The rental tax bill, also known as the Airbnb bill, was passed by both the House and the Senate in Massachusetts at the end of July. The bill was then sent to Governor Baker for signature. He remanded it back to the state legislature with amendments. The legislature has been in informal session since July 31, 2018. In order for the bill to become law it would need to be approved and signed by the governor by December 31, 2018. If it is not enacted then it will be refiled in some form in the next formal session, beginning January 3, 2019. At this time, the bill is NOT LAW.
The bill, as currently written, imposes a 5.7% room occupancy tax on short term rentals (with a few exemptions) and, on the Cape and Islands, up to an additional 2.75% for water protection (total of 8.4% +/-). There is the potential for an additional tax in the form of a local option tax (up to 6%) to be decided by each municipality. In the case of Nantucket, the earliest the local option tax would apply is after the next annual Town Meeting, scheduled for April of 2019. The bill also requires owners of rental properties to register their properties in a statewide public registry. At this time no such structure for registration has been set up. The current bill, if enacted, would go into effect on January 1, 2019. There is a retroactive clause exempting leases executed prior to November 1, 2018.
There is more information HERE at a recent editorial in the Boston Globe which helps shed some light on the politics surrounding the bill.