Newark, OH Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)

Newark City Council enacted the tax in Ordinance 10-3, passed 3-15-10, and Section 892.04 started collection on the first day of July, 2010, continuing until repealed or otherwise modified. Section 892.02(a) states the purpose: revenue for the improvement and enhancement of local athletic facilities and other facilities dedicated to events with significant economic and tourism-specific benefits.

Coverage turns on room count. Section 892.01 defines a hotel as an establishment with five or more rooms used for guest sleeping accommodations, and a transient accommodation as one with four or more such rooms, whether the rooms are in one structure or several. A transient guest is a person occupying a room or rooms for less than 30 consecutive days. The vendor is the owner or operator who furnishes the lodging. The chapter never uses the phrase short-term rental, so a rental home reaches the tax only if it meets the four-room transient accommodation definition and is held out to the public.

The guest pays the vendor, and each vendor must collect the full and exact amount of tax on each taxable lodging (Section 892.03). A guest claiming an exemption has to furnish a certificate stating the reason, and without a certificate the tax is presumed to apply. Under Section 892.02(d), a hotel or transient accommodation business registers with the office of the Treasurer within 30 days of commencing business and notifies the Treasurer in writing of any liquidation, bankruptcy, merger or change of ownership.

Returns are due on or before the last day of the next following month for the preceding month, on forms prescribed by the Tax Administrator, with payment (Section 892.07). The Tax Administrator can authorize less frequent filing in writing. Vendors preserve records and invoices for four years (Section 892.06). Applications for a refund of an illegal or erroneous payment go to the Tax Administrator within 90 days from the date the tax is paid (Section 892.05).