How Owners of Short-Term Rentals Can Register Their Property

Owners of short-term rentals, called "operators" under the Massachusetts short-term rental law, need to register their property. The operator will receive a certificate number they will need to provide to every intermediary who is collecting rent on their behalf, so that intermediary can remit the taxes.

Operators do have a grace period during the transition. Operators have until November 1st, if an operator has not received a certificate number and an intermediary has to file taxes, the intermediary can use the operator's Social Security Number or their Federal Tax ID number up until November 1st. As of November 1, all returns must include the certificate number.

Here are the steps to register:

If you already have an account on MassTaxConnect:

• Log in to MassTaxConnect
• Select “Add Account Type/New location” to register for the Room Occupancy Consolidated tax type
• Select “Room Occupancy Consolidated” (for activity for July, 2019 and after).

If you do not have a MassTaxConnect account:

• Go to MassTaxConnect
• Choose “Create my username”
• Choose “Create my username” again
• Select “I am an individual who has previously filed taxes in the state of Massachusetts”
• Choose Social Security Number as ID type, enter the number, select “Personal Income Tax” as the account type and proceed with the verification process
  — You will be asked to provide one of the following: A tax return amount OR a tax refund amount from one of your past three (2016, 2017 or 2018) Personal Income Tax returns.
  — The amount must be greater than $0. If you can’t provide a tax return or refund amount, call the Trustee Tax Contact Center at (617) 887-6367 (choose #4, then #3 when prompted).
• After setting up your account password, choose “Add Account Type/New Location” under “I Want To” to register for the Room Occupancy Consolidated Tax.