LicensedRental

State rules

Georgia vacation rental license and rules

Georgia has no state license for vacation homes. Stays under 90 days owe state and local sales tax (6% to 9% in all), and the first 30 nights owe the city or county hotel-motel tax plus a $5-a-night state fee. Airbnb collects all of these on its bookings. Permits, business licenses, and zoning are set by each city and county.

Checked against official sources November 6, 2026
State license
None for private homes
Register with the Georgia Tax Center for sales tax if you take direct bookings.Source
Sales tax
6% to 9% (state 4% + local)
Stays under 90 days. Your county’s total is on the DOR rate chart.Source
Hotel-motel tax
3% to 8%, set locally, + $5 a night
The first 30 nights of a stay. Filed with the city or county; the $5 state fee with the DOR.Source
Platforms
Airbnb collects them all
State and local sales tax, the $5 fee, and every local hotel-motel tax, on its bookings.Source

Using a property manager? Since July 1, 2026, state law requires third-party property managers of short-term rentals to train their employees in human trafficking awareness (SB 570).

The $5 state fee and the local hotel-motel tax stop after 30 nights. Sales tax stops at 90 days.

What to do

  1. Know what the platform collects

    Airbnb collects state and local sales tax, the $5-a-night state hotel-motel fee, and the local hotel-motel tax on its Georgia bookings. Ask any other platform what it collects, and keep records either way.Source

  2. Register for direct bookings

    If guests book and pay you directly, register for sales tax with the Georgia Tax Center and file the local hotel-motel tax with your city or county. If your city or county requires a business license or occupation tax for the rental, the DOR treats you as an innkeeper and you also owe the $5 state fee on direct bookings.Source

    Georgia Tax Center →

  3. Check your city or county

    Most of the rules are local: short-term rental permits, business licenses (occupation tax), zoning limits, and caps. Some cities ban rentals in residential zones. Pick your area.

Counties

86 counties so far, with more added every month. Don’t see yours? Tell us where your rental is.

1 town guides

Athens-Clarke County

Athens-Clarke County has about 600 Airbnb listings, busiest on UGA game days. Since 2024 the unified government allows owner-occupied “home occupation” rentals in residential zones but limits investor-owned “commercial” rentals to commercial districts, and grandfathered rentals must comply by March 2027.

0 town guides

Augusta-Richmond County

Augusta has more than 1,100 Airbnb listings and its biggest week is the Masters. The city has no short-term rental permit today, but an October 2026 draft zoning rewrite would require permits and limit new rentals to farm, medical, and downtown areas.

2 town guides

Baldwin County

Baldwin County, home to Milledgeville and much of Lake Sinclair, adopted a short-term rental ordinance in December 2025 that caps county certificates at 150 a year and spaces new rentals 300 feet apart. Milledgeville has about 85 listings; both the county and city charge 8% hotel-motel tax.

1 town guides

Banks County

Banks County has only a small rental market, but its zoning code licenses short-term rentals (stays of 7 days or less) and sends every new application to a public hearing. Sales tax is 9%, and the county adds a 5% hotel-motel tax.

3 town guides

Barrow County

Barrow County, between Atlanta and Athens, has a modest market led by Winder. The county requires a $250 yearly permit outside city limits, Auburn has its own $250 permit, and Winder needs City Council approval for each rental.

2 town guides

Bartow County

Bartow County draws visitors to Lake Allatoona and Red Top Mountain, with about 160 listings. The county has short-term rental standards for unincorporated homes, and we found no rules in Cartersville.

2 town guides

Bryan County

Bryan County is a small market centered on Richmond Hill. We found no short-term rental permit in the county or Richmond Hill codes, but the county started a 3% hotel-motel tax that covers short-term rentals in July 2025.

1 town guides

Bulloch County

Bulloch County’s rentals are in Statesboro, where Georgia Southern home games fill rooms. Statesboro’s zoning allows short-term rentals as an accessory use to any legal dwelling, and we found no city permit. Stays pay 9% sales tax plus a hotel-motel tax.

