Why is Pittsburgh's hotel tax 14%?

Pittsburgh hotel stays carry a stack of levies: 6% Pennsylvania state sales tax, plus an Allegheny County hotel room rental tax of 7%, plus an additional 1% county lodging levy. Together these come to roughly 14% on top of the room rate, well above the 6% you pay on most goods.

Is the tax charged per night or on the whole stay?

The percentage is applied to the total room charge for the stay, so it scales with both your nightly rate and the number of nights. A higher nightly rate or a longer stay both increase the dollar amount of tax you pay proportionally.

Do resort fees or parking get taxed too?

Occupancy tax applies to the room charge itself. Many mandatory resort or facility fees are also subject to the same tax in Pennsylvania, while incidentals like parking, dining, and the minibar are taxed under different rules. This tool taxes the room rate you enter.

Does this apply to Airbnb and short-term rentals?

Allegheny County's hotel tax also applies to short-term rentals like Airbnb and VRBO, and platforms typically collect it automatically. The same combined rate generally applies, so you can use this tool to estimate the tax on a short-term rental nightly rate as well.

Can I get the tax refunded or exempted?

Most travelers cannot. Exemptions are narrow — generally government employees on official business with proper documentation, and stays longer than 30 consecutive days may qualify as a non-taxable lease. For ordinary leisure or business stays, the full tax applies.

Pittsburgh Hotel & Occupancy Tax Calculator

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Pittsburgh’s advertised room rate is only part of the story: once the state and Allegheny County occupancy taxes are added, your checkout total runs about 14% higher than the nightly price you booked. This calculator stacks every layer so you can budget for the real bill before you arrive.

How it works

Each tax is a percentage of the pre-tax room subtotal, and they are summed into a single effective rate of about 14%:

subtotal       = nightly rate × nights
state tax       = subtotal × 6.0%   (Pennsylvania sales tax)
county hotel    = subtotal × 7.0%   (Allegheny County hotel room rental tax)
county lodging  = subtotal × 1.0%   (additional county lodging levy)
total tax       = state + county hotel + county lodging
grand total     = subtotal + total tax

Because all three levies apply to the same base, the effective combined rate is just their sum — 14% — applied to the full room charge for your stay.

Example and tips

A 180 dollar-per-night room booked for 3 nights has a 540 dollar subtotal. The 6% state tax adds 32.40, the 7% county hotel tax adds 37.80, and the 1% lodging levy adds 5.40 — about 75.60 in tax for a grand total near 615.60 dollars. When comparing hotels, compare post-tax totals: a slightly cheaper nightly rate still carries the same 14% multiplier, so the gap holds, but watch for separate resort fees that some properties tax on top.