Rock Island County, IL Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate
- 5% of gross rental receipts
- Enforcing office
- County Treasurer
- Filing deadline
- Last day of following month
- Late-payment penalty
- 1.5% per month delinquent
- Fine for non-compliance
- Up to $500 per offense
- Exempt stays
- Permanent residents, 30+ consecutive days
- Applies only to
- Hotels outside taxing municipalities
Summary
Rock Island County taxes hotel room rentals in the unincorporated county at 5% of gross rental receipts under § 35.21. The tax reaches any hotel outside a municipality that already imposes its own similar tax, so it does not stack with a city's own hotel-motel levy inside the Quad Cities.
There be and hereby is imposed upon all persons in the county engaged in the business of renting, leasing, or letting rooms in a hotel which is not located within the corporate limits of a municipality which imposes a similar tax pursuant to the provisions of the municipal code, such tax being imposed at the rate of 5% of the gross rental receipts from such renting, leasing, or letting, excluding from such gross rental receipts the proceeds of such renting, leasing, or letting to permanent residents of the hotel.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2025 S-1: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through Ord. 2024-12-A, passed 12-17-2024; and State legislation current through 2024 Illinois Legislative Service, Pamphlet #6).
Full Breakdown
21, the county imposes its hotel-motel tax on "all persons in the county engaged in the business of renting, leasing, or letting rooms in a hotel which is not located within the corporate limits of a municipality which imposes a similar tax," at 5% of gross rental receipts, excluding receipts from permanent residents. 22 defines HOTEL broadly (inns, motels, tourist homes or courts, lodging houses, rooming houses, and apartment houses) and PERMANENT RESIDENT as anyone occupying a room for at least 30 consecutive days, so long-term stays fall outside the tax base.
23). 24 requires every taxed operator to keep accurate daily records of rooms rented and tax collected, open to inspection by the County Treasurer or a designated representative at all times. 25: returns are due on or before the last day of the month following the rental period, with the tax remitted at filing. An operator averaging under $100 per month in tax over a six-month period may ask the Treasurer to switch to quarterly filing. The subchapter has been amended by Ord. 21's 5% rate is the currently published figure.
Violations & Fines
Failure to file, collect, or remit the tax on time draws a 1.5% penalty per month or partial month of delinquency (§ 35.25(A)(2)). Separately, § 35.99(B) makes it an offense to fail to collect, report, or pay the tax due under §§ 35.20 through 35.25, punishable on conviction by a fine up to $500, with each failure treated as a distinct offense. The State's Attorney is authorized under § 35.25(C) to bring legal proceedings to enforce collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Rock Island County's hotel tax apply inside the city of Rock Island?
What is the county hotel-motel tax rate?
Can a hotel operator pass the tax on to guests?
What happens if an operator pays the tax late?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Rock Island County
Compare Rock Island County to another location·View the Illinois hotels & lodging overview
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