Municipal Accommodation Tax | City of Hamilton

Hamilton City Council approved By-law No. 22-209, establishing a mandatory MAT to be collected. The MAT provides the City of Hamilton and the Hamilton Tourism Development Corporation with funding for destination marketing and tourism development initiatives, including investing in hosting significant tourism festivals and events that positively impact the local economy.

Effective January 1, 2023, MAT is a four percent (4%) charge on the purchase of accommodations at hotels, motels, and bed and breakfasts, including those sold online, consistent with other jurisdictions in Ontario, such as Niagara-on-the-Lake, Burlington, Oakville, Toronto, Mississauga, Guelph, Waterloo Region, Kingston and Ottawa.

The MAT is applied on all room rental accommodations of four hours or more and continuous stays of 29 nights or less. Other services, including meeting room rentals, food and beverage, room services, internet and phone charges, are excluded from the tax provided they are itemized separately on the bill. HST is also payable on the MAT portion.

Section 400.1 of the Municipal Act, 2001, S. O. 2001, c.25, provides that the council of a municipality may pass by-laws imposing a tax in respect of the purchase of transient accommodation within the city. Amendments were introduced as part of the 2017 Provincial Budget and received Royal Assent on May 17, 2017.

Ontario Regulation 435/17: Transient Accommodation Tax under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Act, 2001 came into effect December 1, 2017, allowing municipalities to levy a Municipal Accommodation Tax.

Hamilton City Council approved By-law No. 22-209, establishing a mandatory MAT to be collected as of January 1, 2023.

The Municipal Accommodation Tax does not apply to the following accommodations:

Hotel, motel, and bed & breakfast rooms rented for more than 29 consecutive nights
Hospitals
Long-term care homes as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Long-Term Care Homes Act, 2007, retirement homes and hospices
Treatment centres that receive provincial aid under the Ministry of Community and Social Services Act
Charitable, non-profit philanthropic corporations organized as shelters for the relief of the poor or for emergency
Accommodations that are provided on a property owned by a School Board as defined in the Education Act.
Lodgings provided to students by a university, college or post-secondary.
Complimentary Rooms supplied by employers to their employees on premises operated by the employer.
House of refuge, or lodging for the reformation of offenders
Tent or trailer sites supplied by a campground, tourist camp or trailer park
Summer camps where overnight accommodation is part of the programming

Municipal Accommodation Tax

Hotel, Motel and Bed & Breakfast Providers

A four percent Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) across Hamilton applies to:

hotels (including full-service, limited service, and small hotels)
motels
condo hotels
the portion of a multi-use complex that provides transient accommodation.

As a registered hotel operator, you are required to collect and remit a four percent MAT on all room rentals. The MAT is applied on all room rental accommodations of four hours or more and continuous stays of 29 nights or less.

MAT is only applied to the cost of a room used for accommodation. MAT is not applicable when a room that may or may not contain a bed is being used for displaying merchandise, meetings or entertainment and not being used for accommodation.

MAT is not charged on other hotel services such as meeting room rentals, parking, food and beverage, room services, internet and phone charges, provided they are itemized separately on the bill.

The City of Hamilton (City) has designated the Ontario Restaurant Hotel Motel Association (ORHMA) as its agent to collect MAT from Accommodation Providers and remit it to the City.

ORHMA provides Accommodation Providers with an online “MAT Reporting Tool” that calculates MAT owing. Required data:

Name of the Property
Property MAT contact person name, email and phone
Contact information of Manager, Accountant and Owner
Room nights available
Room nights occupied
Rooms Revenue
Rooms Revenue with Exemption/reasons

MAT Reporting Tool Access

For access and information on how to remit payments, contact ORHMA by email [email protected] or call 905-361-0268

The MAT report and payment are due every month, within 15 days of the end of the month, according to the following schedule:

Reporting Period	Due Date
January	February 28
February	March 15
March	April 15
April	May 15
May	June 15
June	July 15
July	August 15
August	September 15
September	October 15
October	November 15
November	December 15
December	January 15

The MAT is subject to HST. Therefore, you need to charge HST on MAT, and you will need to pay this HST and your other HST payments to the Canada Revenue Agency.

Sample calculation of the MAT and HST:

Total room charge/rate: $100
MAT 4 percent: $4
Net total of rooms charge and MAT: $104
HST 13 percent: $13.52
Total: $117.52

Interest applies on any overdue MAT payment at a monthly rate of 1.25 percent from the first day after the tax payment is due, up to and including the date on which the tax is paid in full.

Unpaid MAT, penalties and interest due may be added to the tax roll; it may become a lien against the property per City of Hamilton By-law 22-209.

To register a hotel or change an existing registration, please get in touch with ORHMA at email [email protected] or call 905-361-0268.

Municipal Accommodation Tax

Information for Guests

All hotel, motel and bed & breakfast guest invoices will include a separate line for “Municipal Accommodation Tax” as of January 1, 2023. The four percent (4%) tax applies only to the room cost portion of overnight accommodation and excludes costs from other services, including meeting room rentals, parking, food and beverage, room services, internet and phone charges, provided they are itemized separately on the bill.

MAT is a mandatory charge that is included in the accommodation payment at the time of booking with the hospitality operator.

No. The MAT is not a business tax nor a resident tax. This tax is paid by guests making accommodation bookings at Hamilton-based hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts. The Province of Ontario created the MAT in 2017 as a vehicle to provide continued investment in tourism without a tax burden on local businesses or residents.

Tourism is a significant employment and economic driver. MAT enables the City of Hamilton and the Hamilton Tourism Development Corporation to invest in destination marketing and tourism development initiatives, including hosting major tourism festivals and events, without contributions from local taxpayers.

The Province of Ontario requires the City of Hamilton to share 50% of MAT with a non-profit eligible tourism entity. The Hamilton Tourism Development Corporation is the eligible tourism entity that receives this 50% of funds. It reports annually to the Hamilton City Council on its use of MAT.

Date modified

February 17, 2023