Rental Rules by City / Pennsylvania / Philadelphia

Philadelphia short-term rental rules & tax calculator

Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania · Verified against official sources Oct 24, 2026

📋 The Basics

Can I rent my place short-term here?: Only in some areas
Do I need a permit?: Yes for your primary residence with a Limited Lodging license; other homes need special zoning and licensing.
What taxes do I pay?: Total about 15.5%. Check your Airbnb payout report to see which ones Airbnb collects; you pay the rest yourself.

Your 3 steps to be legal

Get a Commercial Activity License and tax ID.
Get the right zoning permit.
Get the Limited Lodging or hotel Rental License.

⚠️ Biggest risk: Listing before licenses are issued.

Words confusing? See the glossary. Details and official sources are below.

Tax calculator

Nightly rate ($) Nights Cleaning fee ($)

Rates used: Pennsylvania hotel occupancy tax (state + local) 7% + Philadelphia Hotel Tax 8.5% = 15.5%. Mandatory cleaning fees are included in the taxable total. 15.5% (PA 7% + city 8.5%), city tax due the 15th monthly.

What Airbnb collects: Confirm your platform remits the city Hotel Tax; if not, file it yourself.

This is the general rule for Philadelphia. Does your address qualify?

The free info covers the city as a whole. Your property can still be different: zoning can change from one street to the next, and an HOA or condo ban can stop rentals even where the city allows them.

Your $49 Compliance Check looks at your exact property:

Whether your exact address and zone allow short-term rentals
A check of HOA / condo rental restrictions to look for
Which permits and tax accounts you personally need
What you're missing right now
A personal report with clear next steps and official sources, by email
A refund if we report a rule in error (refund policy)

🔎 How we check: official city, county and state sources, a last-verified date on every page, and nothing guessed. Learn more

Check my address: $49

🔔 Stay notified: $4.99/month

Rules don't change every week, but they do change, and nobody emails you when they do. We'll alert you when city rules, tourist taxes, HOA-related laws, or Airbnb/Vrbo policies change in Philadelphia. Cancel anytime.

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Why use this instead of a web search?

Instead of scattered, sometimes outdated pages, you get the city, county and state rules on one page, with official sources linked, a last-checked date, and unconfirmed items marked "verify" instead of guessed. How we verify →

Advanced details (laws, fees, sources)

Rules

Primary residence	Renting your primary residence (or a room) 30 nights or less needs a Limited Lodging Operator License ($150; virtual L&I inspection).
Non-primary	Non-primary homes need a visitor-accommodation zoning permit and a Rental License with hotel designation.
Other licenses	Commercial Activity License, BIRT tax account and a zoning permit before advertising.
10th District	In the Tenth Council District the host must own the home.

Items marked "Verify with the city" could not be confirmed from an official source; call the office listed before relying on them.

Sources

Free tools

Free "Is my rental legal?" checklist · Free tourist tax calculator

Rules can change

Philadelphia's rules, its tax rates and platform policies can change through a council vote, a new state law or a court ruling, often with little notice to hosts. We re-check this page monthly; subscribers get notified. Stay Compliant for $4.99/mo.

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Rules, tax rates and Airbnb/Vrbo policies can change without warning, and hosts who miss a change can be fined. Get alerts when your city, county or state changes, deadline reminders, a pending-bill watch list and a monthly host brief (even in quiet months: "we checked on [date]; no changes"). Compare plans.

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Not legal or tax advice. Last verified Oct 24, 2026. Rules and rates change: confirm with the official sources linked before you rent or file.