2 town guides

Butts County

Butts County draws visitors to Jackson Lake and Indian Springs State Park. The City of Jackson issues short-term rental permits only to homeowners in three single-family zones; we found no county permit, and both charge a hotel-motel tax.

2 town guides

Camden County

Camden County’s rentals are mostly in St. Marys, the ferry town for Cumberland Island, and Kingsland near Kings Bay. We found no short-term rental permit in either city’s code. Stays pay 7% sales tax plus a 3% to 6% hotel-motel tax.

1 town guides

Candler County

Candler County’s small rental market is in Metter, which allows short-term rentals only for owners who live in the city and caps permits at 100 a year. Stays pay 9% sales tax plus Metter’s 7% hotel-motel tax.

2 town guides

Carroll County

Both Carroll County and the City of Carrollton require a yearly short-term rental license, with a 2-adults-per-bedroom limit and the license number on every listing. Carrollton charges an 8% hotel-motel tax and the county 6% outside city limits.

3 town guides

Catoosa County

Catoosa County’s rentals serve Chattanooga visitors, mostly in Ringgold and Fort Oglethorpe. Ringgold requires a city permit with a background check; we found no county rental permit and no county hotel-motel tax.

7 town guides

Chatham County

Chatham County is Georgia’s biggest short-term rental market, led by Savannah and Tybee Island. Savannah caps whole-home rentals in its historic wards, Tybee limits them in residential zones, Pooler, Thunderbolt, and Garden City require permits, and the county licenses rentals outside city limits.

0 town guides

Chattahoochee County

Cusseta-Chattahoochee County requires a yearly accommodation excise tax certificate for every short-term rental ($150 the first year, $100 to renew). Guests are capped at 2 per bedroom plus 2, up to 15, and stays owe 9% sales tax plus an 8% hotel-motel tax.

3 town guides

Cherokee County

Cherokee County requires a short-term rental certificate outside city limits, and Woodstock and Canton have their own certificates. Listings cluster in Woodstock and Canton and around Lake Allatoona.

1 town guides

Clay County

Clay County’s rentals are lake homes on Lake Walter F. George around Fort Gaines. Stays owe 9% sales tax and Clay County’s 5% hotel-motel tax; we found no county short-term rental rules.

5 town guides

Clayton County

Clayton County’s market is spread across Riverdale, Jonesboro, Forest Park, and unincorporated areas near the airport. The county and several cities license short-term rentals, and College Park’s Clayton part is under a citywide ban.

7 town guides

Cobb County

Cobb County has about 1,400 Airbnb listings, led by Marietta and Smyrna. Unincorporated Cobb requires a $55 yearly short-term rental certificate, and Smyrna, Kennesaw, and Acworth have their own rules.

1 town guides

Coffee County

Coffee County has about 50 Airbnb listings, mostly in Douglas. Douglas’s zoning lists Airbnb and VRBO rentals with bed and breakfasts, allowed only in residential districts under owner-occupancy standards. Douglas charges a 5% hotel-motel tax.

2 town guides

Colquitt County

Colquitt County has a small Airbnb market, about 40 listings in Moultrie. The county’s zoning allows vacation rentals in its agricultural district, and Moultrie charges a 7% hotel-motel tax. Sales tax here is 9%.

2 town guides

Columbia County

Columbia County, Augusta’s suburb, has about 440 listings in Evans, Martinez, Grovetown, and Appling, busiest during Masters week. We found no county short-term rental permit; the county collects a 5% lodging tax outside city limits.

3 town guides

Coweta County

Coweta County has about 160 listings around Newnan and Senoia. We found no county or Newnan short-term rental rules, though Newnan was weighing an ordinance in 2025; Senoia adds a 3% hotel tax.

2 town guides

Crisp County

Crisp County’s rentals are in Cordele and on Lake Blackshear. Stays owe 8% sales tax plus a hotel-motel tax of 6% in Cordele or 5% in the unincorporated county; we found no short-term rental permits in the city or county codes.

