Mobile, AL Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- City tax rate
- 10% of room charge
- Police jurisdiction rate
- 5% of room charge
- Monthly filing deadline
- 20th of following month
- Second-offense penalty
- Up to $500 and 6 months
Summary
Mobile charges a 10 percent lodgings tax on hotels, motels, inns, and other transient accommodations inside city limits, dropping to 5 percent in the police jurisdiction, on top of state and county lodging taxes.
There is hereby levied and imposed...a privilege or license tax in the nature of a lodgings tax, upon every person, firm, or corporation engaging in the business of renting or furnishing any room or rooms, lodgings, or accommodations to transients in any hotel, motel, inn, short-term rental, bed & breakfast, tourist camp, tourist cabin, or any other place...The tax shall be in an amount equal to ten (10) percent of the charge for such room, rooms, lodgings, or accommodations within the city, including the charge for use or rental of personal property and services furnished in such room.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 67).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 34-101 levies a lodgings tax on every hotel, motel, inn, bed & breakfast, tourist camp, tourist cabin, or similar business renting rooms to transients within the Mobile city limits, set at 10 percent of the room charge, including charges for personal property and services furnished with the room. Sec. 34-102 sets the police-jurisdiction rate at half that, 5 percent. Operators must file a monthly report with the Revenue Department by the 20th of the following month and remit the tax then, per Sec. 34-104; a second violation within a calendar year is a class C misdemeanor under Sec. 34-105.
Violations & Fines
Failing to timely report or pay the lodgings tax draws state-law interest plus criminal penalties: a $100 fine for a first offense, and up to $500 plus six months in jail for a second offense within a year (Sec. 34-105).
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
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