St. Clair County, IL Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate
- 2% of hotel/motel room rent
- Small-property exclusion
- 35 rooms or fewer excluded
- Who pays
- Renter; owner collects and remits
- Returns due
- Last day of following month
- Late penalty
- 1.5% compounded every 30 days
- Enforcement
- State's Attorney sues to collect
Summary
Unincorporated St. Clair County levies a 2% tax on hotel and motel room rent under Chapter 36, Article III of the county code. Hotels and motels with 35 rooms or fewer are excluded, so most short-term rental hosts fall outside the tax while larger lodging properties must collect and remit it monthly to the County Treasurer.
36-3-2 TAX. There is hereby levied and imposed a tax of two percent (2%) of the rent charged for the privilege and use of renting a hotel or motel room within the County for each twenty-four (24) hour period or any portion thereof for which a daily room charge is made. 36-3-3 EXCLUSION. (A) Any hotel or motel having thirty-five (35) hotel or motel rooms or less is excluded from the tax imposed under this Article.
Full Breakdown
St. Clair County Code Sec. 36-3-2 imposes a tax of two percent (2%) of the rent charged for renting a hotel or motel room in the unincorporated county, assessed for each 24-hour period or any portion of one for which a daily room charge is made. The tax reaches only larger properties: Sec. 36-3-3(A) excludes any hotel or motel with thirty-five (35) rooms or fewer from the tax entirely, which as a practical matter removes single-unit and small short-term rental operations from the county tax base.
Where the tax does apply, liability falls on the renter (Sec. 36-3-3(B)), but the owner must secure it at the time of collecting rent and state it separately on the guest's invoice or receipt (Sec. 36-3-3(C), (D)). Owners must keep daily books and records showing the number of rooms rented and the tax receipts collected each day, and the County Treasurer or an authorized representative may enter the premises to inspect those records under Sec. 36-3-4; interfering with that inspection is itself unlawful. Under Sec.
36-3-5, owners have filed monthly tax returns since January 1, 2002, each due on or before the last day of the following calendar month (a January return is due by the last day of February), with payment due at the time of filing. 5% compounded every thirty days from the date of delinquency, plus collection fees, under Sec. 36-3-5(C).
Violations & Fines
Failure to pay the 2% hotel tax when due triggers a penalty of 1.5%, compounded every thirty days or portion of a thirty-day period from the delinquency date, plus any fees incurred collecting the tax (Sec. 36-3-5(C)). Under Sec. 36-3-6, if an owner still fails to pay, the State's Attorney, at the request of the County Board, brings a civil action to enforce collection of the tax in any court of competent jurisdiction. Interfering with a County Treasurer inspection of an owner's daily tax records under Sec. 36-3-4 is separately unlawful.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does St. Clair County's hotel tax apply to Airbnb-style rentals?
What is the county hotel occupancy tax rate?
When must a hotel operator file and pay the tax?
What happens if the tax isn't paid on time?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in St. Clair County
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