Bloomington, IL Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)

City Code § 39-802, in Article VIII of Chapter 39, levies a 6% tax on the rent charged for renting a hotel or motel room within the City of Bloomington for each 24-hour period or portion of a period for which a daily room charge is made. The tax does not apply to a person who rents a room for more than 30 consecutive days or to a person who works and lives at the same hotel or motel. Section 39-801 defines HOTEL ROOM or MOTEL ROOM broadly to include a short-term residential unit, and separately defines SHORT-TERM RESIDENTIAL UNIT as all or part of a dwelling in the City rented to occupants for less than 30 days, and defines FACILITATOR as anyone providing a means through which an owner, operator or agent may offer a room for rent, whether or not the facilitator processes the rental charge.

The renter bears the ultimate incidence of the tax under § 39-802B, but it is the duty of the owner, operator or facilitator to secure the tax from the renter and pay it over to the Finance Department, stating the tax separately on the invoice or receipt. Section 39-803 lets the Finance Director inspect hotel or motel books and records, which must include a daily sheet of rooms rented and tax receipts collected; interfering with that inspection is unlawful. Section 39-804, as amended through 2025, requires monthly tax returns due by the 25th of the following month, and lets the filer withhold a 1% service fee from timely remitted collections.

Violations, including failing to pay, collect, remit or report the tax, are punished under § 39-807 by a fine of not less than $100 and not more than $500 per violation, with each day a tax remains unpaid after its due date a separate violation. Proceeds go to the City General Fund under § 39-806.