Beloit, WI Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)

City of Beloit Code of Ordinances § 3.15 imposes a room tax on the privilege and service of furnishing at retail rooms, lodging or sites to transients by hotel keepers, motel operators and other persons furnishing accommodations available to the public. The tax rate is 8 percent of gross receipts, applying regardless of whether the lodging operator requires membership for use of the accommodations. A transient is anyone residing for a continuous period of less than one month in a hotel, motel or other public accommodation; stays of a month or longer fall outside the ordinance's hotel definition entirely.

Every operator who furnishes rooms or lodging must file a permit application with the City Treasurer for each place of business before collecting the tax, listing the business name, location and other required information, and authorizing the Wisconsin Department of Revenue to release the operator's state sales tax returns to the City. The Director of Finance and Administrative Services issues a nonassignable permit that must be displayed conspicuously at the premises.

Collection runs on a calendar-quarter cycle: the tax and a signed return, together with a copy of the operator's current state sales tax report, are due to the City Treasurer within 30 days after each quarter ends. Late payments accrue interest at 1 percent per month from the due date. Once collected, proceeds are split 20 percent to the City for general administration and 80 percent to the Beloit Convention and Visitors Bureau to fund tourism and convention promotion. The Director of Finance and Administrative Services may audit any operator's records and state sales tax filings to verify the amount owed, and filed returns stay confidential except to the filer, the IRS and the Wisconsin Department of Revenue.