Sioux Falls, SD Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate
- $2 per room, per night
- Applies to
- hotels/motels with 40+ rooms
- Remittance due
- 20th of following month
- Late penalty
- 10%, then $200/month
- Complimentary rooms
- exempt from tax
Summary
Sioux Falls imposes a flat $2-per-night occupational tax on rented rooms at hotels, motels, and lodging establishments with 40 or more rooms citywide, funding tourism marketing through Experience Sioux Falls.
An occupational tax in the amount of $2 per night will be imposed upon transient guests based upon rooms rented by any of the hotels, motels or lodging establishments within the boundaries of the district. This occupational tax must be fair, equitable and uniform as to class. No occupational tax may be imposed on any transient guest who has been offered a room by a lodging establishment on a complimentary basis whereby no fee or rent is charged for the room. This tax rate will be subject to establishment and adjustment by the city council by resolution in accordance with SDCL 9-55-16. (1992 Code, § 39-186) (Ord. 78-10, passed 11-15-2010; Ord. 72-22, passed 7-5- 2022)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-135: Current through local ordinance 54-26, passed 7-14-2026).
Full Breakdown
The Experience Sioux Falls business improvement district covers all commercial transient lodging with 40 or more rooms inside city limits (aggregating contiguous properties under common operation) and imposes a $2-per-night occupational tax on rented rooms, per Sioux Falls Code §§ 37.191 and 37.193. Complimentary rooms with no fee charged are exempt. Operators must remit collections to the city finance director by the 20th of the following month. Two downtown hotels, the Hilton Garden Inn and Canopy by Hilton, sit in a separate district and pay an additional $2-per-night tax under § 37.113. Sioux Falls has no percentage-based lodging tax; the levy is a flat per-room-night fee, not a rate.
Violations & Fines
Late remittance draws a 10% penalty, then a $200 monthly administrative fee after 60 days; unpaid tax becomes a property lien and can block permit or liquor license renewal, per § 37.999(e).
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Sioux Falls tax short-term rentals like Airbnb?
Is the hotel tax a percentage of the room rate?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sioux Falls
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