2 town guides

Dade County

Dade County has about 200 listings near Cloudland Canyon, Rising Fawn, and Trenton. We found no short-term rental permit in the county or Trenton codes; stays owe 7% sales tax and an 8% hotel-motel tax.

2 town guides

Dawson County

Dawson County has about 170 listings around Dawsonville, Lake Lanier, and Big Canoe. The county permits each rental, requires half an acre, a two-night minimum stay, and certified-mail notice to neighbors; the City of Dawsonville licenses rentals separately.

2 town guides

Decatur County

Decatur County’s rentals are in Bainbridge and on Lake Seminole, with about 58 Airbnb listings in Bainbridge. Stays owe 9% sales tax, and Bainbridge adds an 8% hotel-motel tax.

12 town guides

DeKalb County

DeKalb County started licensing short-term rentals in its unincorporated areas on May 20, 2026 ($175 a year, plus an 8% county excise tax). Its cities have their own rules: Dunwoody bans short-term rentals, and Brookhaven, Doraville, and Stone Mountain limit them to owner-occupied homes or set caps.

2 town guides

Dougherty County

Dougherty County, home to Albany, has about 126 active Airbnb listings. Since December 2024 the county requires a yearly short-term vacation rental certificate, and both Albany and the county charge an 8% hotel-motel tax on top of 9% sales tax.

2 town guides

Douglas County

Douglas County has about 150 listings, mostly around Douglasville. Douglasville requires a business license and limits whole-home rentals to 90 nights a year; we found no short-term rental section in the county code.

2 town guides

Fannin County

Fannin County is Georgia’s biggest cabin market, with well over 2,000 listings around Blue Ridge, Morganton, and Mineral Bluff. Outside Blue Ridge you need a county Accommodation Excise Tax Certificate ($225 a year) and pay the county’s 6% lodging tax; the City of Blue Ridge allows new rentals only downtown.

4 town guides

Fayette County

Fayette County’s rentals are mostly in Fayetteville and Peachtree City, which caps short-term rentals at 135 permits. Fayette has the lowest sales tax in metro Atlanta at 7%.

2 town guides

Floyd County

Floyd County’s market centers on Rome, home of Berry College, with about 180 Airbnb listings. We found no short-term rental permit in the Rome or Floyd County codes; Rome charges an 8% hotel-motel tax and the county 6% outside city limits.

2 town guides

Forsyth County

Unincorporated Forsyth County allows short-term rentals only on agricultural (A1 and Ag-Res) land with a conditional use permit and a $250 yearly license, which rules them out in most Lake Lanier neighborhoods. We found no rules in Cumming.

2 town guides

Franklin County

Franklin County’s rentals are mostly Lake Hartwell homes around Lavonia, about 85 listings. We didn’t find the county’s code online or any rental rules in Lavonia’s code; stays owe 7% sales tax and a 5% (county) or 8% (Lavonia) hotel-motel tax.

13 town guides

Fulton County

Fulton County is Georgia’s biggest rental market, led by the City of Atlanta with about 6,000 Airbnb listings. Almost all of the county is now inside cities, and most cities set their own rules: Atlanta licenses every rental, Sandy Springs requires the owner to live on site, and College Park bans short-term rentals.

2 town guides

Gilmer County

Gilmer County has more than 1,300 listings around Ellijay and Cherry Log. Outside the cities, every rental needs a county short-term rental host license and pays the county’s 8% hotel-motel tax; the City of Ellijay keeps rentals out of its R-1 residential zone.

3 town guides

Glynn County

Glynn County is the heart of the Golden Isles. St. Simons and Sea Island rentals need a county accommodation excise tax certificate, Brunswick has its own certificate, and Jekyll Island rentals are licensed by the Jekyll Island Authority. Stays pay 7% sales tax plus a hotel-motel tax.

