An audit on Onondaga County's Room Occupancy Tax shows hotels and motels owe the county more than $420,000 in uncollected taxes.
County Comptroller Marty Masterpole said these findings were from a report of 50 establishments from 2019-2022. The 50 operators audited included Airbnb, an online third-party rental service that has a contract for the collection of the room occupancy tax with the county.
According to the 2022 Audit Summary, the Onondaga County Hotel Room Occupancy Tax (ROT) Law allows the county to collect a tax on the per diem rental charge. In March 2021, the room occupancy tax percentage increased from 5% to 7%.
The county is due over $307,000 in underreported revenue and almost $118,000 in uncollected penalties and interest. This brings the total to $421,837 in additional revenue for the benefit of the taxpayers.
Masterpole said in a statement that by conducting these audits, his staff continues to find significant underreported revenue for the county, and he appreciates their hard work in doing so.
