What are the short-term rental rules and taxes in Savannah, GA?

Savannah hosts deal with three offices. The City of Savannah's Planning and Urban Design department issues the STVR certificate, the city's Revenue Department collects the hotel-motel tax and issues the business tax certificate, and the Georgia Department of Revenue collects sales tax and the state hotel-motel fee. Everything below comes from their own pages and Airbnb's and Vrbo's help pages.

Checked on Nov 5, 2026. This is what the official pages said that day, not legal or tax advice. Confirm with the city before you list.

Do you need a permit or registration

City STVR certificate

Yes. The city's STVR regulations page (opens in a new tab) defines a short-term vacation rental as renting an entire dwelling unit for 30 days or less. Renting one room in your own home is a bed and breakfast homestay, and 2 to 5 rooms is a bed and breakfast, each under its own rules.

The city's application page (opens in a new tab) says a certificate must be obtained before operating. The steps it lists:

1. Apply in the city's STVR registration portal.
2. Pay the fee by check or money order to the City of Savannah: $400 for a new application, $250 for the annual renewal, both non-refundable.
3. After approval, get a Business Tax Certificate from the Revenue Department and send a copy to Planning and Urban Design. The STVR certificate is issued after that.

The regulations page adds:

• Proof of insurance that names the property as an STVR, for new and renewing applications.
• An exemplar rental agreement, posted at the property.
• New applicants notify adjacent property owners before the first certificate is issued and send the city proof.
• Ads must include the certificate number and the exemplar rental agreement.
• Condos need a condo declaration that allows stays under 30 days, or doesn't prohibit them.
• Certificates can't be transferred to a new owner.
• Owners tell the city about a change of rental agent within five business days.

Neither page gives a renewal deadline or a processing time, so ask Planning and Urban Design when you apply.

Where STVRs are allowed, and the ward cap

The regulations page says STVRs are limited to the STVR Overlay District. Two more limits apply:

• 20% per ward in the historic districts. In the Savannah Downtown Historic District and the Victorian Historic District, non-owner-occupied STVRs are capped at 20% of each ward. The page lists 29 capped wards downtown and 14 in the Victorian district. Applicants for a capped ward can join a first-come, first-served waiting list.
• Grandfathering. Renewals of certificates issued before Sept 28, 2017 aren't denied for exceeding the cap, and a buyer who applies within six months of the title transfer isn't denied for it either. Every other new application is subject to the cap.
• Streetcar district. On TN-2 parcels in the Streetcar (formerly Mid-City) historic district, an STVR must be on a parcel with two or more units, one of them owner-occupied.

The cap counts only non-owner-occupied parcels. Owner-occupied means the main unit is the owner's primary residence and the units share one Chatham County parcel number.

Occupancy limits

The regulations page sets a maximum of 4 adults in a unit with two bedrooms or fewer, and 2 adults per bedroom with three or more bedrooms. The Zoning Administrator verifies bedrooms against building code. Guests must acknowledge the maximum occupancy and where on-site parking is, if there is any. For parking questions on newer operations the city issues a Zoning Confirmation Letter, $50.

Occupancy and sales taxes

The city's local and state taxes page (opens in a new tab) gives the 8% rate and the 7% sales tax. The DOR's state hotel-motel fee FAQ (opens in a new tab) sets the fee at $5 per night, says it covers short-term rentals managed through online marketplaces, and says it stops on the 31st day of a continuous stay.

On a $200 night with no other fees, that's $16 of city tax, $14 of sales tax and the $5 fee: $35, or $235 for the night.

What Airbnb and Vrbo collect for you there

Airbnb. Its Georgia tax article (opens in a new tab) lists 4% state sales tax and 2% to 5% local sales tax on stays of 89 nights or fewer, the $5 per night state fee for the first 30 days, and says "All locally imposed Occupancy Taxes will be collected on reservations in Georgia". It doesn't name Savannah.

Vrbo. Its US lodging tax list (opens in a new tab) shows Georgia state and local sales tax under 90 nights (since May 1, 2020), the state daily fee and local lodging tax (both since July 1, 2021). It doesn't name Savannah either.

The city's side. The city's tax page says STVRs remit the hotel-motel tax to its Revenue Department on a monthly return, and doesn't mention platforms. So keep filing the monthly return, and ask the Revenue Department how to report nights where Airbnb or Vrbo already paid the tax. Direct bookings are always yours to collect and pay.

Filing and registering for the taxes you must file yourself

From the city's tax page:

• City hotel-motel tax: a Hotel/Motel Tax Monthly Return to the Revenue Department, due by the 20th of the following month.
• State sales tax: register with the Georgia Department of Revenue for a sales tax number and file monthly, also due by the 20th. Payments over $500 must be made electronically.

The page doesn't list late penalties, so check them with each office.

Where to check for changes

• STVR regulations (opens in a new tab) and the application process (opens in a new tab), City of Savannah
• Local and state taxes (opens in a new tab), City of Savannah
• State hotel-motel fee FAQ (opens in a new tab), Georgia DOR
• Airbnb's Georgia tax article (opens in a new tab) and Vrbo's US lodging tax list (opens in a new tab)

Tybee Island, Thunderbolt and unincorporated Chatham County have their own rules, so this page doesn't apply there. For any city, our rules and taxes by city page shows where to look, and short-term rental taxes explains how the pieces fit. Post the house rules and occupancy limit with the house rules sign maker.