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Business Registration, Transient Lodging Tax, Food & Beverage Tax
Business License and Food & Beverage Tax
The City of Ashland imposes a 5% meals tax on all prepared food items and beverages, excluding alcoholic beverages, served in a restaurant including take out, to go, or delivered orders. Each operator is required to obtain a City of Ashland Business Registration and impose the tax in accordance with Ashland Municipal Code Chapter 4.34: Food and Beverage Tax.
Business Registration and Food and Beverage Tax can be paid online at ashlandor.hdlgov.com.
Transient Lodging Tax
The City of Ashland imposes a 10% Transient Lodging Tax (TLT) on temporary or short-term lodging. Thirty-one percent of the tax proceeds are restricted in use to promote tourism or may be used on tourism-related facilities. See Ashland Municipal Code Chapter 4.24: Transient Occupancy Tax for more information.
Lodging providers can file their TLT returns online with the State of Oregon Department of Revenue. Returns are due quarterly on the following dates:
| Time Period | Due Date |
|---|---|
| Q1: January 1 through March 31 | April 30 |
| Q2: April 1 through June 30 | July 31 |
| Q3: July 1 through September 30 | October 31 |
| Q4: October 1 through December 30 | January 31 |
- House Bill 2267 requires that 70% of TLT revenue is allocated towards Tourism purposes. Why is the City of Ashland's percentage that goes to the Tourism Fund much less than that?
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When HB 2267 passed and was made effective in July 2003, Ashland already had TLT in place and was therefore grandfathered under the new law. Essentially whatever was allocated to Tourism prior to HB 2267, which was 14% of a 7% tax, would be the basis for the 70% required allocation towards Tourism, plus any increases to the rate therein (2% in 2008 and 1% in 2018). Currently TLT is 10%, thus the allocation we use today for the Tourism Fund is 30.96% and General Fund is 69.04%.
- How do I calculate occupancy?
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Occupancy is determined by the method in which you choose to rent your accommodations. If you rent by room, then you need to report your occupancy by room. If you rent by unit, for example a three bedroom house rented as one unit, you would need to report by unit or as one in this example.
- Why should I complete the occupancy questions at the bottom of the form?
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Occupancy data is collected to develop trends both seasonally and year to year in the utilization of Ashland's collective visitor capacity. The aggregate data is displayed in various publications, include the City' approved budget, the Chamber of Commerce's Living and Doing Business Guide as well as by other local and regional groups involved and interested in Ashland's tourism economy.
- What do you mean by "Exemptions" in Question 2?
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See Ashland Municipal Code Section 4.24.030.
- What if I submit this form but do not pay by the due date?
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The return is not considered complete until the payment is received, therefore it would be considered past due.
- How do I know if I am required to file my return quarterly or monthly?
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All operators must submit returns at a minimum quarterly, unless the City has notified the operator that they are required to submit monthly. However, any operator may choose to submit monthly.
- How do I complete the form using an Apple product?
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You will need to install Adobe Reader to complete this form. Save this form to your local drive and then open it using Adobe Reader.
More questions? Please contact the State of Oregon Department of Revenue by calling 503-945-8120 or by email.