Chapel Hill, NC Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)

The Town of Chapel Hill imposes a room occupancy tax of three percent of gross receipts on the rental of any room, lodging or similar accommodation subject to state sales tax under General Statute Section 105-164.4(3); Section 19-11 of the Code of Ordinances is the imposing provision, and the tax does not reach accommodations furnished by nonprofit charitable, educational, benevolent or religious organizations in furtherance of their nonprofit purpose. Section 19-12 makes every operator collect the tax as part of the charge for the stay, state it separately on sales records, and file a monthly return with the town revenue collector by the fifteenth of the following month; an operator may deduct one percent of what is collected to cover collection costs.

The Land Use Management Ordinance folds this straight into the short-term rental rules: Section 6.27.5(h), titled Taxes, makes short-term rental operators responsible for paying the state sales tax, personal property taxes, the transient occupancy tax, and any other applicable taxes and fees established by law. Missing a return or payment under Section 19-13 costs ten dollars per day of the omission, and Section 19-14 adds a five percent penalty of the tax due for every thirty-day period the return or tax stays unpaid past the due date.

Section 19-15 makes a willful attempt to evade the tax or the filing requirement a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine up to one thousand dollars, imprisonment up to six months, or both. Section 19-16 commits at least ten percent of the annual occupancy tax revenue to visitor information services and cultural event support.