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The Greater Louisville Hotel Lodging Association (GLHLA) has collected information regarding the transient tax and assembled it here for your convenience. This listing does not include every thing pertaining to transient taxes. GLHLA is not a qualified tax or legal advisor and does not represent itself to be.
 
  1. Why does the tax add up to both 7.5% and 7.95%?

  2. Isn't this a tax on a tax?

  3. Who gets the .6% collected as a part of the transient tax?

  4. Who is exempt from the transient tax in Jefferson County?

  5. Where do I file the transient tax?

  6. Is there a special tax form to submit the transient tax on?

  7. Who is the transient tax distributed to?

  8. Will part of the tax expire when the KICC bonds are paid off?

  9. When was the tax last increased?
 

1. Why does the tax add up to both 7.5% and 7.95%?
Jefferson County has levied a 7.5% tax on transient hotel rooms.  You will see the tax listed on most hotel bills as 7.95% because the hotel must collect the 6% sales tax on the 7.5%.  Since most hotel computers are set to calculate the tax on the total room revenue the computer will not include the sales tax on the Transient Tax.  To "trick" the computer into collecting the 6% on the transient tax, most hotels set the transient tax at 7.95%
2. Isn't this a tax on a tax?
No, the transient tax in the Commonwealth of Kentucky is a tax on the proprietor, not on the hotel guest.  Most hotels chose to list this tax as a separate entry on the hotel bill and not include the tax in the room rate.
3. Who gets the .6% collected as a part of the transient tax?
The .6% of the room rate collected as a part of the transient tax goes to the State Revenue Commission as a part of your collected sales taxes. Remember, the .6% is six percent sales tax on the transient tax. The commonwealth considers the transient tax part of the sales price of the room and the transient tax should be included in your total gross receipts.
4. Who is exempt from the transient tax in Jefferson County?
Only guests who stay for more than thirty days are exempt because the guest is no longer considered transient.  Not for profit organizations or tax exempt organizations are not exempt because the tax is not levied upon them.  The tax is levied upon the proprietor, who is NOT tax exempt.
5. Where do I file the transient tax?
The Louisville Jefferson County Metro Revenue Commission collects the transient tax, often referred to as the bed tax.  For information on the filing the tax, refer to the Louisville Jefferson County Revenue Commission at (502) 574-4860. 
6. Is there a special tax form to submit the transient tax on?
Yes, you can download a copy of the form from the Louisville Jefferson County Revenue Commission site at www.revenue.org.
7. Who is the transient tax distributed to?

The 7.5% transient tax is distributed as follows:

  • 4.5% of the tax goes to the Greater Louisville Visitors and Convention Bureau.
  • 2.0% of the tax goes to the Kentucky International Convention Center (KICC) to pay off bonds on the center.
  • 1.0% of the tax goes to the Kentucky Center for Performing Arts to supplement their operating income.
8. Will part of the tax expire when the KICC bonds are paid off?
Yes, the 2.0% of the tax that is distributed to KICC will expire when all bonds are paid off or 30 years, which ever comes first.
9. When was the tax last increased?

In 2005, the state legislature approved Governor Fletcher's plan to promote tourism state wide. The state budget for tourism and convention promotion had not been increased in over 10 years. Kentucky ranked far behind neighboring states. Secretary Jim Host proposed the tax to raise 7 million dollars to put Kentucky in the running with neighboring states. The tax can come back to the county generating the tax through a matching fund.

In 2002, the Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau and the GLHLA lobbied the state legislators to pass a statute allowing Jefferson County to increase its transient room tax.  Afterwards the Jefferson County Commissioners were asked to increase the tax levied to fund additional convention and tourism development.