Many booking pages show a nightly rate and then a line for taxes and fees. For a stay in or around Dahlonega, the tax part of that line comes from three places: the City of Dahlonega, Lumpkin County and the State of Georgia. Each publishes its rate. Here is what the official pages said when we checked them on Oct. 19, 2026, and how to read your own total.
The short answer
- Inside the City of Dahlonega: an 8% accommodation tax.
- Unincorporated Lumpkin County: an 8% hotel-motel tax, up from 5% for stays since Aug. 1, 2023.
- Georgia: a flat $5.00 per night, which stops on the 31st day of a continuous stay.
- Lumpkin County’s sales tax rate is 8%; ask the host whether it appears on your bill.
What is the city’s 8% lodging tax?
The City of Dahlonega charges an 8% accommodation (hotel-motel) excise tax on taxable room rentals inside the city limits, per its Accommodation Excise Tax Return. The tax is set by City Ordinance 85-2, Amendment 7. The city’s FY27 proposed budget says its Hotel/Motel Tax Fund comes from an 8% lodging tax on hotel/motel and short-term rental stays, per the budget document, so a rental house inside the city carries the same 8% as a hotel room.
On the business side, city innkeepers file that return and pay by the 20th of the month after they collect the tax, attaching that month’s Georgia sales and use tax report (Form ST-3). A zero return is required for months with no tax collected.
What does Lumpkin County charge outside the city?
Lumpkin County’s hotel-motel tax is also 8%. The Board of Commissioners raised it from 5% on June 20, 2023, by Resolution 2023-33, for occupancy on or after Aug. 1, 2023, per the county’s Short-Term Rentals page. If you last priced a county cabin before that date, the local tax line is larger now.
So whether a property sits inside the city limits or out in the county, the local rate on these official pages is the same 8%. What differs is which government receives it and who files it.
What is the $5 Georgia fee?
Georgia’s State Hotel-Motel Fee is $5.00 per night. Innkeepers and marketplace innkeepers (booking platforms) collect it on each night a room, cabin or other short-term rental is rented, under Rule 560-13-2-.01, per the Georgia Department of Revenue. It is a flat amount, not a percentage, so it does not rise with the nightly rate.
Two details from the same page. The fee stops for extended stays: on the 31st day of uninterrupted occupancy by the same customer, it is no longer collected. And reward nights are still subject to the fee, so a free night on points can still carry the $5.
Is sales tax added too?
The sales and use tax rate in Lumpkin County is 8%, including Georgia’s 4% state rate, per the Department of Revenue’s rate chart effective Oct. 1, 2026. The pages we read do not say how sales tax applies to a particular lodging bill, so we leave it out of the example below. If a quote shows a sales tax line, ask the host or platform what it is charged on.
Who collects the tax on an Airbnb or VRBO cabin?
For rentals in unincorporated Lumpkin County, the county says that if an owner lists only through marketplace platforms such as Airbnb or VRBO, those platforms must remit the local and state hotel-motel taxes for the owner. If the owner advertises on their own or collects rent directly, the owner remits them, due the 20th of each month. As a guest, look for the tax lines on whichever checkout page or invoice you pay.
Can you show a worked example?
Yes. This is an example only. The inputs are made up for easy math and are not the price of any real property.
- Inputs: a stay inside the City of Dahlonega, 3 nights, with a room charge of $100 a night, so $300 for the room.
- City accommodation tax: 8% of $300 = $24.
- Georgia State Hotel-Motel Fee: 3 nights x $5 = $15.
- Total before any sales tax, cleaning or service fees: $300 + $24 + $15 = $339.
The same three nights in unincorporated Lumpkin County come out the same, because the county rate is also 8%. The pages we read do not say whether the 8% also applies to cleaning or service fees, so ask if your quote has them.
A second example shows the 31-day rule. One customer staying 40 nights in a row would pay the $5 fee for nights 1 through 30, which is 30 x $5 = $150, and not from the 31st day on. Again, these are example inputs, not a quote.
What should I look for on my booking total?
- An 8% local lodging tax line, from the city or the county.
