Since January 1, 2025, a 7.5% tax has been applied to all stays of less than 28 consecutive days. The levy includes the total booking amount (e.g., cleaning fees, GST) but excludes credit card fees.
Levy application
The levy is exempt for properties that are your Principal Place of Residence (PPR). It applies to entire homes, private rooms (non-PPR), granny flats, tiny homes, and similar types of accommodations. Hotels and motels are not affected by the levy.
For more information about the levy, visit the Victorian State Revenue Office website.
Levy collection on Lodgify
For direct bookings on your Lodgify website, you will need to create a tax corresponding to the levy for your properties in Victoria. Once created, the levy will be applied to the bookings, and you will be responsible for remitting it to the Victorian State Revenue Office (SRO).
To ensure the levy is correctly applied to your bookings, follow these steps:
- Register on the Victorian SRO portal.
- On Lodgify, go to your left-hand menu and select Rentals.
- Select the rental that you want to create the fee for, and select Pricing.
- Scroll down until Taxes and + Add a new Local tax.
Create the tax with the following settings:
- Local tax type: Lodging Tax
- Value: 7.5%
- Local tax name: Short Stay Levy
- Assign the tax to the rentals in Victoria and click Save.
- If you have additional fees (e.g., cleaning fees), make sure to include this tax in the fee settings.
- If you are connected to Airbnb and/or Vrbo, follow these instructions.
For further information on how to configure taxes in Lodgify check out this article.
⚠️ Important: Since taxes cannot be restricted by a specific number of nights, this levy will apply to all bookings, including those of 28 days or more. Be sure to remove the levy from the quote and refund the guest if you receive bookings of 28 days or more.
Levy collection on OTAs
Airbnb: The platform collects the levy directly from guests at the time of booking and remits it to the Victorian State Revenue Office (SRO). If you are connected to Airbnb and have set up the levy for your Lodgify website, follow these instructions.
Vrbo and Expedia: The levy is managed on Vrbo and Expedia's side. We advise you to check directly with them for specific details. If you are connected to Vrbo and have set up the levy for your Lodgify website, follow these instructions.
Booking.com: The levy is managed on Booking.com side. We advise you to check directly with them for specific details. If you are connected to Booking.com and have set up the levy for your Lodgify website, follow these instructions.
Levy management for Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com
If your rentals are connected to Airbnb, Vrbo, and/or Booking.com, and you're creating a tax in Lodgify (such as the Short Stay Victoria Levy), make sure to remove the OTAs from the tax restrictions to avoid duplicate charges.
Follow these steps to check if the OTAs have been properly removed from this tax:
- Go to your left-hand menu and select Rentals.
- Select the rental that you want to create the charge for and select Pricing.
- Click the three dots on the right of the tax and select Restrictions.
- Untick the OTAs from the restrictions and click Save.