Sandy Springs, GA Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate
- 7 percent of guestroom rent
- Effective date
- Occupancies after December 1, 2005
- Operator deduction
- 3 percent for timely collection and remittance
- Delinquency penalty
- 10 percent plus 1 percent monthly interest
- Enforcement
- Deputy city manager as city tax collector
- Registration
- Required at city hall before operating
Summary
Sandy Springs charges a seven percent excise tax on the rent for every hotel guestroom occupancy in the city. City Code Section 54-51 imposes the hotel-motel tax under state authority O.C.G.A. § 48-13-51(a)(5), applies it to occupancies after December 1, 2005, and gives operators a three percent collection deduction if payment isn't delinquent.
(a)Pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 48-13-51(a)(5), there is imposed, assessed, and levied, and there is paid an excise tax of seven percent of the rent for every occupancy of a guestroom in a hotel in the city. The tax is paid on any occupancy after December 1, 2005, within the city limits.(b)The tax imposed by this article shall not apply to charges or transactions excluded or exempted from the tax by state law.(c)Operators collecting the hotel-motel tax imposed by this article shall be allowed a reimbursement, in the form of a deduction, for collecting, submitting, reporting, and paying the amount due. The rate of the deduction shall be three percent of the amount due, but only if the amount due is not delinquent at the time of payment.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 24 | Development Code: Supplement 2 | Technical Manuals: Supplement 4).
Full Breakdown
§ 48-13-51(a)(5), levies, assesses, and collects an excise tax of seven percent of the rent charged for every occupancy of a guestroom in a hotel within the city, effective for occupancies after December 1, 2005. Section 54-50 defines 'hotel' broadly to include rooming and lodging houses, inns, motels, motor hotels and courts, cabins, and public or private clubs that regularly furnish guestrooms for value to the public, which extends the tax's reach to short-term rentals operating as hotels under that definition. Section 54-51(c) rewards timely compliance: an operator collecting the tax may deduct three percent of the amount due as reimbursement for collecting, reporting, and remitting it, but only if the payment isn't delinquent when made.
Section 54-52 requires every operator to register at city hall before beginning to operate, after which the city issues a free certificate of authority that must be displayed prominently where occupants can see it; a separate registration is required for each place of business, and certificates are not transferable if the business is sold. Section 54-54 puts the deputy city manager, acting as city tax collector, in charge of enforcement, records review, and rulemaking, working with the finance director, and lets the tax collector examine an operator's books and require periodic reports.
Violations & Fines
An operator who misses the tax due date owes a ten percent delinquency penalty on the unpaid tax plus one percent monthly interest under Section 54-53. Failing to register under Section 54-52, or any other violation of the Hotel-Motel Tax article, is separately punished under Section 54-55 per the general penalty in Section 1-10, and failure to register does not excuse the underlying obligation to collect and pay the tax.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Sandy Springs hotel tax rate?
Does a short-term rental count as a hotel for this tax?
What happens if a hotel operator pays the tax late?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sandy Springs
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