Do landlords pay sales tax or gross receipts tax on apartment rent?
In most places, long-term apartment rent carries no sales tax, but there are real exceptions. Hawaii charges its general excise tax on long-term rent, Philadelphia requires landlords to file its Business Income and Receipts Tax, Florida taxes residential stays unless there is a written agreement for more than 6 months, and Arizona cities stopped taxing residential rent on January 1, 2025.
Four places with their own rules
| Place | Tax on long-term residential rent | What the owner files |
|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | General excise tax (GET) on gross receipts: 4% state rate, plus a 0.5% county surcharge in the City and County of Honolulu | GET license; periodic Form G-45 and annual Form G-49 |
| Philadelphia | Business Income and Receipts Tax: 1.410 mills on gross receipts and 5.71% on taxable net income; no $100,000 exemption | BIRT return by April 15, even in a loss year |
| Florida | 6% state tax on residential rentals, except where the tenant has a bona fide written agreement for continuous residence longer than 6 months | Nothing for qualifying long-term leases |
| Arizona | None since January 1, 2025: cities may no longer tax residential rentals of 30 days or more | Licenses used only for residential rental were canceled |
Hawaii: GET applies to long-term rent
Hawaii's Department of Taxation rental page says operators of long-term rental properties, meaning rentals of 180 consecutive days or more, must report rental income on their Hawaii income tax return, register for a GET license, file periodic Form G-45 and annual Form G-49 returns, and pay GET on all gross receipts unless an exemption applies. Long-term rentals do not owe the transient accommodations tax; short-term rentals owe both.
The department's GET page gives a 4% rate for most activities and says the City and County of Honolulu has a 0.5% surcharge effective through December 31, 2030, with surcharges also adopted by the other counties.
Example a made-up 8 unit building in Honolulu rents each unit for $2,400 a month on one-year leases. Gross rent for the year is 8 x $2,400 x 12 = $230,400. At 4% plus the 0.5% surcharge, GET is $230,400 x 4.5% = $10,368, before any exemption your preparer finds.
Philadelphia: BIRT for every landlord
The City of Philadelphia's BIRT page says every individual, partnership, LLC and corporation engaged in a for-profit activity in the city must file a BIRT return, including those engaged in residential real estate rental, regardless of whether they made a profit. It lists the rate as 1.410 mills on gross receipts and 5.71% on taxable net income, a due date of April 15 for the prior year, and says there is no longer a $100,000 BIRT exemption.
Example a made-up 12 unit building in Philadelphia collects $216,000 of rent and has $48,000 of taxable net income. The gross receipts part is $216,000 x 1.410 / 1,000 = $304.56. The net income part is $48,000 x 5.71% = $2,740.80. Together that is $3,045.36 before any credits; the city's return sets the exact figures.
Philadelphia has other city taxes and credits that can interact with BIRT. Check the city's Revenue Department or your preparer.
Florida and Arizona
Florida statute section 212.03 levies a 6% tax on the total rental charged for living quarters in apartment houses and similar property, but says a person who exclusively enters into a bona fide written agreement for continuous residence for longer than 6 months is not exercising a taxable privilege. A written lease for longer than 6 months matters: a month-to-month arrangement without one can fall inside the tax.
Arizona's Department of Revenue residential rental guidelines say that starting January 1, 2025, residential rental owners no longer collect and remit city transaction privilege tax on stays of 30 days or more, under Laws 2023, Chapter 204 and A.R.S. 42-6004(H), and that there is no state or county tax on residential rentals. Periods before 2025 are still owed if unpaid, and owners must still register the property with the county assessor.
How to check your own city and state
- Search your state revenue department for "residential rental" and "gross receipts", not only "sales tax".
- Check your city: some cities tax business receipts or require a rental license with a fee even when the state does not.
- Read the length-of-stay rule. Many taxes on rent target stays under a set number of days, so the lease term decides.
- Ask whether the tax can be passed to tenants; that is a separate rule from whether you owe it.
- Confirm with a local tax preparer before you collect or skip anything.
Where taxes on rent show up in DoorKeeping
Because DoorKeeping keeps each property's books separately, gross rent by building and by month is one question to your AI app, which is the figure most gross receipts taxes start from. Payments of the tax are matched from the bank feed into that property's taxes account, which maps to Schedule E line 16. DoorKeeping does not file state or city tax returns.
Sources
- Hawaii Department of Taxation, Renting residential real property, read Oct 30, 2026
- Hawaii Department of Taxation, General excise tax, read Oct 30, 2026
- City of Philadelphia, Business Income and Receipts Tax (BIRT), read Oct 30, 2026
- Florida Statutes, section 212.03 (2025), read Oct 30, 2026
- Arizona Department of Revenue, Residential rental guidelines, read Oct 30, 2026
Questions
- Is there sales tax on apartment rent?
- In most states, not on long-term residential rent. Exceptions include Hawaii's general excise tax and Florida's tax on stays without a written agreement for more than 6 months.
- Do Arizona landlords still pay rental tax?
- Not for periods from January 1, 2025. Arizona law now bars cities from taxing residential rentals of 30 days or more.
- Do Philadelphia landlords have to file BIRT?
- Yes. The city says anyone engaged in residential real estate rental must file a BIRT return, even in a year without profit.