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

Sec. 86-91 defines 'hotel' as any structure or portion of a structure, including a lodginghouse, roominghouse or motel among others, containing guestrooms occupied or intended for occupancy by guests, whether rent is paid in money, goods, labor or otherwise; that language is broad enough to sweep in a short-term rental property in the unincorporated county. Sec. 86-97(a) requires every person engaging or about to engage in business as an operator of such a hotel to register immediately with the finance director on a county form giving the name under which the business operates and its location, after which the finance director issues, at no charge, a certificate of authority to collect the tax from occupants; that certificate must be prominently displayed and returned when the business closes or transfers.

Sec. 86-96 exempts a 'permanent resident,' defined as an occupant who has held or has the right to occupy a guestroom for at least ten consecutive days, along with certain charitable and religious organizations. Sec. 86-95 makes it unlawful for an operator to advertise, directly or indirectly, that the tax will be absorbed by the operator or will not be added to the rent. Sec. 86-98(b) requires a quarterly return, on or before the last day of the month following each calendar quarter, from every operator and from anyone else liable for the tax who has not already paid and filed. A collecting operator keeps a three percent deduction of the tax remitted as long as payment is not delinquent.