Chelan County, WA Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Added county tax rate
- 2%
- Existing tax layered on
- 2% under RCW 67.28.180
- Discretionary share
- 20% of added revenue
- Tourism-advertising share
- 80% of added revenue
- Adopted
- Resolution 2005-102, 11/14/2005
- Advisory body
- Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (Ch. 6.28)
Summary
Chelan County imposes an additional two percent lodging tax under Chapter 6.30, layered on top of the existing two percent tax collected under RCW 67.28.180. Twenty percent of the added revenue is discretionary to the Board of County Commissioners, and eighty percent must fund tourism advertising outside the Pacific Northwest.
The board of commissioners imposes an additional two percent lodging tax (RCW 67.28.181) in addition to the present two percent imposed under Chapter 67.180 RCW. The revenue generated from this additional lodging tax will be allocated as follows: (1) Twenty percent of the additional revenue to be used at the discretion of the board of Chelan County commissioners. (2) Eighty percent of the additional revenue to be primarily utilized for television advertising targeted to visitors primarily outside of the Pacific Northwest.
Full Breakdown
180 RCW' on stays in unincorporated Chelan County. The Board of Chelan County Commissioners adopted the additional tax by Resolution 2005-102 on November 14, 2005. The revenue splits two ways: twenty percent goes to projects at the discretion of the Board, and eighty percent must be primarily used for television advertising targeted to visitors primarily outside of the Pacific Northwest, featuring the areas of the county that generated the tax. 020 governed the original hotel/motel tax from 2009 through 2018: fifteen percent went to the city of Wenatchee, capped at $65,000 per year, toward Convention Center bond repayment; thirty-five percent each went to the Leavenworth and Lake Chelan Chambers; ten percent went to the Cascade Loop; and the remaining five percent stayed at Board discretion, per Resolution 2008-124.
28 includes two lodging-business representatives, two people involved in tax-funded activities, and one nonvoting elected county official as chair, reviewing how lodging tax revenue is spent.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 6.30 sets a tax obligation on lodging operators rather than a criminal penalty of its own; collection and enforcement of the underlying state lodging tax run through the Washington State Department of Revenue under Chapters 67.28 and 82.14 RCW. Chelan County directs how its own two-percent share is spent through Resolution 2005-102 and reviews spending through the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee created by Chapter 6.28.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Chelan County
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