Acworth, GA Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)

Acworth Code of Ordinances § 86-42 sets the hotel-motel excise tax at eight percent of the rent charged for every occupancy of a guest room in a hotel in the city, unless the exemption in § 86-44 applies. Section 86-43 requires every lodging provider to collect that eight percent from the occupant at the same time it collects the rent, give the occupant a receipt showing both the rent and the tax, and remain personally liable to the city for the full amount, whether or not it was actually collected.

Anyone who collects the tax holds it in trust for the city, and a person who controls remittance and willfully fails to remit it is personally liable as a "responsible person" for the unremitted amount plus penalty and interest. Section 86-44 exempts permanent residents (30 or more continuous days), people displaced by a fire or casualty, the federal and state governments and their instrumentalities, officials traveling on official business, and foreign sovereigns with treaty exemptions. Section 86-45 requires every lodging provider to register with the city clerk within 30 days of starting business, listing the business name and location, before the clerk issues a free certificate of authority to collect the tax. § 48-2-40. Lodging providers who remit on time keep a three percent collection fee under § 86-46(h).