CBJ Assembly announces changes to sales tax requirements for third-party platforms

On May 20, the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly adopted Ordinance 2025-23(b)am, amending the CBJ Sales Tax Code to address taxation requirements for marketplace facilitators and short-term rental (STR) platforms. These changes are intended to promote equitable tax collection and ensure compliance across all business models operating within Juneau.

Beginning July 1, marketplace facilitators—third-party platforms that allow individual sellers to offer services, such as Uber, Airbnb, and Rover—must collect and remit sales tax on behalf of their sellers, instead of putting the burden of calculating, collecting, and remitting tax on each individual.

Meanwhile, STR platforms must take steps to ensure that each Juneau listing on their platform is registered with CBJ, in compliance with recent STR regulations that allow all Juneau’s accommodation providers to operate on the same playing field.

Read more about key changes to the Sales Tax code below, as well as guidelines for what to do if you’re a seller currently filing with CBJ.

For the complete notice, including guidelines for marketplace platforms, visit bit.ly/3HoZ0Us.

Key Changes to CBJ Sales Tax Code

Effective July 1, 2025, marketplace facilitators, defined as a person or entity that facilitate the sale or rental of the seller’s property, product, or services through a physical or electronic marketplace, are required to:

• Register with the CBJ Sales Tax Office

• Collect and remit sales tax and hotel bed tax on behalf of sellers providing goods, services, or rentals physically delivered or performed in Juneau

Examples of marketplace facilitators include Uber, Turo, Airbnb, VRBO, DoorDash, and Rover.

The ordinance also introduces new compliance obligations for platforms facilitating short-term rentals (STRs). Specifically, STR platforms must:

• Ensure each Juneau listing displays a valid CBJ STR registration number

• Submit a monthly report to the CBJ Sales Tax Office of all STR registration numbers active on their platform

Important Note: Online sales of goods may fall under the authority of the Alaska Remote Sellers Sales Tax Commission (ARSSTC) rather than CBJ. If you are unsure whether your sales should be reported to CBJ or ARSSTC, please contact the CBJ Sales Tax Office for assistance.

Guidelines for Sellers Currently Filing with CBJ

If you currently collect and remit sales tax directly to CBJ, you must:

• Continue to file returns for transactions made through June 30, 2025 (return due July 31, 2025)
• If you will no longer be making sales outside of a marketplace platform, you must formally close your CBJ sales tax account. Do not stop filing without submitting an  account closure form.

While the CBJ Sales Tax Office will make efforts to contact known platforms, sellers are strongly encouraged to verify with their marketplace facilitator, especially smaller or lesser-known platforms, that they are aware of and are meeting the new collection and remittance obligations.

For questions, please contact the CBJ Salex Tax Office at [email protected] or (907) 586-5215 ext. 4901