Short-Term Rental Registration Deadline Approaches

Oneida County is reminding short-term rental owners that they must register their properties by Jan. 1 in order to continue listing with online booking and other services.

In accordance with New York State law enacted in Feb. 2025, Oneida County has established a registry for short-term rentals (STR), including bookings facilitated through online platforms such as Airbnb, VBRO, Expedia and TripAdvisor. Once registered, hosts can continue to list their properties for rental on booking services, which will then collect the County’s 5% occupancy tax from patrons.

“Oneida County continues to welcome visitors and support a growing tourism economy,” said County Executive Anthony J. Picente Jr. “These new requirements ensure fairness, transparency and a level playing field in the lodging industry, while aligning with State law. Registering short-term rentals will help us maintain the quality and safety of accommodations offered throughout the County and ensure proper collection of taxes that support critical local services.”

Beginning January 1, 2026, all STR hosts must be registered with Oneida County before listing any property for rent. Hosts will be required to include their County-issued registration number in all advertisements and online listings. Registration is currently offered free of charge and may be completed here.

Under the new regulations, all STRs will be subject to Oneida County’s 5% hotel and motel occupancy tax, in addition to the existing 8.75% sales tax rate. Like sales tax, the occupancy tax will be collected from patrons renting the STR, not from hosts. For rentals booked through online services, those platforms will be responsible for collecting and remitting the tax on behalf of hosts. If a booking platform does not remit the tax, or if a host books rentals independently, the host is responsible for collecting the tax from patrons and remitting it directly to the County.

Oneida County’s local law implementing this process can be viewed here.

Several hundred STR units operate in Oneida County each month. Active hosts will soon be receiving letters from the County reminding them of their obligation to register. However, all hosts, whether they receive a letter or not, are responsible for completing registration by January 1, 2026. Hosts who fail to register are prohibited from listing their STRs until compliance is achieved.