Bessemer, AL Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Rate in city limits
- 6%
- Rate in police jurisdiction
- 3%
- Due
- monthly, by the 20th
- Paid to
- city clerk and treasurer
- False report
- misdemeanor (§98-90)
Summary
Bessemer taxes hotel, motel and other transient lodging charges at six percent inside the city limits, and half that rate, three percent, in the police jurisdiction just outside city limits. Operators must file and pay the tax monthly to the city clerk and treasurer.
(1)Business conducted in city limits. If such business is being conducted within the corporate limits of the city, the license shall be an amount determined by the application at the rate of six percent of the charge for such room, rooms, lodgings or accommodations including the charge for the use of the rental of personal properties or services purchased in such room.(2)Business conducted outside of city limits. If such business is conducted outside the corporate limits but within the police jurisdiction of the city, the license tax levied in this article shall be an amount equal to one-half of the amount of the license within the corporate limits.(3)Payable in monthly installments. The license tax levied under this article shall be in addition to every other license tax levied and shall be due and payable in monthly installments on or before the 20th day of the month next succeeding the month in which the license accrued.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Republication).
Full Breakdown
' It applies to anyone renting or furnishing rooms, lodgings or accommodations to transients in a hotel, motel, inn, tourist cabin, tourist camp or similar place that regularly furnishes lodging to transients for a fee. Inside the corporate limits, the license tax is six percent of the room charge, and that base includes any charge for personal property or services rented along with the room, so bundled fees are not exempt. Outside the corporate limits but within the city's police jurisdiction, the rate drops to half the in-city amount, three percent.
The tax is due monthly, in installments payable on or before the 20th day of the month following the month in which it accrued, and the operator computes and pays the amount owed to the city clerk and treasurer at the same time as filing the required monthly report. Licensees may submit a copy of the license they file with the county as evidence of the amount due, letting an operator lean on county paperwork rather than duplicating every calculation. Section 98-90 backs the tax with a penalty: failing to file the required report, or willfully making a false statement in a report or return, is a misdemeanor. Alabama also imposes its own transient occupancy tax under Code of Ala. , separate from and in addition to this city license tax.
Violations & Fines
Failing to render the required monthly report, or willfully making a false statement in a lodging-tax report, is a misdemeanor under section 98-90, punished according to the Code's general penalty in section 1-8: a fine up to $500.00, up to six months of imprisonment or hard labor, or both.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Bessemer's hotel tax rate?
Does the lodging tax rate change outside the city limits?
When is the Bessemer lodging tax due?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bessemer
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Transient Occupancy Tax in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Jefferson County handle transient occupancy tax.