St. Martin Parish, LA Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate
- Four percent of fees charged for overnight occupancy
- Lodging taxed
- Hotel, motel, bed and breakfast, camping facility, houseboat
- Establishment size
- Two or more guest rooms
- Minimum stay
- None; applies regardless of the period rented
- Delinquent penalty
- Five percent per 30 days, capped at 25 percent
- Interest
- 12 percent per annum on unpaid tax
- Criminal penalty
- Fine up to $100.00, up to 30 days, or both
Summary
St. Martin Parish levies a four percent tax on the fees charged to transient guests for hotel rooms, motel rooms, bed and breakfast facilities, camping facilities, and houseboats rented as overnight lodging. Section 20-276 applies the tax no matter how long the guest stays, and the proceeds fund the St. Martin Parish Tourism Commission.
(a)In accordance with the provisions of La.R.S. ... 33:4574, et seq, there be and is hereby imposed and levied, commencing with the effective date of this edict, a tax of four percent upon the fees charged for the occupancy by transient guests of hotel rooms, motel rooms, bed and breakfast facilities, camping facilities, and houseboats rented as overnight lodging located within the territorial limits of St. Martin Parish ... (c)The tax imposed in this section shall apply to the rental of hotel rooms, motel rooms, bed and breakfast facilities, overnight camping facilities, or houseboats rented as overnight lodging to the same occupant regardless of the period of time for which the aforementioned have been rented. ... There shall be a delinquent penalty of five percent of tax for each 30 days or fraction thereof of delinquency, not to exceed 25 percent in the aggregate, of the tax due. ... Whoever violates the provisions of this article shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction, shall be sentenced to a fine not to exceed $100.00 or imprisonment for not more than 30 days, or both, in the discretion of the court.
Full Breakdown
Article IX of Chapter 20 of the St. Martin Parish Code, enacted under La. R.S. 33:4574 and following, imposes the occupancy tax in Section 20-276. The rate is four percent of the fees charged for occupancy by transient guests of lodging located within the territorial limits of St. Martin Parish. Five kinds of lodging are named: hotel rooms, motel rooms, bed and breakfast facilities, camping facilities, and houseboats rented as overnight lodging.
The definitions in subsection (b) set the reach. A transient guest is an occupant of a guest room or paved space. The terms hotel, motel, bed and breakfast facility, overnight camping facility, and houseboat each mean any public or private establishment furnishing rooms or camping facilities for dwelling, lodging, or sleeping purposes to transient guests where the establishment consists of two or more guest rooms. Hospitals, convalescent and nursing homes, sanitariums, and hotel-like facilities that house patients and their families at a hospital or medical clinic are carved out. A camping facility is a tract with two or more rooms, cabins, lodges, spaces, or tents, and it also includes a tract with two or more paved, gravel, hard-packed, or similar surface spaces built for recreational vehicles or pop-up campers, with or without sewer, water, or electrical connections.
Subsection (c) removes any minimum stay: the tax applies to the same occupant regardless of the period of time for which the room is rented. The article never uses the term short-term rental, so its coverage turns on the five named lodging types and the two-or-more-guest-rooms definition.
Section 20-277 sends the proceeds, less a collection fee not to exceed three percent kept by the school board, to the tourism commission. Section 20-275 creates that body as the St. Martin Parish Tourism Commission, with eight members: seven appointed by the St. Martin Parish Council and the parish president or a designee serving ex officio. Section 20-276(a) directs the money to promoting the parish and attracting tourists, advertising, membership in professional tourism promotion organizations, and the executive director's salary.
Violations & Fines
A lodging owner or operator who fails to remit the tax when due is in default under Section 20-277. After 60 days the parish files suit for the total due, with interest from the date of default plus ten percent of the unpaid sum as attorney's fees. A delinquent penalty of five percent of the tax accrues for each 30 days, capped at 25 percent in the aggregate, and interest runs at 12 percent per annum. Section 20-278 makes any violation of the article a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $100.00, up to 30 days in jail, or both. No occupational license is renewed or issued while delinquent school board sales tax is owed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the St. Martin Parish occupancy tax apply to a one-night stay?
Does the tax cover short-term rentals of a single house?
Where does the occupancy tax money go?
Are hospital rooms subject to the tax?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in St. Martin Parish
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