Short-term rentals owe Alabama's 4% state lodgings tax under Ala. Code §40-26-1, plus Mobile County and city lodgings taxes. Stays of 180 continuous days or more are exempt.
Even without permitting power, Alabama taxes every short-term rental. Ala. Code §40-26-1 levies the state transient-occupancy tax at four percent of the charge in Mobile County, which sits outside the mountain-lakes region taxed at five percent. On top of that, Mobile County levies its own lodgings tax, and hosts inside Mobile, Saraland, or Bayou La Batre add a municipal lodgings tax. Hosts register with the Alabama Department of Revenue; Airbnb and Vrbo collect and remit the state 4% on platform bookings. Rentals of 180 continuous days or more fall outside the tax.
Failing to collect or remit the lodgings tax under Ala. Code §40-26-1 exposes the host to Department of Revenue assessments for back tax, plus penalties and interest.
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