Daviess County, KY Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)
Key Facts
- Combined room tax rate
- 6% (1% + 2% + 3% under § 30.15(A)-(C))
- Applies to
- Hosts/platforms that broker or arrange stays
- Exempt stays
- 30 continuous days or more
- Remittance deadline
- Within 30 days after month collected
- Late payment penalty
- 6% of the overdue tax amount
- Collected by/for
- County Fiscal Court
Summary
Daviess County's transient room tax reaches anyone who brokers, coordinates, or otherwise arranges short-term lodging, not just hotels. Three layered levies under Code § 30.15 add up to a combined 6% on the rent for any stay under 30 days, collected and remitted to the County Fiscal Court by the platform or host acting as the collecting agent.
(A)(1) ... there is imposed a special transient room tax of 1% on the rent for every occupancy of a suite, room or rooms ... charged by any hotel, motel, inn, tourist camp, tourist cabin, campgrounds, recreational vehicle parks, or any other place in which accommodations are regularly furnished to transients for consideration or by any person that facilitates the rental of the accommodations by brokering, coordinating, or in any other way arranging for the rental of the accommodations in Daviess County, Kentucky (the collecting parties or agents). Transient room taxes shall not apply to rooms, lodgings, campsites, or accommodations supplied for a continuous period of 30 days or more to a person. ... (B)(1) ... in an amount equal to 2% of the rent ... (C)(1) ... there is imposed a transient room tax of 3% on the rent of every occupancy ...
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-20: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through Ord. KOC 520.3 (2025), passed 12-18-2025; and State legislation current through KRS Pamphlet 2025).
Full Breakdown
15 imposes three separate transient room taxes on Daviess County lodging: a 1% tax for the Convention/Events Center under division (A), a 2% tax securing Series 2012B bonds under division (B), and a 3% tax for the Convention and Visitors Bureau under division (C), together a combined 6%. Each division applies not only to hotels and motels but expressly to "any person that facilitates the rental of the accommodations by brokering, coordinating, or in any other way arranging for the rental," which covers short-term rental platforms and hosts operating in the county.
Stays of 30 continuous days or more are exempt. Collecting agents must remit the tax to the County Fiscal Court within 30 days after the month it was collected, filing a duplicate return on the county's form. Failure to properly file and pay exposes the collecting party to the Kentucky Revised Statutes' civil and criminal remedies for failure to make required disposition of property, on top of a 6% late-payment penalty on the overdue amount under division (C)(4). The 1% and 3% taxes fund the Convention/Events Center and the Convention and Visitors Bureau respectively; the 2% tax terminates once the Series 2012B bonds are paid off, per division (B)(3).
Violations & Fines
A collecting agent, including a short-term rental host or platform, that fails to properly complete and return the tax reporting form and payment is subject to the civil and criminal remedies available under the Kentucky Revised Statutes for failure to make required disposition of property. Late payment separately draws a 6% penalty on the total overdue tax amount, assessed as of the date it is finally paid.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Daviess County's room tax apply to Airbnb-style short-term rentals?
What is the total transient room tax rate a Daviess County host must collect?
Is a 29-night short-term rental stay taxable in Daviess County?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Daviess County
How Daviess County compares: Cities with the Highest Short-Term Rental Taxes·Compare Daviess County to another location·View the Kentucky short-term rentals overview
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