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

Article III of Chapter 54 (Occupation Taxes) establishes Cherokee County's hotel/motel occupancy tax under Section 54-68, most recently amended by Ordinance No. 2025-O-007 on June 17, 2025, following passage of House Bill 755 in the 2025-2026 Georgia General Assembly session, effective May 13, 2025. The tax applies at 8 percent of gross rent charged to an occupant of any guest room in a hotel located in the 'special district,' defined in Section 54-66 as the geographic county excluding any municipality that separately imposes its own room excise tax; Canton, Woodstock, Holly Springs, Ball Ground and Waleska therefore fall outside the county tax if they levy their own.

75 percent for tourism-related projects. The tax is administered by the county's business license department, which registers innkeepers under Section 54-73, issues an occupancy tax operating certificate within ten days of a complete registration, and requires monthly remittance by the 20th of the following month under Section 54-74. 'Innkeeper' under Section 54-66 reaches short-term rental hosts and marketplace facilitators, meaning platforms that collect payment for guest rooms on an owner's behalf can be treated as the taxpaying innkeeper. Exemptions under Section 54-71 cover complimentary rooms, official state or local government travel, stays beyond the first 30 consecutive days, guests displaced by fire or casualty, and qualifying charitable or religious organizations; permanent residents of 90 or more consecutive days are also excluded from the definition of taxable occupant.