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

Every occupant of a guestroom in an Atlanta hotel or motel pays an 8 percent tax on the rent, levied under Code of Ordinances § 146-79. Operators must register with the chief financial officer, collect the tax, and remit it by the 20th of the following month. Permanent residents (30+ consecutive days), on-duty Georgia government employees, and guests displaced by fire or casualty are exempt. Late or unregistered operators face a 15 percent negligence penalty, a 25 percent fraud penalty, plus statutory interest, and unlawful advertising that the tax will be absorbed by the operator is itself a separate violation.