Bowling Green, KY Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)

Sec. 18-6.01(a) of the Bowling Green Code of Ordinances imposes a three percent transient room tax on the rate, rent or other charge for occupancy of a suite, room, cabin, lodging, campsite or other accommodation let by any motor court, motel, hotel, inn, tourist camp, tourist cabin, campground or recreational vehicle park in the City. Sec. 18-6.01(b) layers on an additional one percent special transient room tax, effective January 1, 1994, on the same base, dedicated solely to funding the operating expenses of the Convention Center of Bowling Green/Warren County.

Sec. 18-6.01(c) requires every covered establishment to collect and pay both taxes to the City monthly and to file a return on the City's form. The Chief Financial Officer or an authorized agent may examine an establishment's books and records to verify any return or, absent one, to determine the tax owed (Sec. 18-6.01(d)). Sec. 18-6.01(f) directs the City to pay out the three percent base tax to the Bowling Green Area Convention and Visitors Bureau within thirty days of month's end, with late collections passed through within fifteen days, and makes the Bureau responsible for legal, audit and collection costs on delinquent accounts.

Unpaid tax draws twelve percent annual interest plus a five percent monthly penalty, capped at twenty-five percent of the tax due but never below twenty-five dollars, and willful nonpayment or a false return is a misdemeanor carrying a fine of one hundred to five hundred dollars, up to thirty days in jail, or both (Sec. 18-6.01(e)).