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

Sec. 70-3, enacted by Ord. No. § 48-13-51(b), levies an eight percent excise tax on the gross rent an occupant pays for a guest room at any hotel, motel, inn, lodge, tourist camp, tourist cabin, campground, or rental cabin operating in the unincorporated county. 'Hotel' is defined broadly enough to reach short-term rentals furnishing accommodations for value. Sec. 4 exempts charges tied to fire or casualty displacement, complimentary meeting rooms, official state or local government travel, and any stay beyond the first 30 consecutive days of continuous occupancy.

Every operator must register with the hotel/motel tax administrator within 30 days of the tax's adoption under Sec. 7, and returns and payment are due the 20th day after the close of each monthly period under Sec. 8, with a collection fee allowed to compliant operators. The administrator can issue a deficiency determination bearing interest at three-fourths of one percent per month under Sec. 9, or estimate liability if no return is filed under Sec. 10. Revenue above a five-percent-equivalent rate must be split, with at least half funding tourism promotion through the county's designated destination marketing organization and the rest funding tourism product development, per Sec. 5.