Does Georgia Have a Statewide Hotel Tax? $5 Fee and Sales Tax

Georgia does have a statewide hotel tax. Every overnight stay carries a flat $5.00 per night state fee, plus the 4% state sales tax on the room rate, and most counties and cities add their own excise tax and local sales tax on top. On a typical $200 room in a metro area, expect roughly $25 to $30 in combined taxes and fees per night.

The $5.00 Per Night State Fee

Since July 1, 2021, Georgia has imposed a flat $5.00 per night excise tax on virtually every short-term lodging rental under O.C.G.A. § 48-13-50.3.¹ The amount doesn’t scale with the room rate or shift by location. A $79 motel room in south Georgia and a $400 downtown Atlanta suite each carry the same $5.00 charge per night.

The fee appears as a separate line item on your bill. The innkeeper collects it at payment and remits it to the state.

The 4% State Sales Tax

On top of the flat fee, Georgia’s general sales and use tax applies to hotel accommodations. The Department of Revenue classifies the sale of accommodations as a taxable service.² The state rate is 4%, calculated on the room charge. So a $200 room owes $8.00 in state sales tax before any local taxes get added.

This is the layer most travelers overlook. The $5.00 fee stands out on the receipt, but the 4% often blends into a broader “taxes and fees” total. Both apply to every taxable night and are collected independently of the local taxes below.

Local Excise and Sales Taxes

Georgia law also lets counties and cities levy their own excise tax on lodging under O.C.G.A. § 48-13-51. The default cap is 3% of the room charge, and jurisdictions meeting specific conditions can go higher: up to 5%, 6%, 7%, or 8%.³ What a local government can charge depends on what it agrees to spend the revenue on:

3% is the default maximum any county or city can levy without special conditions.
5% is available to jurisdictions that commit the revenue above the 3% level to tourism promotion, convention facilities, or recreation programs.
6% is authorized for areas with trade and convention center authorities, with at least 62.5% of total tax revenue directed to tourism promotion and facility construction or improvement.
7% to 8% is reserved for jurisdictions meeting additional statutory conditions, typically involving major convention or sports facilities.

Local sales tax stacks on top of that. Most counties add 3% to 4% in local option sales taxes above the 4% state rate, bringing combined sales tax to 7% or 8% in many areas. Because rates vary widely, checking the specific county or city ordinance is the only reliable way to know the exact local charges before booking.

What a Real Bill Looks Like

Put together, a Georgia hotel guest can pay up to four layers of tax on one room: the $5.00 flat state fee, 4% state sales tax on the room rate, a local excise tax typically ranging from 3% to 8%, and local sales tax on top of the state’s 4%.

On a $200 room in a jurisdiction with a 7% combined sales tax rate and a 5% local excise tax, the math runs about $29 in taxes and fees for a single night: $5.00 flat fee, $14.00 in sales tax, and $10.00 in local excise tax. That’s roughly a 14.5% effective tax rate, which catches many first-time visitors off guard.

When the Fee Doesn’t Apply

Not every stay triggers the $5.00 fee. The most common exemption is for extended stays: if the same customer occupies the same room for more than 30 consecutive days, the entire stay qualifies as an extended stay rental and the fee does not apply.¹ State regulations don’t require any special form or advance declaration; the threshold is simply whether the stay actually exceeds 30 consecutive days.⁴

Federal government travelers are exempt when paying with a centrally billed government card. If a federal employee uses an individually billed account, the exemption doesn’t apply.⁵ State and local government officials on official business can claim an exemption by presenting a tax-exempt certificate at check-in.¹

Foreign diplomats and mission personnel may qualify through the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Foreign Missions, which issues tax exemption cards specifying which purchases are covered. Cards marked “Official Purchases Only” cover mission-related hotel stays but exclude leisure or tourism travel. Personal tax exemption cards cover a broader range of stays for eligible personnel and their dependents.⁶

Short-Term Rentals and Booking Platforms

The hotel tax reaches well beyond traditional hotels. Georgia defines “innkeeper” broadly enough to cover motels, inns, lodges, tourist cabins, and campgrounds, and it also captures marketplace innkeepers, meaning online platforms that facilitate short-term rentals for property owners.¹ Book a private home through a rental app and the platform is responsible for collecting and remitting the $5.00 nightly fee just as a hotel front desk would.⁴

The fee applies to accommodations “furnished for value” that provide physical shelter. Lodging that doesn’t provide physical shelter is exempt.¹ A truly complimentary room where no charge changes hands likely falls outside the fee, though the state regulations don’t spell out the treatment of loyalty-point redemptions in detail.

1
Justia. Georgia Code 48-13-50.3 – Additional Nightly Tax Levied on Public Accommodations
2
Georgia Department of Revenue. What is Subject to Sales and Use Tax
3
Justia. Georgia Code 48-13-51 – County and Municipal Excise Tax
4
Georgia Secretary of State. Georgia Rules and Regulations 560-13-2 – State Hotel-Motel Fee
5
GSA SmartPay. Georgia Tax Information
6
U.S. Department of State. Georgia Department of Revenue Foreign Diplomat Tax Exemption Privileges