Why a nil return is required
The Department of Tourism (DoT) expects a return from every licensed operator for every month, whether or not there was anything to tax. A nil return is simply that month's return with nothing on it. It tells DoT the gap in payments is deliberate - the property was empty - rather than a missed filing.
The tax itself is 13% of the room charge for each tourist stay, set by the Tourist Accommodation (Taxation) Law (2013 Revision) and levied on you as the proprietor. The filing obligation runs with your licence, not with your bookings: a quiet month does not pause it. The main tax guide covers the monthly cycle in full.
Which months need a nil return
Any month in which no taxable stay ended. Stays are reported in the month the guest checks out, so a nil month is one with no check-outs - not necessarily one with no guests in the building. Common examples:
- Low season. September and October are quiet for many Cayman rentals.
- Renovation or repairs. The listing is snoozed while work is done.
- Hurricane closures. The calendar is blocked after a storm.
- A new licence. You are licensed but the first booking has not checked out yet.
- A long stay in progress. A guest who arrived in March and leaves in May is reported on the May return; if no one else checked out in April, April is a nil month even though the home was occupied.
| Situation in the month | What to file |
|---|---|
| No check-outs at all | Nil return |
| Only owner or blocked dates | Nil return (see below for free guest stays) |
| Only Caymanian or resident guests checked out | A normal return listing those stays as Local/Resident, tax $0 |
| A long stay still in progress, nobody else checked out | Nil return; the long stay goes on its check-out month |
| At least one tourist stay ended | A normal return with the 13% |
What to send
Use the same DoT Tourist Accommodation Tax Return form you use in a busy month. The column-by-column guide to the form explains each field; for a nil return, most of them stay blank.
- Fill in "Tax Returns reported for the month of" with the month and year - for example "September 2026".
- Leave the stay rows empty apart from a line such as "NO BOOKINGS DURING THIS MONTH" in the first Name of Occupant cell, so nobody reads the blank form as unfinished.
- Enter 0.00 for Total Column L (room charges) and Total Column M (tax).
- Complete Received from, the property name and address, as usual.
- Sign the certification.
- Email it to DoT Accounts Receivable at ar@caymanislands.ky. There are no guest folios to attach. A one-line note in the email - "Nil return for September 2026, property X, no guest stays" - makes it easy to match.
There is nothing to pay, so there is no bank transfer to time. Keep a copy of the signed form and the sent email with that month's records.
Blocked calendars and owner stays
The tax applies to what tourists pay for the room. If the calendar was blocked and nobody paid to stay, there is nothing to tax, and the month is a nil month.
- You stayed yourself. An owner using their own home is not a paying guest. If that was the only use in the month, file a nil return.
- Friends or family stayed free. DoT's guidance allows non-paying guests (friends, family, charity or prize stays) to be excluded with proof. Keep something that shows no money changed hands - a note of who stayed, the dates and that it was free. Some hosts list these stays on the return at $0 with an explanation in the Notes column so the record is complete; if you are unsure which DoT prefers for your account, ask Accounts Receivable.
- A cancelled booking. If the stay never happened and the guest was refunded, nothing checked out. If you kept a cancellation payment, ask DoT how it should be treated rather than guessing.
Free stays that are really paid in some other way - a "friend" who pays cash, or a stay swapped for services - are not non-paying. Treat them as taxable.
Months with only exempt guests
If the only people who checked out were Caymanian or resident guests, the tax due is zero, but it is not quite a nil return. List each stay as usual, tick the Local/Resident column instead of Tourist, enter $0 tax, and keep their proof of status on file. The exemptions section of the tax guide lists the documents DoT accepts.
What happens if you skip a nil return
A missed nil return is still a missed return. The 20% late surcharge is calculated on that month's tax, so on a true nil month it works out to nothing - but that does not make the filing optional. DoT expects a return for every month you are licensed, and a gap on your account is something you will have to explain and file anyway.
The risk is greater than it looks. If a month you thought was empty actually had a late check-out - a guest who arrived on the 29th and left on the 2nd - then it was never a nil month, and the tax on that stay is late, with the 20% surcharge that DoT cannot waive. Running through the month's check-outs before you call it nil catches this.
If you have already missed one, file it now with a short note explaining the gap. Filing late is better than not filing.
Making nil returns routine
- Use one deadline for every month. The return is due by the 28th of the following month, or the working day before when the 28th falls on a weekend or public holiday. The deadlines calendar lists each date, and the public holidays list shows which ones move.
- Check check-outs, not check-ins. Before filing nil, confirm no stay ended in the month across Airbnb, VRBO and direct bookings.
- Keep a template. A pre-filled form with your name, property and address, ready to date and sign, turns a nil return into a two-minute job.
- Mind your licence too. Snoozing a listing does not suspend your Tourism Accommodation Licence or the monthly return that comes with it. If you are thinking of starting out, the guide to starting an Airbnb in Cayman explains where the licence and the tax fit together.
Hosts.ky treats empty months the same as busy ones: if no stays ended, it fills in the DoT form for that month as a nil return and still sends you the deadline reminder, so a quiet month does not turn into a missed one.