Gordon County, GA Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)

Article II of Chapter 16 of the Gordon County Code, Georgia, is the Motel-Hotel Tax, and it is the only lodging levy in the code. Section 16-27 says there shall be paid for every occupancy of a guest room in a hotel in the county a tax at the rate of eight (8) percent of the amount of rent, unless an exemption is provided under section 16-29. The history note shows the rate was set by an ordinance of 6-4-13. Section 16-28, whose history note lists only the 2000 ordinance, still tells the operator to collect five (5) percent, so the two sections print different rates.

The reach of the tax comes from the definitions in § 16-26. Hotel means any structure or any portion of a structure containing guest rooms that is occupied, or intended or designed for occupancy, by paying guests, and the list includes lodging house, inn, tourist cabin, lodge, time-share or other condominium, and apartment community. Rent means the consideration received for occupancy valued in money, including cash, credits, property or services, with no deduction. County means Gordon County and all the unincorporated territory of the county, so guest rooms inside the City of Calhoun are outside this county article.

Section 16-29 exempts permanent residents (occupants of at least ten continuous days), people displaced by fire or other casualty who certify so in writing, the United States and the State of Georgia, state employees on official business, and qualifying foreign diplomats. Occupancy provided without charge is exempt.

Operators must register with the county clerk under § 16-30 within the stated time, and the clerk issues a certificate of authority free of charge, with a separate registration for each place of business. Under § 16-31, returns and payment are due on or before the twentieth day of the month after each monthly period. An operator whose estimated liability exceeds $2,500 and who remitted more than $2,500 in any three consecutive months of the prior fiscal year files an estimated return and remits at least fifty percent by the twentieth of the same month. Operators who file on time keep a three (3) percent collection deduction.