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Hotel And Lodging Tax In Missouri 2026: TOT Rates By City
Missouri's local hotel taxes almost never take effect without a public vote, and Kansas City layers a flat per-room fee on top of its percentage tax, a combination few states use.
August 28, 2026
8
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TL;DR
- Missouri's local lodging tax is usually called a transient guest tax or hotel/motel tax, layered on top of the state's 4.225% sales tax
- "Hotel tax," "lodging tax," "occupancy tax," and "bed tax" all describe the same charge on Missouri short-term stays
- Almost every Missouri local transient guest tax requires voter approval at a general, primary, or special election before it can take effect
- Several of these local taxes carry sunset clauses and must go back to voters for renewal years later
- The exemption threshold is 30 consecutive days, matching Missouri's statutory definition of a "transient guest"
- Kansas City charges a 7.5% Convention and Tourism Tax plus a flat $3.00-per-room, per-night Arena Fee on top of it
- St. Louis city and county both split their hotel tax into two separately named components with different uses
- Filing frequency for state-administered guest taxes depends on how much a business collects per month, not a fixed statewide default
How Missouri's Hotel and Lodging Tax Works
Missouri applies its 4.225% state sales tax to every short-term room rental, then lets individual cities and counties layer a transient guest tax or hotel/motel tax on top, but only if voters approve it first. Unlike states where a city council can simply vote a lodging tax into place on its own, most Missouri statutes authorizing these taxes, spread across RSMo Chapter 94 and Chapter 67, require the governing body to submit the tax to voters at a general, primary, or special election before it becomes effective.
Once approved, the tax generally takes effect on the first day of the second calendar quarter following the election, not immediately. Different statutes cap the rate differently depending on the city's classification and population, commonly 5% or 6%, and a Missouri city can end up governed by more than one of these chapters depending on its size and history.
Tax Rates and Extra Fees
Missouri has no single statewide hotel-specific tax rate beyond the general 4.225% sales tax. Everything above that is local and voter-approved. The table below covers eight of Missouri's largest lodging markets.
| City / county | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas City | 7.5% Convention and Tourism Tax + $3.00 per room, per night Arena Fee | Voters extended the tax to short-term rentals and raised the flat fee in 2023 |
| St. Louis (city) | 3.5% Convention and Sports Tax + 3.75% Convention and Tourism Tax = 7.25% total | The two taxes are tracked separately; one funds stadium facilities, the other funds tourism marketing |
| St. Louis County | 3.5% Convention and Sports Tax + 3.75% Convention and Tourism Tax = 7.25% total | Mirrors the city's split-purpose structure under a separate county ordinance |
| Springfield | 5% hotel/motel tax on gross rental receipts | Applies to hotels, motels, and tourist courts |
| Columbia | 5% lodging tax | Split 3% for the CVB, 1% for a grant program, 1% for the regional airport terminal |
| Jefferson City | 7% lodging tax | Split 3% for the CVB, 4% for a downtown conference center; renewed by voters in November 2025 |
| Branson | 4% city tourism tax + 1% Tourism Community Enhancement District sales tax | District tax also applies across parts of Taney and Stone counties and periodically returns to voters for renewal |
| Statewide baseline (any city without a local guest tax) | 4.225% state sales tax only | No local transient guest tax has been adopted, or one lapsed after a failed renewal vote |
Collection and Remittance
Missouri hotel tax runs on two separate tracks. The state's 4.225% sales tax, plus any DOR-administered local guest tax, follows the state's own filing schedule: businesses that collect more than $500 in tax per month generally file monthly, while smaller collectors file quarterly, with quarterly returns due by the last day of the month following the quarter's end.
Several major cities, including Kansas City, St. Louis, Columbia, and Jefferson City, administer their hotel or tourism tax directly through the city's own finance department rather than through the Department of Revenue, using a city-specific return that is separate from anything filed with the state.
Exemptions From Missouri's Hotel Tax
Missouri's transient guest and hotel taxes apply only to a "transient guest," statutorily defined as someone who occupies a room in a hotel, motel, campground, or tourist court for 30 consecutive days or less. Once a stay reaches 30 consecutive days, it falls outside that definition and the tax no longer applies.
