Rental Rules by City / Tennessee / Gatlinburg

Gatlinburg short-term rental rules & tax calculator

Sevier County, Tennessee · Verified against official sources Oct 24, 2026

📋 The Basics

Can I rent my place short-term here?: Yes, with a license or tax registration
Do I need a permit?: Yes. You need city and county business licenses and a Tourist Residency Permit.
What taxes do I pay?: Total about 12.75%. Airbnb collects some; you pay the 1.25% city gross receipts tax yourself.

Your 3 steps to be legal

Get city and Sevier County business licenses and a Tennessee tax ID.
Get the city Tourist Residency Permit.
File the 1.25% gross receipts tax every month.

⚠️ Biggest risk: Forgetting the gross receipts tax, which platforms do not pay.

Words confusing? See the glossary. Details and official sources are below.

Tax calculator

Nightly rate ($) Nights Cleaning fee ($)

Rates used: TN state + local sales tax 9.75% + City of Gatlinburg hotel/motel tax 3% = 12.75%. Mandatory cleaning fees are included in the taxable total. 12.75% to the guest per the City. Sevier County's 3% lodging tax applies only outside city limits. Owners also pay a 1.25% city gross receipts tax (not added to the guest).

What Airbnb collects: Per the City, platforms collect the sales and hotel/motel taxes but not the 1.25% gross receipts tax: file that yourself.

This is the general rule for Gatlinburg. Does your address qualify?

The free info covers the city as a whole. Your property can still be different: zoning can change from one street to the next, and an HOA or condo ban can stop rentals even where the city allows them.

Your $49 Compliance Check looks at your exact property:

Whether your exact address and zone allow short-term rentals
A check of HOA / condo rental restrictions to look for
Which permits and tax accounts you personally need
What you're missing right now
A personal report with clear next steps and official sources, by email
A refund if we report a rule in error (refund policy)

🔎 How we check: official city, county and state sources, a last-verified date on every page, and nothing guessed. Learn more

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Rules don't change every week, but they do change, and nobody emails you when they do. We'll alert you when city rules, tourist taxes, HOA-related laws, or Airbnb/Vrbo policies change in Gatlinburg. Cancel anytime.

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Need guest waivers and booking tools too? Click here for more info

Why use this instead of a web search?

Instead of scattered, sometimes outdated pages, you get the city, county and state rules on one page, with official sources linked, a last-checked date, and unconfirmed items marked "verify" instead of guessed. How we verify →

Advanced details (laws, fees, sources)

Rules

Licenses	City business license and Sevier County business license ($15 application each), plus a Tennessee Department of Revenue tax ID.
Tourist Residency Permit	Required from the City of Gatlinburg Planning department.
Gross receipts tax	1.25% of gross sales, due the 20th monthly; platforms will NOT pay this for you.
Renewal	Business license renews yearly with the State of Tennessee.

Items marked "Verify with the city" could not be confirmed from an official source; call the office listed before relying on them.

Sources

Free tools

Free "Is my rental legal?" checklist · Free tourist tax calculator

Rules can change

Gatlinburg's rules, its tax rates and platform policies can change through a council vote, a new state law or a court ruling, often with little notice to hosts. We re-check this page monthly; subscribers get notified. Stay Compliant for $4.99/mo.

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Rules, tax rates and Airbnb/Vrbo policies can change without warning, and hosts who miss a change can be fined. Get alerts when your city, county or state changes, deadline reminders, a pending-bill watch list and a monthly host brief (even in quiet months: "we checked on [date]; no changes"). Compare plans.

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Not legal or tax advice. Last verified Oct 24, 2026. Rules and rates change: confirm with the official sources linked before you rent or file.