Springfield, IL Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate
- 8% of room rent per 24-hour period
- Governing section
- City Code Sec. 100.26
- Long-stay exemption
- Stays over 30 consecutive days are exempt
- Small-filer option
- Quarterly returns if average monthly tax is $60 or less
- State authority
- 65 ILCS 5/8-3-14
Summary
Springfield taxes hotel and motel room rentals at 8% of the rent charged per 24-hour period under City Code Sec. 100.26. Stays over 30 consecutive days, and OTC bookings included, are exempt, and the operator or platform must collect the tax from the guest and remit it to the city.
(a)There is levied and imposed a tax of 8% of the rent charged for the privilege and use of renting a hotel or motel room within the city for each 24-hour period or any portion thereof for which a daily room charge is made, provided that the tax shall not be levied and imposed on any person who rents a hotel or motel room for more than 30 consecutive days or to a person who works and lives in the same hotel or motel. The tax must be charged for the initial 30 consecutive days, unless a signed rental contract is on file with the tax collector. Upon the 31st consecutive day of rental, the renter is due a refund or credit from the tax collector for the 30 consecutive days of tax paid. Persons engaged in the business of renting, leasing or letting rooms in a hotel only to permanent residents are exempt from the provisions of this article.(b)Businesses engaged in renting, leasing, or letting rooms within the city are required to collect the Springfield Hotel and Motel Room Tax, however the ultimate incidence of any liability for payment of the tax is to be borne by the person who seeks the privilege of occupying the hotel or motel room, that person hereinafter referred to as renter.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 82).
Full Breakdown
Springfield taxes short-term hotel and motel stays at 8% of the room rent under Sec. 100.26, charged for each 24-hour period or fraction of one for which a daily rate applies. The tax only reaches stays of 30 consecutive days or less: a renter who stays longer, or who works and lives at the same hotel, isn't subject to it. Operators must still collect the tax for the first 30 days of any stay unless the guest has a signed rental contract on file with the tax collector; once a renter reaches the 31st consecutive day without such a contract, the tax collector owes a refund or credit for the tax already paid on those first 30 days. Businesses that rent rooms only to permanent residents are exempt from the article entirely.
The legal incidence of the tax falls on the renter, the person occupying the room, even though the operator or OTC (online travel company) is the one required to collect and remit it under subsection (b). The operator or OTC must secure the tax from the renter at the time it collects the room payment (subsection (d)) and pay it over to the city director under procedures the director prescribes (subsection (c)). This structure means a short-term rental platform booking a Springfield room is treated the same as a hotel front desk: it must add the 8% and forward the proceeds.
Sec. 100.27 backs the tax with an audit power; the director may enter hotel or motel premises to inspect books and records, and operators must keep separate books showing taxable and non-taxable transactions. Returns are due monthly under Sec. 100.28, or quarterly if average monthly liability stays at or below $60. State law, 65 ILCS 5/8-3-14, authorizes the tax.
Violations & Fines
Failing to collect or remit the 8% room tax exposes an operator or OTC to a city lawsuit under Sec. 100.29, brought by the corporation counsel at the director's request to recover unpaid amounts. Interfering with a records inspection under Sec. 100.27 is separately unlawful. Charging the tax past the 30-day exemption threshold without issuing the required refund or credit is also a violation of Sec. 100.26(a).
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the hotel tax rate in Springfield, Illinois?
Does a long-term hotel guest owe the room tax?
Who actually has to pay the Springfield hotel tax, the guest or the hotel?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Springfield
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