Short-term rentals owe Alabama's 4% state lodgings tax plus Lee County and city lodging taxes. Auburn's combined lodging tax runs about 13%, and Auburn charges STR license fees on top.
Every short-term rental in Lee County collects layered lodging taxes. The state levies a 4% transient-occupancy (lodgings) tax under Ala. Code §40-26-1; Lee County adds a county lodging tax, and Auburn and Opelika add municipal lodging taxes. In Auburn the combined lodging rate is roughly 13%. Airbnb and Vrbo collect and remit the state lodgings tax automatically, but hosts should confirm county and city taxes are handled and register with the Alabama Department of Revenue. Auburn also charges short-term rental business-license fees, about $300 to apply and $250 to renew, separate from taxes.
Failing to collect or remit lodging taxes brings penalties and interest from the Alabama Department of Revenue and the city. Unpaid license fees can block Auburn STR renewal.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Lee County, AL
Auburn, Opelika, and Lee County let residents decorate for the holidays without a permit. Displays just can't block sidewalks or sight lines, and lights must...
Lee County, AL
Garage sale signs must stay on private property in Auburn and Opelika. Both cities prohibit temporary signs in the public right-of-way and on utility or traf...
Lee County, AL
Political signs are allowed on private property across Lee County but banned from the public right-of-way. Auburn caps them at 32 square feet, allows placeme...
Lee County, AL
Alabama has no statewide rental license, and neither Lee County nor Auburn registers long-term rentals. The real local lever on Auburn's student market is zo...
Lee County, AL
Lee County has no just-cause eviction protection. The Alabama URLTA governs: landlords end month-to-month tenancies with 30 days' notice, no reason required....
Lee County, AL
Rent control is illegal across Lee County. Ala. Code § 11-80-8.1 bars every Alabama county and city—including Auburn and Opelika—from capping rent. Landlords...
See how Lee County's taxes & fees rules stack up against other locations.
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