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

Article II of Chapter 16 of the Gordon County Code, titled Motel-Hotel Tax, was enacted by ordinance on November 21, 2000, under the state excise tax on rooms and lodgings at O.C.G.A. § 48-13-50 et seq. Section 16-27 reads that a tax at the rate of eight percent of the amount of rent is paid for every occupancy of a guest room in a hotel in the county, and the section carries an amendment dated June 4, 2013. Section 16-28 then tells every operator renting guest rooms in the county to collect the tax from the occupant, hand over a receipt showing both the rent and the taxes applied, and collect the tax at the same moment the rent is collected. Note that § 16-28 prints a five percent collection figure while § 16-27 prints eight percent, and § 16-40 measures tourism spending against the amount that would be collected at five percent. Operators unsure which figure applies to a booking should ask the county administrator, who administers and enforces the article under § 16-36.

The definition of hotel in § 16-26 is wide. It covers any structure or portion of a structure containing guest rooms occupied by paying guests, and it lists lodging houses, motels, motor hotels, tourist cabins, lodges, inns, time-share or other condominiums, and apartment communities, with rent paid in money, goods, labor or otherwise. The article does not use the phrase short-term rental, so whether a particular house or cabin falls under the definition turns on that language. Section 16-29 exempts permanent residents, meaning occupants with a right of occupancy for at least ten continuous days, plus guests displaced by fire or casualty who certify it in writing, federal and state entities, state employees on official business, and foreign diplomats. Occupancy provided without charge is exempt.

Operators register with the county clerk under § 16-30 within the deadlines printed there and receive a certificate of authority free of charge, with a separate registration for each place of business. Returns and payment are due by the twentieth day of the month after each monthly period (§ 16-31). An operator whose payments are on time keeps a three percent collection fee. Records, including folios and receipts, must be kept for at least three years (§ 16-36).