Short Term Rentals

Short Term Rentals/Transient Occupancy

Business License

A new business must obtain a business license prior to transacting any business. Business licenses must be renewed annually on or before March 1, and a renewal notice will be sent to each business. A NELSON COUNTY BUSINESS LICENSE IS REQUIRED IF YOU OPERATE A SHORT TERM RENTAL.

Business License Application

Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) Filings & Remittances

Due to legislative changes adopted effective October 1, 2022, all third party short term lodging intermediaries (AirBnb, VRBO, Homeaway, Evolve, Expedia, etc.) are now required to collect and remit the 5% local transient occupancy tax on behalf of their respective hosts in the County.

• Transient Lodging Tax Form
• Lodging Registration Form

Some of the platforms have already indicated that, contrary to the provisions of newly enacted State legislation requiring them to provide localities with a modicum of auditable data, they do not intend to provide localities with anything other than a lump-sum payment. Unfortunately, in the absence of any useful data that would allow us to allocate these tax remittances to individual accounts, we must require hosts to continue filing monthly reports regardless of whether a platform has indicated to you that it has collected and remitted tax on your behalf.

We are working on a new online filing form that allows you to indicate whether and how much tax has been remitted on your behalf by third party intermediaries. At this point, you will need to download the Transient Occupancy Tax form, complete it, and send to the office of the Commissioner of the Revenue.

If tax has been remitted on your behalf by a third-party intermediary, you must provide documentation from that intermediary containing an itemization of the month’s rental activity and the amount of tax remitted on your behalf. If such substantiating documentation is not provided, the tax will be the responsibility of the host. If you use multiple online platforms to market your accommodations, documentation is required for each platform remitting tax on your behalf. Until then filing with a paper form you must list any platforms used to market your accommodations, gross receipts attributable to each platform, and the tax attributable to each platform. Supporting documentation is still required.

If you have any questions, please contact the Commissioner of the Revenue office at 434-263-7070.

The County of Nelson requires zoning approval and a business license.

1. Contact the Director of Planning and Zoning (434-263-7090) or visit the office at 80 Front Street to ensure that the business is permitted on the property of your choice.
2. Contact the Virginia Department of Transportation (434-946-7631) about the property entrance requirements.
3. Visit the Commissioner of Revenue (434-263-7070) located on the first floor of the courthouse building to obtain your proper business license. Business licenses are required for: Contractors, Food Establishments, Retail Establishments, Professional Firms, Service/Repair, and Wholesalers.
4. Fictitious trade names must be registered with the Clerk of the Circuit Court (434-263-7020).
5. If a business is incorporated, registration with the State Corporation Commissionis required.

Wintergreen Property Owners & Short Term Rentals

Wintergreen Property Owners Association recently shared new rules related to STR’s in our community with owners. This was done via the Annual Meeting Mailing and goes into effect January 1st, 2023.

There are 4 requirements:

1. All owners must notify WPOA if their property is used for rental purposes, and such owners must promptly notify WPOA of any change in use of their property.

2. All owners who rent their property as a short-term rental (less than 30 days) must comply with local ordinances, including but not limited to holding applicable business licenses, filing the required business tax returns, paying Transient Occupancy Taxes, and any other requirements of the local governing body.

3. All owners must inform all renters and guests, both in writing and onsite at their Wintergreen property, of all Wintergreen Community Rules published by WPOA, as available on the WPOA website.

4. All owners must provide WPOA with contact information (to include a phone number, email address, physical address, and mailing address) for either themselves or another party designated to handle property complaints, and through which contact information they are available 24 hours per day, seven days per week.