- A $5 state fee for each night, or one state fee line equal to $5 times your nights.
- Any sales tax line, and what it is charged on.
- Cleaning, service or pet fees. Hosts and platforms set those, not these tax rules.
- On a month-long stay, whether the state fee stops from the 31st day.
Our lodging costs and taxes page keeps these rates in one place, and Stay Match helps you narrow down where to stay. If you are on the other side of the bill and thinking about owning a rental cabin, our buying a cabin rental page covers the county license and the tax steps an owner takes.
- The City of Dahlonega charges an 8% accommodation (hotel-motel) excise tax on taxable room rentals inside the city limits. City of Dahlonega: Accommodation Excise Tax Return (rev. 05/2024)
- Lumpkin County's hotel-motel tax is 8%. The Board of Commissioners raised it from 5% on June 20, 2023 (Resolution 2023-33), effective for occupancy on or after Aug. 1, 2023. Lumpkin County Planning & Development: Short-Term Rentals
- Georgia's State Hotel-Motel Fee is $5.00 per night, collected by innkeepers and marketplace innkeepers on each night a room, cabin or other short-term rental is rented (Rule 560-13-2-.01). Georgia Department of Revenue: State Hotel-Motel FAQ
- The $5 state fee stops for extended stays: on the 31st day of uninterrupted occupancy by the same customer, it is no longer collected. Reward nights are still subject to the fee. Georgia Department of Revenue: State Hotel-Motel FAQ
- The sales and use tax rate in Lumpkin County is 8% (including the 4% state rate), per the Georgia Department of Revenue rate chart effective Oct. 1, 2026. Georgia Department of Revenue: Sales and Use Tax Rate Chart effective Oct. 1, 2026
Questions
What is the hotel tax in Dahlonega?
Stays inside the City of Dahlonega carry an 8% city accommodation (hotel-motel) tax. Unincorporated Lumpkin County also charges 8%. Georgia adds a $5.00 per-night State Hotel-Motel Fee, and the county's sales tax rate is 8%. Taxes and fees on a specific booking depend on the property's location and how it is booked.
Source: City of Dahlonega: Accommodation Excise Tax Return (rev. 05/2024)
What is the $5 Georgia hotel fee?
Georgia's State Hotel-Motel Fee is $5.00 for each night you rent a hotel room, cabin or other short-term rental, collected by the innkeeper or the booking platform. It is a flat amount, not a percentage. The fee stops on the 31st day of uninterrupted stay by the same customer, and reward nights still count.
Source: Georgia Department of Revenue: State Hotel-Motel FAQ
What is the sales tax rate in Lumpkin County?
The sales and use tax rate in Lumpkin County is 8%, which includes Georgia's 4% state rate, according to the Georgia Department of Revenue rate chart effective Oct. 1, 2026. Hotel-motel taxes and the $5 state per-night fee are separate charges from sales tax. Rates can change quarterly, so check the current chart.
Source: Georgia Department of Revenue: Sales and Use Tax Rate Chart effective Oct. 1, 2026
Who collects hotel tax on an Airbnb or VRBO cabin in Lumpkin County?
Lumpkin County says that if you list only through marketplace platforms such as Airbnb or VRBO, the platforms must remit the local and state hotel-motel taxes for you. If you advertise on your own or collect rent directly from guests, you remit the taxes yourself, due on the 20th of each month.
Source: Lumpkin County Planning & Development: Short-Term Rentals
When are city hotel-motel taxes due in Dahlonega?
City of Dahlonega innkeepers file the Accommodation Excise Tax Return and pay by the 20th of the month after the tax was collected. The return requires a copy of that month's Georgia sales and use tax report (Form ST-3). A return showing zero is still required for months with no tax collected.
Source: City of Dahlonega: Accommodation Excise Tax Return (rev. 05/2024)
Written by the Dahlonega Vacations Editorial Team. AI tools help us draft; people check every fact before it publishes.
Dates, rules and hours can change. The organizers have the final word: Dahlonega-Lumpkin County Visitors Center
