Howard County, IN Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)

47 levies the county's innkeeper's tax on every person in the business of renting or furnishing lodging for stays of less than 30 days in a hotel, motel, boat motel, inn, college or university memorial union, college or university hall or dormitory, or tourist cabin located anywhere in the county, language broad enough to sweep in short-term rental hosts offering stays under a month alongside traditional hotels and motels. The county first imposed the tax under Ordinance 2013-HCCO-27 effective January 1, 2014, then raised the rate to the current 8% effective July 1, 2019 under Amended Ordinance 2019-HCCO-07.

C. 6-9-18-3, referenced directly in the ordinance, payment is due to the County Treasurer no more than 20 days after the end of the month in which the tax was collected. C. 6-9-18-4, which supports promotion of conventions, tourism and visitor activity in the county. C. 5, into the ordinance by reference, so the rights, duties, liabilities, procedures, penalties, definitions, exemptions and administration that apply to Indiana's retail sales tax apply equally to enforcement of this innkeeper's tax. That incorporation gives the county the same collection and audit tools the state uses for delinquent sales tax accounts. The tax sits within Chapter 33, Finance and Taxation, alongside the county's wheel tax and excise surtax on registered vehicles.