Collierville, TN Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)

Section 37.156 of the Collierville Code of Ordinances puts the tax on the transient, not the hotel: the Town levies a privilege tax of 5% of the rate charged by the operator for each occupancy. Section 37.155 defines a hotel broadly as any structure or space occupied or intended for occupancy by transients, including any inn, tourist camp, tourist court, tourist cabin, motel or any place where rooms, lodgings or accommodations are furnished to transients for a consideration. Consideration counts money, goods, labor and services of any kind with no deduction, but a complimentary room for which nothing is charged or received carries no tax.

The operator is the collection agent. Under § 37.157 the tax is added to each invoice and collected from the transient. A guest who has maintained occupancy for 30 continuous days receives a refund or credit from the operator for tax already charged, and the operator receives matching credit if the Town was already paid. Under § 37.158, remittance goes to the Finance Director or a designee no later than the twentieth day of each month for the preceding month. If the operator extends credit to the guest, the obligation to the Town stays with the operator. To offset bookkeeping costs, the operator keeps 2% of the tax due, but only when the payment is not delinquent.

Section 37.159 requires a monthly return under oath on a form developed by the Finance Director and approved by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. The Finance Director must audit each operator at least once per year and report the results to the Board. Operators keep and preserve records for three years under § 37.162, and a claim for refund of tax erroneously paid must be filed with the Finance Director within one year of payment. Section 37.160 bars any advertisement that the tax will be absorbed, left off the rent, or refunded. Proceeds go to the funds the Board of Mayor and Aldermen directs (§ 37.163).

Short-term rentals are a separate question in the Town. Footnote 13 to the use table in § 151.021 prohibits the transient occupancy of short-term rentals, as defined in § 151.003, in each zoning district it lists.