Winterville, GA vacation rental requirements

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

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 →

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.

Decide which type you are

A home occupation STR is run by the owner-occupant (or a long-term tenant with the owner’s permission) and only one structure on the parcel can be rented. Any other rental is a commercial STR, allowed only where its zoning district permits it.Source

ACCGov short-term rentals →

Owner-occupied: apply for a home occupation permit

File the $20 application with two forms of ID showing primary residency, a notarized affidavit, a site plan showing the rental structure and on-site parking, and the Fire Marshal’s STR acknowledgement. No on-street parking by guests and no signs.Source

Commercial: submit through plans review

Commercial STRs go through Construction Plans Review. You must give neighbors within 300 feet your local contact’s name and phone, and tell guests the maximum occupancy, vehicles, and noise and parking rules. Tents, RVs, and accessory structures can’t add occupancy.Source

Taxes on each stay

Stays here owe 8% sales tax, the local hotel-motel tax, and the $5-a-night state fee. Airbnb collects all three on its bookings. For direct bookings, file sales tax (and the $5 fee, if you need a local license) with the Georgia Tax Center. Get a business occupation tax certificate. For direct bookings, pay the 7% hotel motel tax to Athens-Clarke County by the 20th of the next month.Source

Apply for the city license

Give the rental address, your contact information, and the number and location of parking spaces. Guests’ vehicles can’t exceed those spaces.Source

Know what can cost you the license

The mayor and council can deny or revoke a license for false information, unpaid taxes, too many vehicles, not responding to complaints, or a nuisance such as loud parties. A denied or revoked owner can’t reapply for 24 months.Source

Taxes on each stay

Stays here owe 8% sales tax, the local hotel-motel tax, and the $5-a-night state fee. Airbnb collects all three on its bookings. For direct bookings, file sales tax (and the $5 fee, if you need a local license) with the Georgia Tax Center. The DCA report lists no separate Winterville hotel-motel tax; ask the city whether Athens-Clarke County’s 7% applies here.Source