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Georgia

Georgia

state Allowed with registration Verified · last verified 2026-07-15

Georgia has NO statewide short-term-rental license, permit, zoning, or cap regime — there is no state STR permit and no state statute defining or restricting "short-term rental." Georgia is a home-rule state; operating authority (licenses, zoning, occupancy caps, primary-residence rules) is set entirely by city and county ordinance. The only STATE-level obligations are tax registration and collection, administered by the Georgia Department of Revenue (DOR). (1) SALES AND USE TAX. The state sales and use tax rate is 4%; combined state+local rates run 6%–9% depending on jurisdiction (DOR General Rate Chart eff. Jan 1, 2026: "The state sales and use tax rate is 4%"). DOR Policy Bulletin SUT-2018-02 (Publication Date March 8, 2018; Authority: O.C.G.A. §§ 48-8-2 and 48-8-30; Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 560-12-2-.51; Atlanta Americana Motor Hotel Corp. v. Undercofler, 222 Ga 295 (1966)) expressly treats "owners of private residences, cabins, or cottages and rental agents who rent such accommodations to transients on behalf of the owners" as retailers and dealers. The tax "does not apply to accommodations supplied to any one person for a period of 90 continuous days or more." (2) STATE HOTEL-MOTEL FEE. A $5.00-per-night fee under O.C.G.A. §§ 48-13-50.2/.3/.4 and Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 560-13-2-.01. House Bill 317 (2020–2021 Regular Session), enacted April 21, 2021 and effective July 1, 2021, expanded the Fee from "hotel rooms" only to ANY accommodation providing physical shelter and added "marketplace innkeepers" to the definition of "innkeeper" (DOR Policy Bulletin FET-2021-01, Publication Date June 21, 2021; Authority: HB 317; O.C.G.A. §§ 48-8-2, 48-13-50.2, 48-13-50.3, 48-13-50.4). CRITICAL NUANCE: "innkeeper" status keys off LOCAL licensing — a person is an innkeeper only if "licensed by, or required to pay business or occupation taxes to" the municipality or county. FET-2021-01 Example 4 confirms: "Neither the county nor the city in which Owner's house is located requires Owner to be licensed or pay business or occupation taxes for furnishing an accommodation to the public for value; therefore, Owner is not an 'innkeeper' under the state hotel-motel fee law. ... Because she is not an innkeeper, the Fee does not apply to the rental of her house. However, Owner is required to remit sales and use tax on the sales price of the guest's stay." So a homeowner in a jurisdiction with no local license/occupation-tax requirement owes no Fee on direct rentals — but sales tax is still due. Where the property is listed on an online platform meeting the $100,000 facilitated-sales threshold, the marketplace innkeeper collects and remits both the Fee and sales tax, and the host does not: "No. The marketplace innkeeper must collect and remit the state hotel motel fee on each night of the guest's stay." Rentals longer than 30 consecutive days to the same customer are "Extended Stay Rentals" excluded from the Fee (FAQ phrasing: "31 or more consecutive days to the same customer"). Direct (non-platform) operators must register on the Georgia Tax Center for a sales tax number and a state hotel-motel fee number and file monthly by the 20th. (3) LOCAL EXCISE TAX. O.C.G.A. § 48-13-51 authorizes — but does not require — counties and municipalities to levy a local hotel-motel excise tax up to 8%. Georgia DCA's official Hotel/Motel Tax presentation confirms the authorization bands: § 48-13-51(a)(1) = 1–3%; § 48-13-51(a)(3) = 5%; § 48-13-51(b) = 6–8%, the last annotated "*Requires act of General Assembly." DCA shows rates actually levied ranging 2.0%–8.0%. Around 40 governments still collect under "grandfathered" authorization paragraphs with limited exceptions.

Not legal advice. Last verified 2026-07-15 · sources linked below.

