Auburn, WA Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate
- 1% excise tax on lodging charges
- Collected by
- WA Dept. of Revenue as city agent
- Applies to
- hotels, motels, rooming houses, trailer camps
- Fund use
- tourism promotion and facilities only
- Penalty
- up to $5,000 fine, 1 year jail
- In effect since
- Ordinance 5561, adopted 2001
Summary
Auburn levies a 1% special excise tax on lodging charged by hotels, motels, rooming houses, tourist courts and trailer camps under ACC 3.58.010, layered on top of the state sales tax collected under Chapter 82.08 RCW. The Washington Department of Revenue collects it as the city's agent, and violators face fines up to $5,000 and a year in jail under ACC 3.58.060.
There is levied a special excise tax of one percent on the sale of or charge made for the furnishing of lodging that is subject to tax under Chapter 82.08 RCW. The tax imposed under Chapter 82.08 RCW applies to the sale of or charge made for the furnishing of lodging by a hotel, rooming house, tourist court, motel or trailer camp, and the granting of any similar license to use real property, as distinguished from the renting or leasing of real property. It shall be presumed that the occupancy of real property and not a mere license to use or enjoy the same.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 7023, passed July 6, 2026).
Full Breakdown
08 RCW, applying specifically to hotels, rooming houses, tourist courts, motels and trailer camps, plus 'the granting of any similar license to use real property, as distinguished from the renting or leasing of real property,' language broad enough to reach short-stay bookings structured as a license rather than a lease. 010. 08 RCW, so the levy does not layer a second full tax on the guest. 28 RCW. 32 RCW, including the Department's own rules, forms and reporting procedures. 070 to set administrative procedures needed to carry the chapter out. The tax has stood at 1% since Ordinance 5561 took effect in 2001.
Violations & Fines
ACC 3.58.060 makes it unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to violate or fail to comply with the lodging tax chapter. A violation is punishable by a fine of up to $5,000, imprisonment for up to one year, or both, and each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense, so unpaid or unreported lodging tax can compound daily until the operator files and remits through the Department of Revenue.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Auburn
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Transient Occupancy Tax in Nearby Cities
How other cities in King County handle transient occupancy tax.