Georgetown, TX Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate
- 7% of room charge
- Taxable threshold
- $2.00+ per day
- Monthly report due
- 20th of each month
- Late penalty
- 10% per month, prorated
- Exemption
- Stays of 30+ consecutive days
- Violation penalty
- Misdemeanor plus 5%/30-day penalty
Summary
Georgetown taxes hotel and short-term rental stays at seven percent of the room charge whenever the daily rate is $2.00 or more, under City Code Chapter 4.20. Hotel operators collect the tax from guests and remit it monthly to the Director of Finance and Administration. Guests who stay 30 consecutive days or longer, and qualifying nonprofit-paid stays, are exempt from the tax entirely.
A.There is levied a tax upon the cost of occupancy of any room or space furnished by any hotel where the cost of occupancy is at the rate of $2.00 or more per day, such tax to be equal to seven percent of the consideration paid by the occupant of such room, space, or facility to such hotel, exclusive of other occupancy taxes imposed by other governmental agencies.B.No tax shall be imposed under this chapter upon a permanent resident.C.No tax shall be imposed under this chapter upon the occupancy of any person whose cost of occupancy is paid directly or reimbursed by a corporation or association organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable or education purposes, and where no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 32 | Unified Development Code: Supplement 15).
Full Breakdown
20 of the Georgetown City Code defines 'hotel' broadly to include hotels, motels, tourist homes, lodging houses, rooming houses, trailer houses and 'all other facilities where rooms or sleeping facilities or space are furnished for a consideration,' a definition wide enough to reach short-term rentals operating within the city. 00 or more, calculated on the consideration paid by the occupant, exclusive of any other occupancy tax layered on by another governmental agency. Two categories are carved out: permanent residents who occupy a room for at least 30 consecutive days during the current or prior calendar year owe no tax, and neither does anyone whose stay is paid or reimbursed by a religious, charitable or educational nonprofit organized so that no earnings inure to a private individual.
030. 040 requires a written monthly report to the Director of Finance and Administration on or before the 20th of each month, covering the prior month's occupancies, with tax due at filing regardless of whether any tax was actually collected that month. Late payment draws a penalty of ten percent per month, prorated daily past the due date. 050 the Director may adopt collection procedures and has access to a hotel's books and records during reasonable business hours to verify filed reports.
Violations & Fines
Failing to collect the tax, file the monthly report, or remit payment, or filing a false report, is a misdemeanor under Section 4.20.060, punishable as provided in Section 1.08.010 of the City Code, plus an additional five percent penalty on the tax due for every 30 days it remains unpaid. Late payments alone, even without a violation charge, still accrue the ten percent monthly late penalty in Section 4.20.040(B).
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Georgetown's hotel tax apply to short-term rentals?
Who actually pays the tax?
Is there an exemption for long-term guests?
What happens if a hotel operator pays the tax late?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Georgetown
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How other cities in Williamson County handle transient occupancy tax.