1 town guides

Grady County

Grady County has a small rental market around Cairo, which requires city approval for every short-term rental. Stays owe 8% sales tax, and Cairo adds a 5% hotel-motel tax.

2 town guides

Greene County

Greene County, home to Reynolds Lake Oconee, allows short-term rentals outside its cities only in approved overlay districts, in grandfathered homes, or during the April 1–15 Masters window. Greensboro has about 54 listings.

11 town guides

Gwinnett County

Gwinnett has well over 1,000 short-term rentals. Unincorporated Gwinnett will require a yearly county license starting April 14, 2027, and Snellville, Lilburn, Norcross, Dacula, and Duluth already require permits; Peachtree Corners treats short-term rentals as a hotel use.

3 town guides

Habersham County

Habersham County has about 150 listings around Clarkesville and Demorest. We found no county short-term rental permit, but the county’s 5% hotel-motel tax covers short-term vacation rentals, and Clarkesville adopted its own ordinance in 2024.

3 town guides

Hall County

Hall County is a Lake Lanier rental market with about 260 Airbnb listings in Gainesville and more around the lake. The county licenses short-term rentals in all residential zones outside the cities, while Gainesville’s new development code allows them only in a few business and office zones.

2 town guides

Harris County

Harris County, home to Callaway Gardens and Lake Harding, allows short-term vacation rentals in its agricultural and residential districts if you give the county a local contact. Stays owe 8% sales tax and an 8% hotel-motel tax in the county and Pine Mountain.

2 town guides

Hart County

Hart County’s rentals are Lake Hartwell homes, about 110 listings around Hartwell. Outside the city, the county requires a $250 yearly license ($100 if you live there full time), due November 1, and allows rentals only in single-family homes.

5 town guides

Henry County

Henry County has about 200 listings around Stockbridge, McDonough, and Hampton, home of Atlanta Motor Speedway. Unincorporated Henry and Locust Grove require a short-term rental occupational tax certificate.

4 town guides

Houston County

Houston County has more than 200 Airbnb listings, mostly in Warner Robins and Perry. Since 2025 the county requires a short-term rental certificate and charges a 5% lodging tax in unincorporated areas, and Perry requires a city permit with a 1,000-foot spacing rule.

1 town guides

Jasper County

Jasper County closed its short-term rental market in 2024: licenses go only to homes that were rented short-term before July 10, 2023, and the total is capped at 30 and shrinks as licenses end. Monticello has about 18 listings.

1 town guides

Laurens County

Laurens County’s short-term rentals are mostly in Dublin. We found no short-term rental permits in the county or Dublin codes; stays owe 8% sales tax, and Dublin adds an 8% hotel-motel tax.

1 town guides

Lee County

Lee County, just north of Albany, requires a yearly short-term rental host license in its unincorporated areas. Stays owe 8% sales tax and the county’s 7% hotel-motel tax.

2 town guides

Liberty County

Liberty County has about 140 short-term rentals, mostly in Hinesville and Midway near Fort Stewart. We found no short-term rental permit in the Hinesville or Midway codes. Stays pay 9% sales tax plus a city or county hotel-motel tax.

1 town guides

Lincoln County

Lincoln County’s rentals are mostly lake homes on Clarks Hill Lake (Lake Thurmond). We found no county short-term rental permit; stays owe 9% sales tax and a 5% hotel-motel tax.

4 town guides

Lowndes County

Lowndes County is south Georgia’s biggest short-term rental market, led by Valdosta’s roughly 260 Airbnb listings. Valdosta held public workshops on short-term rental rules in April 2026 but we found no adopted permit yet. Valdosta and the county each charge a 7% hotel-motel tax.

2 town guides

Lumpkin County

Lumpkin County has about 340 listings around Dahlonega. Outside the city, the county requires a $100 yearly host license and an occupational tax certificate; the City of Dahlonega bans new rentals in its R-1 zone.