Requirements checklist

  • state No statewide short-term rental license or permit Not required
    Fee: — · Renewal: — · Applies to: All short-term rental operators in Georgia · official page ↗
  • state Georgia Tax Center registration — sales tax number and state hotel-motel fee number Conditional
    Fee: $0 / one-time · Renewal: — · Applies to: Operators who rent directly (not exclusively through a marketplace innkeeper/facilitator). Hosts renting only via a qualifying online platform need not register for the Fee — the platform collects and remits. · official page ↗
  • state Sales and use tax collection as a retailer/dealer Required
    Fee: — · Renewal: — · Applies to: Any person renting a private residence, cabin, or cottage to transients, and rental agents renting on behalf of owners. Marketplace facilitators collect on facilitated sales. · official page ↗
  • state State Hotel-Motel Fee collection ($5.00 per night) Conditional
    Fee: $5 / per night · Renewal: — · Applies to: Innkeepers — i.e., persons licensed by or required to pay business/occupation taxes to a municipality or county for furnishing accommodations — and all marketplace innkeepers. A homeowner in a locality with no license/occupation-tax requirement is NOT an innkeeper and owes no Fee on direct rentals (sales tax still due). · official page ↗
  • state Monthly State Hotel-Motel Fee return Conditional
    Fee: — · Renewal: Monthly — due by the 20th of the month following collection. · Applies to: Registered innkeepers and marketplace innkeepers · official page ↗
  • state Marketplace innkeeper / marketplace facilitator collects on behalf of hosts Required
    Fee: — · Renewal: — · Applies to: Online platforms whose facilitated sales plus own retail sales subject to Georgia sales and use tax equal or exceed $100,000.00 in aggregate in the previous or current calendar year · official page ↗
  • city Local business/occupation license or STR permit (varies by city/county) Conditional
    Fee: — · Renewal: — · Applies to: Determined entirely by the municipality or county where the property sits; Georgia is a home-rule state with no statewide STR framework. Whether a local license/occupation tax applies also determines state Hotel-Motel Fee liability for direct rentals. · official page ↗

Taxes

TaxRateAdministered byAirbnb remitsVrbo remits
Georgia state sales and use tax — — — —
Combined state + local sales and use tax (total rate actually charged) — — — —
State Hotel-Motel Fee — — — —
Local hotel-motel excise tax (county/municipal option) — — — —

Operating rules

Primary residence
No
Min stay (nights)
—
Max nights / year
—
Max occupancy
—
Zoning-restricted
No
Cap on licenses
—

Zoning: No state-level zoning restriction on short-term rentals. Georgia is a home-rule state; zoning, density, occupancy and primary-residence rules are set entirely by city/county ordinance and vary widely. Consult the applicable local record.

  • All values are null/false at the STATE level because Georgia imposes no statewide STR restrictions of any kind — not because the restrictions are unknown. Two duration thresholds exist in Georgia law but are TAX thresholds, not operating restrictions and NOT minimum-stay requirements: (a) sales tax does not apply to accommodations supplied to any one person for a period of 90 continuous days or more (SUT-2018-02); (b) the $5 State Hotel-Motel Fee is excluded for 'Extended Stay Rentals' — an Accommodation for longer than 30 consecutive days to the same customer (Rule 560-13-2-.01(2)(b), amended text). Neither sets a floor on how short a stay may be.

Enforcement

Active enforcement
unknown
Fines
—
Notes
There is no state-level STR enforcement body because there is no state STR regime. Enforcement of licensing, zoning, occupancy and nuisance rules is entirely local. State enforcement is limited to DOR tax/fee administration.

