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Hotels, motels and cottage court owners in Wasaga Beach will collect a municipal accommodation tax from visitors, starting in April 2026.
Ian Adams/Metroland
Municipal officials expect to collect up to $2.3 million annually with new tax on visitors to the community.
ByIan AdamsWasaga Sun
Wednesday, December 3, 2025
It’s no joke: Wasaga Beach’s new tax on accommodations comes into force on April 1.
That’s the date council decided to implement what will be a four per cent tax on all short-term rentals in the community and includes hotels, motels and cottage courts.
The town will apply the tax to legal short-term rentals offered through online platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo.
According to the town’s economic development officer Kaitlyn Monsma, the tax will result in annual revenue of between $1.5 million and $2.3 million. Funds will be split evenly with Tourism Simcoe County and spent on tourism-related marketing, services and infrastructure in Wasaga Beach.
A policy to create a reserve account for the town’s share will come to council at a later date.
Monsma told council at its Nov. 27 meeting, the three months prior to the implementation of the tax will give accommodation operators the chance to learn about the new tax.
Short-term rental compliance
Meanwhile Granicus, the company contracted to monitor short-term accommodations for illegal rentals, will be responsible for registration, collection and enforcement.
Monsma said Granicus has already done a lot of the setup for collection through its short-term rental compliance module, so it will be “ready to go” for local accommodation providers.
Council had been set to consider implementing the new bylaw as of Jan. 1, but decided to delay the start for another three months.
Coun. Sasha-Rose Dileo thought the delay should be considerably longer and noted the town is not in the same position as other municipalities that have already implemented an accommodation tax.
“Our beachfront is under construction and may remain so for many years,” she said. “During this period, our priority should be to encourage visitors, not discourage them with added costs.” Asking tourists to pay a tax before the Destination Wasaga plan is developed “risks undermining local businesses and deterring the very visitors we need during construction.”
The rest of council decided while the originally proposed date of Jan. 1 was too soon, it couldn’t be left to an undetermined point in the future.
Deputy chief administrative officer Gerry Marshall said the delay until April will give accommodation operators a chance to learn about the new rules during the “lull,” rather than the “heat of the battle of the start of the tourism season.”
Accommodators will be required to remit the tax quarterly, starting in July.
Original:
https://www.simcoe.com/news/wasagas-new-municipal-accommodation-tax-to-start-on-april-1/article_83857f44-f6fc-5d70-b89e-039ad5eb9754.html