A guest paying with a valid Missouri sales tax exemption letter, the kind issued to qualifying nonprofit and government entities, can also be exempt from the state and local tax on that stay, provided the operator keeps the exemption documentation on file.
Common Mistakes Hotels Make With TOT Compliance
- Assuming a posted local hotel tax is automatically valid. Missouri law generally requires the tax to have passed a public vote; a tax a city council adopted without one isn't legally in effect no matter what the ordinance says.
- Missing a tax's renewal vote. Taxes like Branson's tourism tax and Jefferson City's lodging tax carry sunset clauses and have to go back to voters periodically, so a property can end up over-collecting or under-collecting around a renewal date.
- Treating Kansas City's Arena Fee as part of the percentage tax. It's a separate flat $3.00 per-room, per-night charge on top of the 7.5% Convention and Tourism Tax, not a percentage, so it needs its own line item and its own math.
- Filing city and state guest tax obligations as a single return. Kansas City, St. Louis, Columbia, and Jefferson City each administer their own hotel tax return separately from anything filed with the Department of Revenue.
- Applying the same filing schedule to every Missouri property. Whether a DOR-administered filing is monthly or quarterly depends on how much tax that specific location collects per month, not a fixed statewide default.
- Overlooking that one posted rate can be two separate taxes underneath. St. Louis's Convention and Sports Tax and Convention and Tourism Tax are remitted as distinct line items even though guests see a single combined rate.
Where A PMS Fits Into TOT Compliance
A property management system built for Missouri's structure needs to track more than a percentage: it has to separate flat per-night fees like Kansas City's Arena Fee from percentage-based taxes, keep city-administered filings apart from state ones, and flag when a local tax's voter-approved authorization is up for renewal so a property doesn't get caught collecting a tax that quietly lapsed, or stop collecting one voters just extended.
See how roommaster simplifies multi-property tax reporting.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Does Missouri have a statewide hotel tax rate?
No. Missouri applies its general 4.225% state sales tax to short-term lodging statewide, but there is no separate statewide hotel-specific tax. Any additional lodging tax is local, adopted city by city or county by county, and almost always requires voter approval first.
2. What is Missouri's hotel tax?
Missouri's hotel tax is typically called a transient guest tax or hotel/motel tax, authorized under various sections of RSMo Chapter 94 and Chapter 67. It's layered on top of the state's 4.225% sales tax and, in most cities, cannot take effect until voters approve it at an election.
3. What is Missouri's lodging tax?
"Lodging tax" is another name for the same charge as Missouri's hotel tax, occupancy tax, or bed tax, referring to the combination of the state sales tax and any voter-approved local transient guest tax that applies to short-term stays.
4. How long does a guest have to stay before they're exempt from Missouri's hotel tax?
30 consecutive days. Missouri statutes define a taxable "transient guest" as someone occupying a room for 30 consecutive days or less, so a stay that reaches the 30-day mark falls outside the definition and is no longer subject to the tax.
5. Does Missouri require hotels to disclose all fees upfront?
Missouri does not have a lodging-specific, all-in pricing law requiring hotels to disclose a single combined nightly rate before booking. Cities that charge a separate flat fee, such as Kansas City's per-room Arena Fee, do not have to fold it into an advertised rate under state law.
6. Who is responsible for filing Missouri's hotel tax?
The hotel, motel, or short-term rental operator collecting payment is responsible for remitting the tax. Depending on the location, that can mean a state filing with the Department of Revenue, a separate city-administered return, or both, since several major Missouri cities run their own hotel tax filings independent of the state.
7. Why do Missouri voters have to approve a city's hotel tax?
Because most of the state statutes that authorize local transient guest and hotel/motel taxes, including RSMo 94.271, 94.830, and 94.838, specifically require the governing body to refer the tax to voters at a general, primary, or special election before it can take effect, and some of those authorizations expire and need to be put back on the ballot for renewal.
