West Virginia Airbnb Laws: Local Approval & Lodging Tax

An Airbnb listing is not local land-use approval

West Virginia’s tax registration does not approve a property for overnight rentals. Check the parcel’s municipal or county rules, lawful building use, parking, water/septic capacity and private restrictions before furnishing or accepting guests.

1. Find the boundary: confirm whether the parcel lies in an incorporated town or the county’s planning jurisdiction.
2. Describe the use: provide stay length, bedrooms, guest count, host presence and proposed events.
3. Collect separate answers: land-use approval, business registration, building/fire requirements and each tax collector.

Jefferson County, Harpers Ferry and Fayetteville are selected because their official material shows different approval, parking and tax decisions. They are examples, not a complete statewide municipal survey or a ranking by profitability.

Source: Jefferson County STR amendment and approval record.

Source: Fayetteville zoning and vacation-rental application resources.

For a cabin outside these areas, use the same evidence file but obtain the local answer anew. A nearby rental or a postal address cannot establish that two parcels have the same rules.

Register the business and confirm its locations

Tax Division TSD435 treats rentals shorter than 30 consecutive days as taxable activity requiring business registration. Its location guidance distinguishes places where business engages with the public or keeps operations from simply counting every building.

Describe the rental addresses, management office and record location to the Tax Division when registering. Do not assume either one certificate per cabin or one certificate for an entire portfolio without applying that guidance.

Source: West Virginia Tax Division TSD435, revised March 2023.

• Keep the state certificate and legal business name with the property approvals.
• Ask the municipality whether its own business license or registration is also required.
• Have the insurer cover the approved guest use and booking channels.
• Before a sale, ask both the licensing office and Tax Division which accounts and approvals the new owner must obtain.

This review does not establish one statewide STR-license renewal or transfer rule. Record the terms on each issued approval rather than copying the seller’s renewal calendar.

Jefferson County: zoning certificate and parking evidence

The county’s published zoning ordinance §8.16 requires a zoning certificate and a sketch demonstrating sufficient off-street or designated parking. It allows STRs where single-family dwellings are allowed, subject to the use table and standards.

The use must have no more effect on adjoining property than typical residential use. It cannot become a special-event facility without the separate approval for that use. Do not advertise weddings or large reunions on the assumption that a lodging certificate covers events.

Source: Jefferson County zoning ordinance amended January 22, 2026, §8.16 and Appendix C.

The county’s STR web page still describes the original proposal but records a December 2, 2021 commission approval. Read the ordinance and current parcel designation, not only the page’s introductory “proposed” wording.

Source: County ZTA21-01 history and commission vote.

For a Harpers Ferry mailing address, establish whether the land is inside the town. Send the parking sketch and intended guest use to the actual issuing office. Ask how changes to bedrooms, ownership or management affect the certificate; do not infer automatic transfer from the existence of the seller’s approval.

Harpers Ferry: district rules and guest parking

Harpers Ferry’s codified ordinance includes district-specific STR rules. In the Promontory Overlay District, the cited single-family rental provisions limit guest bedrooms and capacity and require off-street parking per occupied guest bedroom. Those overlay provisions should not be presented as a statewide limit or applied to every town parcel.

Source: Harpers Ferry codified ordinances, §1313.04(e).

The police parking policy says residential guest hangtags cannot be used for STR business guests. It provides a distinct temporary business-guest arrangement for eligible town-licensed operators current on B&O taxes, with separate Washington Street directions. A purchased tag does not reserve a space.

Source: Harpers Ferry guest-parking policy.

Have a buyer’s approval file identify the district, permitted guest count and parking arrangement. If the operating plan depends on a public space that may be unavailable, write a lawful alternative into guest instructions.

Fayetteville: use the vacation-rental application route

Fayetteville’s zoning office publishes both a vacation-rental application and checklist, alongside municipal licensing and B&O tax forms. A state certificate or platform tax line does not replace that town process.

Source: Town zoning office, limits map, vacation-rental forms and contacts.

The current packet contains a 2026–2027 application. It lists a $100 vacation-rental permit per property plus a $5 municipal license, renewed July 1. A Fayette County Health Department vacation-rental inspection is required annually and must accompany the town application. These charges exclude county health fees and corrective work.

Source: Fayetteville current checklist and 2026–2027 application, pages 1–4; checked October 19, 2026.

The packet separately calls for monthly 6% hotel-tax returns for direct bookings and quarterly 1% B&O reporting on gross vacation-rental sales, including zero returns. It describes different reporting for an authorized agent; do not combine the owner’s rental receipts with the agent’s service income. Verify each platform’s actual remittance rather than treating the packet’s general platform statement as proof of payment.

Ask zoning staff to confirm that the property is within town limits, what inspections and permits precede opening, the approved capacity and the current renewal requirements. Get a written answer if buying an existing business. This guide does not invent a town processing time or promise that an application will be approved.

Separate sales tax, hotel tax and business tax

West Virginia’s state sales/use tax is 6% on taxable rentals, with municipal sales tax where imposed. TSD435 says state and municipal sales tax collected through a marketplace facilitator need not also be collected and remitted by the owner.

Source: TSD435, sales-tax collection and business-registration guidance.

The Tax Division says marketplace local hotel-tax collection took effect January 1, 2022 for facilitators meeting $100,000 of West Virginia sales or 200 transactions in the current or preceding calendar year. Those facilitator thresholds are not an individual host’s tax-free allowance.

Source: Tax Division hotel occupancy tax guidance and local contacts.

For direct bookings, establish the host’s returns and remittances with the state and applicable local collector. Do not stack county and town hotel taxes automatically: first determine the taxing jurisdiction and what its ordinance imposes at the address.

Reconcile a direct booking before calling the payout income

Use an invoice-to-ledger check to keep guest taxes out of lodging revenue. This example intentionally isolates state sales tax; it is not an all-in West Virginia tax quote.

The $48 is money to remit, not room revenue. If a platform collects it, record the platform as collector and retain the statement instead of charging the same tax again. Reconcile each channel separately so a direct stay cannot disappear between platform statements.

Then subtract actual cleaning, commissions, management, insurance, utilities and reserves. A peak-season cabin rate is not an annual average. For an alternative lease model, use the rental property calculator with that model’s own permitted use, rent and expenses.

Free approval and tax-evidence ledger

The printable ledger records parcel jurisdiction, approved capacity, license expiry, buyer-transfer questions and tax coverage by channel. Keep unresolved questions visible instead of turning “not confirmed” into a zero fee or no permit.

For neighboring properties, compare Virginia’s local permits and night limits, Maryland’s safety and licensing requirements or the Pennsylvania property checklist. Use the state laws directory for other jurisdictions.