0 town guides

Macon-Bibb County

Macon-Bibb requires a yearly short-term vacation rental permit ($100) and a business license from the Tax Commissioner for any stay of 30 days or less. Since January 2026 it also charges a $3-a-night “Macon Tourism Tax” on top of the 8% hotel-motel tax.

2 town guides

McIntosh County

McIntosh County’s rentals are in Darien, Townsend, and the islands. Darien requires a yearly short-term rental business license; we found no county permit. Stays pay 8% sales tax plus a 5% hotel-motel tax.

3 town guides

Meriwether County

Meriwether County draws visitors to Warm Springs and F.D. Roosevelt State Park. Manchester requires a yearly short-term rental certificate; the county regulates only cabin developments of three or more units, and all three charge a 5% hotel-motel tax.

1 town guides

Monroe County

Monroe County draws visitors to High Falls State Park and Lake Juliette. We found no short-term rental permit in the county code; Forsyth charges a 7% hotel-motel tax, and the county has its own hotel-motel tax article.

2 town guides

Morgan County

Morgan County draws visitors to historic Madison and the north end of Lake Oconee. The county’s zoning ordinance was amended to prohibit rentals of fewer than 30 days, as described in a 2019 Georgia Supreme Court case, and Madison’s code treats short lodging under its bed and breakfast rules.

0 town guides

Muscogee County

Columbus requires a yearly short-term rental permit ($40) and a business license, with background checks for the owner and agent and the permit number on every ad. Rentals that aren’t owner-occupied are capped in ten historic districts, and stays owe 9% sales tax plus an 8% hotel-motel tax.

3 town guides

Newton County

Newton County has about 180 listings, mostly in Covington, which requires a yearly certificate and a two-night minimum. Porterdale also certifies rentals; we found no county short-term rental rules.

2 town guides

Oconee County

Oconee County, next to Athens, allows short-term rentals only when the owner lives on the property and is there overnight during every stay. Watkinsville has about 70 listings; the county adds a 6% hotel-motel tax outside city limits.

3 town guides

Paulding County

Paulding County has roughly 100 listings around Dallas and Hiram. Hiram requires a $75 permit and caps rentals at 90 nights a year; we found no county or Dallas rules.

3 town guides

Peach County

Peach County has a small short-term rental market around Fort Valley and Byron, close to Perry’s fairgrounds. We found no short-term rental permits in the county or city codes; stays owe 9% sales tax and a 5% or 6% hotel-motel tax.

2 town guides

Pickens County

Pickens County has about 300 listings around Jasper, Talking Rock, and Big Canoe. The county has no separate rental permit but requires a $100 county business license with a fire safety inspection form, and charges a 6% hotel-motel tax.

1 town guides

Pike County

Pike County requires a special use permit for vacation homes in every residential district, with up to four guest rooms and 10 overnight guests, two on-site parking spaces, and a property manager who responds within an hour. Stays owe 7% sales tax and the $5 state fee.

2 town guides

Putnam County

Putnam County has about 260 listings around Eatonton and Lakes Oconee and Sinclair. Since September 2023 the county caps short-term rental licenses at 350, bans new ones in its R-1R lake residential zone, and charges an 8% hotel-motel tax.

0 town guides

Quitman County

Georgetown-Quitman County is a unified government on Lake Walter F. George (Lake Eufaula), with about 36 Airbnb listings. Stays owe 8% sales tax; we found no short-term rental rules in its zoning, and DCA lists no local hotel-motel tax.

4 town guides

Rabun County

Rabun County’s rentals are lake houses and cabins around Lake Burton, Lake Rabun, Clayton, Tiger, and Sky Valley. The county licenses every rental, charges $50 per advertised guest per year, caps guests at 12, and allows new rentals only in certain zones.

2 town guides

Rockdale County

Rockdale County caps short-term rentals in unincorporated areas at 250 licenses, allowed only in A-R and R-1 zones, with a $300 license and fire inspection. Conyers has about 140 listings and no rules we could find.

