Municipal Accommodation Providers Frequently Asked Questions

Until May 31, 2025, the Municipal Accommodation Tax rate is TWO DOLLARS ($2.00) flat fee per night of
occupancy and must be applied to accommodations provided for a continuous period of 30
days or less.  Effective June 1, 2025 the Municipal Accommodation Tax shall be applied based on the rating of the Accommodation Property in the following amounts:

-            Five (5) Star Seven Dollars ($ 7.00);

-            Four (4) Star Six Dollars ($ 6.00);

-            Three (3) Star Five Dollars ($ 5.00);

-            Two (2) Star Four ($ 4.00); and

-            Unrated properties Five ($ 5.00).

For hotels, motels, inns and resorts, the by-law shall come into force and take effect on January 1, 2019 and Municipal Accommodation Tax must be collected beginning January 1, 2019.

For bed and breakfasts and vacation rental units, the by-law shall come into force and take effect on October 1, 2021 and Municipal Accommodation Tax must be collected beginning October 1, 2021.

The change in rates is effective June 1, 2025.

The Municipal Accommodation Tax is a mandatory tax and must be paid to the providers of the
transient accommodation from the purchaser at the time the accommodations are purchased.

Under City of Niagara Falls By-law No. 2059 - 009.

Municipal Accommodation tax applies to all accommodations except:

a. the Crown, every agency of the Crown in right of Ontario, and every authority, board,
commission, corporation, office, organization of persons a majority of whose directors,
members or officers are appointed or chosen by or under the authority of new Lt. Gov. in
Council or a member of the Executive Council;

b. every board as defined in subsection 1(1) of the Education Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.2;

c. every university in Ontario and every college of applied arts and technology and postsecondary institution in Ontario, whether or not affiliated with the university, the enrolments of which are counted for the purposes of calculating annual operating grant entitlements from the Crown on accommodations provided to students while a student is registered and attending the institution;

d. every hospital referred to in the list of hospitals and their grades and classifications maintained
by the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care under the Public Hospitals Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.
P.40, and every private hospital under the authority license issued under the Private Hospitals
Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.24;

e. every long-term care home as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Long-Term Care Homes Act,
2007, S.O. 2007, c. 8, retirement home, and hospice;

f. every treatment center that receives provincial aid under the Ministry of Community and Social
Services Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. M.20;

g. every house of refuge, or watching for the reformation of offenders;

h. every charitable, non-profit philanthropic corporation organized as shelters for the
relief of the poor or for emergency;

i. every tent or trailer site supplied by a campground, tourist or trailer park;

j. every accommodation supplied by employers to their employees in the premises operated by
the employer; and

k. every hospitality room in an establishment that does not contain a bed and is used for
displaying merchandise, holding meetings, or entertaining.

No. The tax is only applied to a room that is being used for accommodation. However, the tax
is exempt when a room that does not contain a bed and is being used for displaying
merchandise, holding meetings, or entertaining.

Yes, HST is charged on top of the Municipal Accommodation Tax. The Municipal Accommodation Tax is deemed part of the consideration for the supply of the transient accommodation. The determination of which items are to be included in the base for HST is covered under Section 154 of the Excise Tax Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. E-15).

As part of the City's commitment to making this transition as smooth as possible, the following provisions have been developed to clarify how to handle various booking scenarios:

1. Any transient rooms booked and fully paid by guests before the MAT rate change on June 1, 2025 should be honored with the original MAT rate.

2. Any transient reservations booked and not fully paid would be transacted at the front desk as the new MAT rate.

3. All groups with signed contracts with blocks of rooms, that were signed previous to June 1, 2025 will pay the $ 2.00 rate, all others will pay the new rate.

You must register your transient accommodation establishment by completing a Registration
Form. Once your establishment is registered, you must complete a Remittance Form indicating the number of rooms booked for the month, the rate applied for those rooms and remit payment to the City of Niagara
Falls. Remittance forms are available online at niagarafalls.ca/transientaccommodation.

Payments can be made by:

Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT):
To get set up for EFT please email [email protected]. For payments made by EFT, the form may be submitted by email to [email protected] or alternatively be mailed.

Hotels, motels, inns and resorts will be required to submit a Municipal Accommodation Tax Remittance Form and payment at the end of each month for the tax collected in the previous month.

Bed and breakfasts and vacation rental units will be required to submit a Municipal Accommodation Tax Remittance Form and payment at the end of April, July, October and January, for tax collected in the previous calendar quarter. 

Late payment fees will be charged at a rate of 1.25 per cent on the first day of default and
on each month thereafter in which the default continues.

Overdue MAT accounts will be transferred to tax receivables after 60 days. If no report or remittance is received, the City will estimate MAT for the provider of transient accommodation. 

Adjustments from prior reporting periods can be made in a future return.

If no tax was collected you will still be required to submit the return indicating that no tax was
collected in that month.

It is important to maintain communication with the City. Your report is your attestation to tax collected and due. Please contact the City immediately if there is any reason not to report as scheduled. 

The City has the authority to inspect and audit all books, documents, transactions and
accounts of accommodation providers. Accommodation providers must keep books of
account, records and all documents related to the sale of accommodations and the amount
of the Municipal Accommodation Tax collected and remitted to the City.

If you need further assistance, e-mail us at [email protected] with any questions.