Tennessee § 7-4-104 - When tax collected and remitted — Compensation to operator for administrative expenses.

§ 7-4-104. When tax collected and remitted — Compensation to operator for administrative expenses.

The tax levied by this chapter shall be remitted by all operators who lease, rent, or charge for any rooms to the metropolitan department of finance not later than the twentieth of each month next following collection from the transient. The operator is hereby required to collect the tax from the transient at the time of the presentation of the invoice for the occupancy whether prior to occupancy or not, as may be the custom of the operator; the obligation to the metropolitan government entitled to such tax shall be that of the operator. For the purpose of compensating the operator in accounting for and remitting the tax levied by this chapter, the operator shall be allowed two percent (2%) of the amount of tax due and accounted for and remitted to the tax collection official in the form of a deduction in submitting the operator's report and paying the amount due by the operator; provided, that the amount due was not delinquent at the time of payment. Acts 1976, ch. 704, § 4; T.C.A., § 6-3729; Acts 1994, ch. 758, § 5. Attorney General Opinions. Sales tax is due on short-term rentals of homes, apartments, and rooms in Tennessee that are arranged through websites. These rentals qualify as “hotels” subject to a hotel occupancy privilege tax. The property owner is ultimately responsible for collecting and paying the taxes. OAG 15-78, 2015 Tenn. AG LEXIS 79 (12/1/2015).