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

Bulloch County's rooms, lodgings and accommodations tax is set out in Chapter 12, Article II. Sec. § 48-13-51(a)(3), levies an excise tax in the amount of five percent for the occupancy of a guest room in a hotel in the county, applying to any occupancy since January 1, 1991, even under a contract signed earlier. Hotel is defined broadly at Sec. 12-26 to include any lodginghouse, roominghouse, dormitory, motel, motor hotel, auto court, inn or public or private club with guest rooms rented for money, goods or labor, which reaches short-term rentals operating like a hotel and not just traditional lodging.

Sec. 12-29 puts the collection duty on the operator, who must collect the 5% from the occupant on every rental in the county not otherwise exempt. Sec. 12-30 carves out two exemptions: a permanent resident, defined at Sec. 12-26 as anyone who has occupied, or has the right to occupy, a guest room for at least ten consecutive days before the date in question, and any hotel operator already paying an excise tax on lodging under the City of Statesboro's jurisdiction, avoiding a double county-and-city tax.

Operators must register with the clerk within 30 days of the tax's effective date under Sec. 12-31, and returns and payment are due to the clerk by the 20th of the month following each monthly rental period under Sec. 12-32, with a collection-fee deduction available if payment isn't delinquent. Net proceeds, after administration costs, fund tourism and convention promotion for the county under Sec. 12-36.