The Memphis TID tax is a flat $2.00 charge added to each paid occupied hotel room per night inside Memphis city limits. It’s set by city ordinance, not calculated as a percentage of your room rate, and the money is dedicated to marketing Memphis as a travel destination.1Memphis City Council. Memphis Tourism Improvement District Renewal Ordinance TID stands for Tourism Improvement District.
How the Charge Shows Up on Your Hotel Bill
Two dollars per night. That’s it, whether the room was $89 or $389. Every other lodging tax in Memphis is a percentage of the room rate, so the TID is the one line that doesn’t scale with what you paid for the room.
Technically, the assessment is levied on the hotel rather than the guest. Hotels are allowed to pass it through, and in practice essentially all of them do. When they pass it along, they have to disclose it in advance and list it on the bill as the “Memphis TID assessment.” If you’re scanning a folio and see that phrase, that’s what it is.
Where the TID Fits With Memphis’s Other Hotel Taxes
A Memphis hotel bill typically carries state sales tax, local option sales tax, the city hotel-motel tax, and the Shelby County hotel-motel tax. Together those percentage-based charges come to roughly 18.25% of the room rate. The $2.00 TID sits on top of that.
On a $200 room, the percentage taxes work out to about $36.50 and the TID adds another $2.00, for roughly $38.50 in total lodging charges beyond the rate itself. The TID is a small slice of the total, but it’s the only piece that funds a specific program rather than flowing to general government revenue.
When You Don’t Have to Pay It
Stays longer than 30 consecutive days are exempt. If you end up living in a Memphis hotel for more than 30 continuous days, the city’s tax forms specifically provide for a refund on nights beyond that threshold.2City of Memphis. Short Term Room Occupancy Tax Form Comped rooms, where no rent is charged, also fall outside the assessment, because the $2.00 applies only to paid occupied room nights.
Government travel is more nuanced. Federal and state employees traveling on official business may qualify for exemptions from certain Tennessee lodging taxes when they present a Tennessee Department of Revenue Government Certificate of Exemption. The TID operates under its own city ordinance, though, and may not be covered by every blanket exemption certificate. If you’re traveling on orders, check with the front desk whether the TID line is being removed along with the state taxes, since a general exemption form doesn’t automatically wipe it out.
What the Money Funds
TID revenue is dedicated to destination marketing intended to increase hotel room sales across Memphis.1Memphis City Council. Memphis Tourism Improvement District Renewal Ordinance The money can’t be diverted into the city’s general fund or spent on unrelated projects. The district was originally established effective January 1, 2016, and the current authorization runs through December 31, 2035.
The Metropolitan Memphis Hotel and Lodging Association backed the district’s creation, so this is a program the hotel industry itself pushed for rather than one imposed over its objection.
Not the Same as the Other Memphis Hotel Fees
Two other Memphis programs get confused with the TID. They’re separate:
- The Tourism Development Zone (TDZ) surcharge lets specific hotel developers collect up to 5% on room stays and on-site purchases to fund improvements at their own properties. It’s percentage-based and property-specific.
- The Convention Center Hotel Surcharge District, created by Ordinance No. 5841 in late 2022, is tied to convention center operations and has its own rules.
Each program has its own legal authority, rate, and purpose. If you see multiple unfamiliar line items on a Memphis hotel bill, they may be different charges rather than duplicates. Only the flat $2.00 line labeled “Memphis TID assessment” is the TID.
If You Run a Memphis Hotel
Operators collect the $2.00 per paid occupied room night, itemize it on guest bills as the “Memphis TID assessment” when passing it through, and remit monthly to the City of Memphis Treasury Office. The return is due on the 20th of each month for the prior month’s collections, and a return has to be filed even in months with no assessment due.2City of Memphis. Short Term Room Occupancy Tax Form
Late payments carry interest of 10% per year from the due date, plus a penalty of 1% for each month or partial month the payment remains unpaid.3City of Memphis. Hotel/Motel Occupancy Tax Form Those charges become part of the tax obligation, so they keep growing until the balance is settled. For a property collecting several thousand dollars in TID each month, even a short lapse builds real exposure. Building the remittance into your monthly close is the simplest defense.