Form ST-155: Booking Service Certificate of Collection (New York State)

Form ST-155, Booking Service Certificate of Collection, is a document issued by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance for use in the hotel and short-term lodging industry. It’s designed for situations where a room remarketer or online booking service — rather than the hotel or motel itself — is the party responsible for collecting sales tax from the guest on a room rental.

When a booking service sells a hotel room to a customer and collects the rent (and the related sales tax) directly from that customer, the hotel operator still has an obligation under New York law to make sure tax is collected on every occupancy. Form ST-155 solves that problem. It lets the booking service certify, in writing, that it has already collected the appropriate state and local sales tax on the room charge and that it will remit that tax to New York State. Once the hotel operator has this signed certificate on file, the operator is relieved of the duty to separately collect tax on that same transaction.

Who Needs to Use This Form

This form is used almost exclusively in business-to-business situations within the lodging industry. The two parties involved are:

• The room remarketer or booking service (such as an online travel company or similar intermediary) that sells hotel rooms to the public and collects payment, including sales tax, from the guest.
• The hotel, motel, or other operator of the lodging establishment, who needs documentation showing that tax was properly collected on the transaction even though the operator itself didn’t collect it.

Individual travelers or guests do not file this form. It’s strictly a mechanism between the booking service and the hotel operator to document compliance with New York’s sales tax rules on occupancy.

When Form ST-155 Is Used

The certificate is typically issued on a recurring or ongoing basis rather than for a single transaction. A booking service that regularly sells rooms at a particular hotel will generally provide this certificate to establish, going forward, that it is the party collecting and remitting tax on those bookings. The hotel keeps the signed certificate in its records as proof that it has satisfied its own collection responsibilities, which matters if the hotel is ever audited by the Department of Taxation and Finance.

Because sales tax compliance in New York often depends on which party in a transaction chain is actually responsible for collecting and remitting tax — a question that also comes up in other industries, such as construction materials under Form ST-112’s pay-when-paid option — documentation like Form ST-155 is important for both sides to avoid double taxation or missed collection.

How to Get and Complete the Form

Form ST-155 is a paper-only form. There is no digital fill-in version available through the New York State Tax Department’s website, so you’ll need to download the PDF, print it, and complete it by hand in ink. The form asks for identifying information about the booking service, the hotel operator, and a statement certifying that sales tax has been or will be collected and remitted on the covered transactions.

Once completed and signed, the booking service provides the original to the hotel operator, who retains it as part of their sales tax records. Neither party typically files this form directly with the Tax Department unless requested during an audit or compliance review. Both parties should keep copies for their own files, since the burden of proof for tax collection ultimately falls back on whichever party claims the exemption from direct collection.

Businesses that deal with other specialized New York sales and excise tax filings, such as motor fuel wholesalers managing prepaid tax reporting through Form FT-945/1045-W, or retail stations seeking refunds via Form FT-950, will recognize this same pattern: New York frequently requires paper certifications between businesses to clarify who is responsible for tax at each stage of a transaction. Form ST-155 serves that same purpose for hotel bookings made through third-party remarketers.

Since the form was last revised in March 2025, hotel operators and booking services should make sure they’re using the current version rather than an outdated copy, since older forms may not reflect current certification language required by the Department.