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

Section 24-84 imposes, assesses, and levies an excise tax of eight (8) percent of the rent for occupancy of a guestroom in a hotel in the unincorporated area of DeKalb County. The section rests on state authority it cites expressly, O.C.G.A. § 48-13-51(b), the Georgia statute that authorizes the levy. Because the tax is measured as a percentage of rent, the dollar amount rises and falls with the room rate rather than being a flat per-night charge. Geography defines its reach: the tax applies only in the unincorporated area, so a hotel inside one of DeKalb's incorporated cities is outside this particular section.

The mechanics run through the county finance department. Operators must register with the finance department, collect the tax from guests as part of the room bill, and issue receipts. The guest ultimately pays the tax; the hotel operator acts as collector and remitter. One category of occupancy escapes the levy entirely: stays over ten consecutive days are exempt under section 24-83(b)(1), which takes extended-stay guests out of the tax once their stay crosses that ten day line.

The provision carries its own history on its face. It descends from section 3-2002 of the 1976 county code and reached its current form through Ord. No. 06-23, adopted 11-14-06, and Ord. No. 13-09, adopted 5-28-13.