provided by an employer to their employees on premises operated by the employer.
• Hospitality rooms used only for meetings, merchandise display, or entertaining (not overnight accommodation).
• Group bookings with contracts signed before the MAT by law takes effect.
• Certain Traditional Bed and Breakfast establishments, provided they meet specific eligibility criteria set out in the MAT by-law.

For the complete legal list of exemptions, refer to Clarington’s Municipal Accommodation Tax by law. Proof of exemption may be required. 

No. The Municipal Accommodation Tax is not a tax on Clarington businesses, residents, or property taxpayers. It is only charged to guests who pay for short-term accommodation within Clarington. Local businesses and residents do not pay this tax unless they are staying in a short-term accommodation as a guest.

Revenue from the Municipal Accommodation Tax is dedicated to supporting and growing tourism in Clarington. After deducting reasonable administration costs, 50 per cent of the remaining funds will be provided to an Eligible Tourism Entity to support tourism marketing and destination development activities, while the other 50 per cent will be retained by the Municipality to support municipal tourism-related initiatives and priorities.

Clarington is growing, with the population expected to reach 221,000 by 2051. As the community grows, so do opportunities for recreation and tourism. Much like more than 70 other Ontario municipalities that have implemented a MAT, the revenue generated from short-term accommodation can be reinvested back into the community for the benefit of residents and visitors alike.

Clarington’s MAT is mandatory and must be paid to the accommodation provider at the point of purchase. 

The MAT is collected by accommodation providers at the time of payment for your stay. It will appear as a separate line item on your bill labelled “Municipal Accommodation Tax.” The provider then remits the tax to the municipality as required by law.

Yes. If you operate a hotel, motel, or short-term rental (such as Airbnb or Vrbo) in Clarington, you are required to collect and remit a five per cent MAT on all accommodations of 29 consecutive nights or fewer.

Accommodation providers will submit MAT reports and remit payments through the Ontario Restaurant, Hotel and Motel Association (ORHMA), which is acting as Clarington’s collection agent. Training and support will be provided by ORHMA to all accommodation providers before MAT implementation on July 1, 2026, to ensure the reporting and remittance process is well understood.

To register a hotel/motel or change an existing registration with the Ontario Restaurant Hotel and Motel Association for the MAT collection, please contact Sanju Abraham at 905‑361‑0268 ext. 0325.

Please note that accommodation providers are required to submit a MAT report for every reporting period, even if no accommodation was sold.

Reporting frequency

Hotels and motels

Reporting period: Monthly. Due date: 15th day of the following month.

Short-term rentals (e.g. Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com)

Reporting period: Quarterly. Due date: 15th day of the month following the quarter.

Interest may be applied to any overdue MAT payment at a monthly rate of 1.25 per cent, beginning on the day after the payment is due and on the sixteenth day of each month thereafter, until the full amount owing is paid.

Fees may also apply to payment remittances that are not honoured by the financial institution (for example, returned or declined payments), in accordance with the Municipality’s User Fee By-law.

If MAT was charged on an invoice paid by a guest and a full or partial refund is later issued for the accommodation, the corresponding amount of MAT must also be refunded to the guest. If the refund occurs after MAT has already been remitted, the refunded amount may be adjusted on a subsequent MAT submission, with appropriate documentation retained to support the adjustment.

For no‑shows, if a property’s policy charges all or part of the room rate as a no‑show penalty, MAT applies to the amount charged, as it is still considered payment for accommodation. If the policy charges a flat administrative or cancellation fee that is not tied to the room rate, MAT does not apply to that fee.

Municipal Accommodation Tax applies based on when the accommodation price is established, subject to the exemptions set out in the MAT by-law.

Where a guest enters into a booking or agreement before July 1, 2026, at a clearly defined and fixed accommodation price, MAT is generally not applied, even if payment is made in part or in full after that date. Accommodation providers are not expected to retroactively increase agreed-upon prices to add MAT.

If a booking is made before July 1, 2026, but the accommodation price is not finalized at the time of booking (i.e. where rates are variable or a balance is established later), MAT applies when the accommodation charge is established on or after July 1, 2026.

Deposits or advance payments alone do not determine whether MAT applies. Accommodation providers should retain booking agreements and payment records to support how MAT was applied.

Currently, accommodation providers are responsible for collecting and remitting the Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) for all bookings in Clarington in accordance with the MAT by-law.

Some booking platforms offer tools that allow hosts to add local taxes to guest invoices at checkout. While these tools may be used to collect MAT from guests, the accommodation provider remains responsible for reporting and remitting the MAT through Clarington’s authorized collection agent.

If the Municipality enters into a formal agreement with a booking platform to collect and remit MAT on behalf of hosts in the future, this information will be clearly communicated to accommodation providers.