State

Georgia short-term rental laws (2026)

Georgia's 2021 lodging tax reform changed who collects the tax on a short-term rental. The state's Department of Community Affairs says it had no impact on local rules such as rental caps, annual registration or license fees.^[3]

Every rule below links to the official source it comes from, verified October 1, 2026.

Aerial view of forested mountains near Hiawassee in north Georgia

Is Airbnb legal in Georgia?

Legal where local rules allow

Cities and counties set the front-end rules. State law adds a $5 fee per night for the first 30 nights.

10 official sources · verified October 1, 2026

Photo: Yanny Mishchuk on Unsplash

PermitRequired · Local license where your city or county has one
Primary residenceVaries
Number on listingNot required
Night capNone in the state tax law

Georgia short-term rental laws

Georgia charges a $5 state excise tax on each night an innkeeper rents out a room, lodging or accommodation. Before July 1, 2021, the tax covered hotel and motel rooms only. You count as an innkeeper when your local government licenses your rental. A local business or occupation tax on renting lodging has the same effect. A platform that must collect Georgia sales tax on your booking is the innkeeper for that stay. It then answers for the tax on that booking instead of you. Cities and counties can add a hotel-motel tax of their own. For a levy first imposed after July 1, 2008, the ceiling is 8% of the room charge.^[1]

Every Georgia rule, sorted by what it asks

Filter by topic. Each line carries the number of its official source, listed at the bottom of the page.

You must

Check your city or county rules before you list[3]
Charge the $5 nightly fee on direct bookings when you count as an innkeeper[6]
Charge sales tax on direct bookings, cleaning fees included[7]
File the fee return by the 20th of the following month[5]
Have a paid manager trained within 60 days, then every year[2]
Set a procedure for reporting suspected trafficking[2]
Keep training records for a year after the employee leaves[2]

You must not

Skip a monthly fee return because nothing was booked[5]
Add sales tax to the $5 fee when your invoice lists it separately[6]

Not required

Collecting the $5 fee on bookings a platform handles[5]
Charging the $5 fee from the 31st night of a continuous stay[5]
Local hotel-motel tax after 30 days of continuous occupancy[4]
Sales tax on a stay of 90 continuous days or more[7]
Trafficking training for a rental you manage yourself[2]
Trafficking training for a rental offered fewer than 15 days a year[2]

Cities in this state

Short-term rental rules in 9 Georgia cities and counties

Ranked by the share of housing the Census counts as seasonal. Places the Census figure does not cover come first.

Short-term rental rules by city in Georgia
City or county	Local rule	Primary residence	Night cap	Seasonal homes per 1,000
Atlanta short-term rental rules	Permit required	Required	None published
Glynn County short-term rental rules	Permit required	Not required	None in Chapter 2-31
Sky Valley short-term rental rulesRabun County, GA	License required	Not published	Chapter 41 sets no yearly night limit	521
Helen short-term rental rulesWhite County, GA	Registration required	Not published	None in Helen's code	448
Tybee Island short-term rental rulesChatham County, GA	Capped	Varies	No night limit in Section 4-051	431
Pine Mountain short-term rental rulesHarris County, GA	Allowed by zone	Not published	None in the zoning ordinance	105
Blue Ridge short-term rental rulesFannin County, GA	Allowed by zone	Not published	None in the city ordinance	67
Dahlonega short-term rental rulesLumpkin County, GA	License required	Not published	No limit in the short-term rental article	62
Savannah short-term rental rulesChatham County, GA	Capped	Varies	No night limit in the city's rental chapter	30

Five jurisdictions, same questions

The Georgia column comes from the official sources on this page. The other columns show the headline rule from each WonderGuest page. Open a page for the full detail.

