Municipal Accommodation Tax

The MAT is a mandatory 4% tax added to the price of transient accommodations (28 consecutive days or less) in the Town of Bracebridge, as required under By-law 2025-054. The tax is calculated as 4% of the accommodation portion of the bill, before HST.

The MAT comes into force on October 1, 2025. It applies to all accommodations paid for on or after that date, regardless of when the stay occurs. Exception: Group bookings made before October 1, 2025, are exempt.

Yes. The MAT is a mandatory tax and must be collected by accommodation providers at the time of payment.

All providers of short-term accommodation in Bracebridge are required to collect the MAT under By-law 2025-054 and remit these funds to the Town.

The MAT applies only to the room portion of the accommodation. It does not apply to amenity or service fees, provided those items are clearly itemized on the invoice.

Yes, HST is charged on top of the Municipal Accommodation Tax. The Municipal Accommodation Tax is deemed part of the consideration for the supply of the transient accommodation. The determination of which items are to be included in the base for HST is covered under Section 154 of the Excise Tax Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. E-15).

Yes. The following are exempt from MAT:

• The Crown, every agency of the Crown in right of Ontario and every authority, board, commission, corporation, office, or organization of persons a majority of whose directors, members or officers are appointed or chosen by or under the authority of the Lieutenant Governor in Council or a member of the Executive Council;
• Every board as defined in subsection 1(1) of the Education Act, 1990;
• Every university or college of applied arts and technology or post-secondary institution whether or not affiliated with a university, the enrolments of which are counted for purposes of calculating operating grants entitlements from the Crown;
• Every hospital referred to in the list of hospitals and their grades and classifications maintained by the Minister of Health under the Public Hospitals Act, 1990 and every private hospital operated under the authority of a license issued under the Private Hospitals Act, 1990;
• Every long-term care home as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Long-Term Care Homes Act, 2007 and hospices; 
• Every retirement home as defined in the Retirement Homes Act, 2010;
• Accommodations used by the District Municipality of Muskoka or its agents for shelter purposes;
• Every treatment centre that receives provincial aid under the Ministry of Community and Social Services Act, 1990;
• Every house of refuge, or lodging for the reformation of offenders;
• Every charitable or non-profit philanthropic corporation organized as shelters for the relief of the poor or for emergency;
• Any Lodging that occurs in buildings or structures without plumbing, such as a yurt or an unserviced cabin;
• Any Lodging within a seasonal camp for children;
• Transient campsites that are rented out to visitors utilizing their own tents and travel trailers;
• Every Accommodation supplied by employers to their employees in premises operated by the employer; 
• Every hospitality room in an establishment that does not contain a bed and is used for displaying merchandise, holding meetings, or entertaining; and
• Group Accommodation Bookings made prior to the date this By-law takes effect.

You must complete a MAT Remittance Form each reporting period, indicating your accommodation revenue and the amount of MAT collected. Even if no MAT was collected, the form must still be submitted.

You have a one-time-only choice of submitting your MAT Remittance Form and remitting your MAT funds on a monthly or quarterly basis to the Town. Once you have chosen the frequency, you cannot change it.

Monthly remittances
If you have chosen a monthly MAT remittance schedule, you must on or before the last day of every month, submit your MAT Remittance Form and pay the MAT you collected for the previous month.

Quarterly remittances
If you have chosen a quarterly remittance schedule, you must on or before April 30, July 31, October 31, or January 31 (of the following year), submit your MAT Remittance Form and pay the MAT collected you for the previous three months.

A 1.25% penalty is applied on the first day of default and each month the default continues. Overdue MAT accounts will be transferred to tax receivables after 45 days. If no MAT Remittance Form is received by the applicable deadline, the Town will estimate MAT for the provider of transient accommodation.

Adjustments for refunds from previous periods can be made on a future return.

The MAT in Bracebridge is not currently being collected by Airbnb and they are not submitting reports to the Town with respect to the MAT. Airbnb is very specific about the jurisdictions that the MAT is collected in – these jurisdictions are listed on the Airbnb website. Please contact Airbnb directly for instructions on how to set up the MAT pricing on your listing.

If no tax was collected, you will still be required to submit a MAT Remittance Form indicating that no tax was collected in the applicable period. The Remittance Form is your formal attestation, even when no tax was collected.

The Town has the authority to audit or inspect books, records, and related documents to verify MAT collection and remittance. Providers must maintain clear records of accommodation sales and MAT for this purpose.