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Frequently asked questions

Is Airbnb legal in Georgia?
Georgia has NO statewide short-term-rental license, permit, zoning, or cap regime — there is no state STR permit and no state statute defining or restricting "short-term rental." Georgia is a home-rule state; operating authority (licenses, zoning, occupancy caps, primary-residence rules) is set entirely by city and county ordinance. The only STATE-level obligations are tax registration and collection, administered by the Georgia Department of Revenue (DOR). (1) SALES AND USE TAX. The state sales and use tax rate is 4%; combined state+local rates run 6%–9% depending on jurisdiction (DOR General Rate Chart eff. Jan 1, 2026: "The state sales and use tax rate is 4%"). DOR Policy Bulletin SUT-2018-02 (Publication Date March 8, 2018; Authority: O.C.G.A. §§ 48-8-2 and 48-8-30; Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 560-12-2-.51; Atlanta Americana Motor Hotel Corp. v. Undercofler, 222 Ga 295 (1966)) expressly treats "owners of private residences, cabins, or cottages and rental agents who rent such accommodations to transients on behalf of the owners" as retailers and dealers. The tax "does not apply to accommodations supplied to any one person for a period of 90 continuous days or more." (2) STATE HOTEL-MOTEL FEE. A $5.00-per-night fee under O.C.G.A. §§ 48-13-50.2/.3/.4 and Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 560-13-2-.01. House Bill 317 (2020–2021 Regular Session), enacted April 21, 2021 and effective July 1, 2021, expanded the Fee from "hotel rooms" only to ANY accommodation providing physical shelter and added "marketplace innkeepers" to the definition of "innkeeper" (DOR Policy Bulletin FET-2021-01, Publication Date June 21, 2021; Authority: HB 317; O.C.G.A. §§ 48-8-2, 48-13-50.2, 48-13-50.3, 48-13-50.4). CRITICAL NUANCE: "innkeeper" status keys off LOCAL licensing — a person is an innkeeper only if "licensed by, or required to pay business or occupation taxes to" the municipality or county. FET-2021-01 Example 4 confirms: "Neither the county nor the city in which Owner's house is located requires Owner to be licensed or pay business or occupation taxes for furnishing an accommodation to the public for value; therefore, Owner is not an 'innkeeper' under the state hotel-motel fee law. ... Because she is not an innkeeper, the Fee does not apply to the rental of her house. However, Owner is required to remit sales and use tax on the sales price of the guest's stay." So a homeowner in a jurisdiction with no local license/occupation-tax requirement owes no Fee on direct rentals — but sales tax is still due. Where the property is listed on an online platform meeting the $100,000 facilitated-sales threshold, the marketplace innkeeper collects and remits both the Fee and sales tax, and the host does not: "No. The marketplace innkeeper must collect and remit the state hotel motel fee on each night of the guest's stay." Rentals longer than 30 consecutive days to the same customer are "Extended Stay Rentals" excluded from the Fee (FAQ phrasing: "31 or more consecutive days to the same customer"). Direct (non-platform) operators must register on the Georgia Tax Center for a sales tax number and a state hotel-motel fee number and file monthly by the 20th. (3) LOCAL EXCISE TAX. O.C.G.A. § 48-13-51 authorizes — but does not require — counties and municipalities to levy a local hotel-motel excise tax up to 8%. Georgia DCA's official Hotel/Motel Tax presentation confirms the authorization bands: § 48-13-51(a)(1) = 1–3%; § 48-13-51(a)(3) = 5%; § 48-13-51(b) = 6–8%, the last annotated "*Requires act of General Assembly." DCA shows rates actually levied ranging 2.0%–8.0%. Around 40 governments still collect under "grandfathered" authorization paragraphs with limited exceptions.
Do I need a license or registration for a short-term rental in Georgia?
Yes — Georgia requires: Georgia Tax Center registration — sales tax number and state hotel-motel fee number; Sales and use tax collection as a retailer/dealer; State Hotel-Motel Fee collection ($5.00 per night). See the requirements checklist for fees, renewal, and official links.
What taxes apply to short-term rentals in Georgia?
Georgia state sales and use tax, Combined state + local sales and use tax (total rate actually charged), State Hotel-Motel Fee, Local hotel-motel excise tax (county/municipal option). Use the lodging-tax estimator on this page for a specific stay.

Official sources

Related coverage

Counties & cities Athens · Chatham County · DeKalb County · Fannin County · Fulton County · White County

Informational summary of publicly available sources; not legal advice. Verify against the linked official sources.