Short-term rental rules in Georgia compared with other jurisdictions
Question	Georgia	Florida	Tennessee	North Carolina	South Carolina
Permit	RequiredLocal license where your city or county has one	RequiredState license, $170 a year	RequiredCity permit where one exists	Not requiredNo registration, zoning approval instead	Not requiredNo state rental permit, only a tax license
Primary residence	Varies	Not required	Varies	Varies	Varies
Night cap	None in the state tax law	None published by the state	None. Under 30 nights is the definition	None. Wilmington's cap was struck down	None in state law
Number on listing	Not required	Not required	Not required	Not required	Not required
Where allowed	Wherever local rules allow it	No local bans after June 1, 2011	City zoning decides, legacy status aside	Districts the city names for the use	Wherever local zoning allows it
Occupancy tax	$5 a night plus local tax up to 8%	6% state tax, Airbnb collects	City tax up to 4%, 8% with the county	4.75% state plus local and occupancy tax	7% state under 90 days, plus local taxes
Fine without permit	Set by your city or county	Second-degree misdemeanor	Use suspended while unpermitted	No state penalty published	Set locally, $250 to $1,000 on Hilton Head Island
		Florida short-term rental rules	Tennessee short-term rental rules	North Carolina short-term rental rules	South Carolina short-term rental rules

Keep exploring

Coming up

What's changing

No change with an effective date appears in the official sources on this page as of October 1, 2026.

FAQ

Georgia short-term rental questions

Is Airbnb legal in Georgia?

Georgia's 2021 tax law requires Airbnb and other booking platforms to collect lodging taxes on Georgia stays. It left local front-end rules alone, so your city or county decides whether an address can host.^[3]

What is Georgia's $5 fee on short-term rentals?

It is the State Hotel-Motel Fee, charged for each calendar night a home or room is rented. When you list with a marketplace innkeeper, that platform collects and remits it. The fee stops on the 31st day of continuous occupancy.^[5]

Who collects Georgia sales tax on an Airbnb booking?

A booking platform collects Georgia's state and local sales taxes on the stays it facilitates. The duty starts once its taxable Georgia sales reach $100,000 in the current or previous calendar year.^[9]

Does Georgia's human trafficking training law apply to my rental?

Only if it is offered through a hosting platform and run by a paid third-party manager. If you manage it directly and exclusively, the law does not apply. It also skips rentals offered for fewer than 15 days in a calendar year.^[2]

What was Georgia House Bill 1121?

Filed in 2024, House Bill 1121 would have barred local governments from suspending or prohibiting a property's existing short-term rental use in certain circumstances. It got no further than its second reading in the House, on February 7, 2024.^[10]

Sources

House Bill 317 (2021), Act 21, as passed: O.C.G.A. sections 48-13-50.2 to 48-13-51, Office of the Governor of Georgia, read on October 1, 2026
Senate Bill 570 (2026), Act 519, Georgia Human Trafficking Prevention Training Act (O.C.G.A. section 43-21-16), Office of the Governor of Georgia, read on October 1, 2026
Hotel/Motel Tax, Community Development Division (updated December 2025), Georgia Department of Community Affairs, read on October 1, 2026
Ordinance guidance for a hotel-motel excise tax under O.C.G.A. section 48-13-51(a)(1), Georgia Department of Community Affairs, read on October 1, 2026
State Hotel-Motel Fee FAQ, Georgia Department of Revenue, read on October 1, 2026
Policy Bulletin FET-2021-01, changes to the State Hotel-Motel Fee (June 21, 2021), Georgia Department of Revenue, read on October 1, 2026
Policy Bulletin SUT-2018-02, charges for rooms, lodgings, or accommodations furnished to transients (March 8, 2018), Georgia Department of Revenue, read on October 1, 2026
Georgia sales and use tax rate chart, effective October 1, 2026, Georgia Department of Revenue, read on October 1, 2026
Marketplace facilitators, Georgia Department of Revenue, read on October 1, 2026
House Bill 1121 (2023-2024 session), status, Georgia General Assembly, read on October 1, 2026

This page is not legal advice. It summarizes the official sources listed on this page as they read on October 1, 2026. Rules can change after that date, so check with the issuing office before you apply or publish a listing.

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