2 town guides

Seminole County

Seminole County’s rentals are mostly fishing and lake homes on Lake Seminole near Donalsonville. Stays owe 8% sales tax; Donalsonville adds a 5% hotel-motel tax, and we found no county short-term rental rules.

2 town guides

Spalding County

Griffin requires a yearly short-term rental certificate ($100) and an occupational tax certificate, and charges an 8% hotel-motel tax that explicitly covers short-term rentals. We found no county permit; the county charges 8% outside city limits.

2 town guides

Stephens County

Stephens County has a modest market, about 85 listings around Toccoa, Martin, and the lakes. We found no short-term rental permit in the county or Toccoa codes; stays owe 7% sales tax and the county’s 5% or Toccoa’s 8% hotel-motel tax.

1 town guides

Sumter County

Sumter County’s rentals center on Americus and on visitors to Plains and Andersonville. Stays owe 8% sales tax, and Americus adds a 7% hotel-motel tax; we found no county short-term rental rules.

2 town guides

Thomas County

Thomas County has about 150 Airbnb listings, nearly all in Thomasville. We found no short-term rental permit in the city or county codes. Both charge an 8% hotel-motel tax.

2 town guides

Tift County

Tift County has a small Airbnb market, about 30 listings in Tifton. Tifton requires short-term rental owners to register with the city clerk for its 7% hotel-motel tax; the county charges 5% outside the city.

3 town guides

Towns County

Towns County has about 400 listings around Hiawassee, Young Harris, and Lake Chatuge. We found no short-term rental permit in the county code; the county’s 5% hotel-motel tax applies outside the cities, and Hiawassee charges 8%.

3 town guides

Troup County

Troup County is one of Georgia’s strictest: outside city limits, a short-term rental needs a special use permit, only 12 are issued a year, and non-owner-occupied homes can rent only 92 days a year. LaGrange caps new permits at five a year, and Hogansville allows rentals with a business license.

2 town guides

Union County

Union County has about 470 listings around Blairsville, Suches, and Lake Nottely. Outside Blairsville, the county requires a yearly STR license, caps licenses at 5% of the county’s homes and two per owner, and charges a 5% lodging tax.

2 town guides

Upson County

Thomaston treats short-term rentals like bed and breakfasts: the owner or an agent must live on the premises, stays are limited to seven days, and single-family zones need a special use from city council. Both the city and county charge a 5% hotel-motel tax.

4 town guides

Walker County

Walker County’s rentals sit on Lookout Mountain and near Chattanooga, in Rossville, Chickamauga, and around Rock City. The county has no rental permit, but Rossville and Chickamauga require certificates and the City of Lookout Mountain bans whole-home rentals.

4 town guides

Walton County

Walton County has about 85 listings in Monroe and Loganville. Monroe licenses short-term rentals with security-camera and parking rules, Social Circle allows only owner-occupied rentals, and the county allows them only as a conditional use in two zones with 7-day stays.

2 town guides

Ware County

Ware County has about 60 Airbnb listings around Waycross. We found no short-term rental permit in the city or county codes. Waycross charges a 5% hotel-motel tax; we found no county one.

1 town guides

Wayne County

Wayne County is a small rental market centered on Jesup, which requires a short-term rental tax certificate. Stays pay 8% sales tax plus an 8% hotel-motel tax.

3 town guides

White County

White County has about 900 listings around Helen, Sautee Nacoochee, and Cleveland. Outside the cities, the county caps host licenses at 650 and bars rentals in platted subdivisions unless the covenants allow them; Helen and Cleveland have their own rules.

2 town guides

Whitfield County

Whitfield County has a small market, about 60 listings in and around Dalton. We found no short-term rental rules in the county or Dalton codes; stays owe 7% sales tax and a 7% hotel-motel tax.

Sources

A plain-language summary to help you prepare, not legal advice. Rules and fees change; confirm with the office before you apply. Spot something out of date? Email hello@licensedrental.com.