St. Louis County, MO Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)

180, St. Louis County imposes a convention and tourism tax of 3% on the amount charged for hotel and motel rooms occupied by transient guests, adopted under House Bill No. 218 of the 78th Missouri General Assembly. 181 defines a transient guest as anyone occupying a room for 31 days or less during a calendar quarter, and a hotel or motel as any structure held out to the public as furnishing sleeping accommodations for pay. The Licensing Director administers the tax. 182 makes the hotel or motel operator responsible for collecting the tax from guests, who must pay it to the operator.

183 requires operators to file a verified quarterly return with the Director by the 20th day after each calendar quarter and remit the tax with that return; operators owing less than $45 per quarter may request annual filing due January 20. Late payments draw 2% interest per month delinquent on top of any other penalty, and operators may deduct and retain 2% of the tax they collect each quarter as a collection allowance. The Director can audit an operator's records during regular business hours to verify a return's accuracy.

184) used to adopt tourism plans and contract with agencies to promote conventions and tourist business in the county. This tax applies only within unincorporated St. Louis County; the roughly 88 incorporated municipalities that make up most of the county, including Clayton, Chesterfield, and Florissant, set their own hotel taxes separately.