Clackamas County, OR Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate
- 6% of rent charged
- Covered stay length
- 30 consecutive days or less
- Exempt rent threshold
- under $15.01 per day
- Return due date
- 15th of following month
- Operator collection credit
- 5% of tax collected
- Enforcing office
- County Tax Administrator
- Original delinquency penalty
- 10% of tax due
Summary
Clackamas County taxes short stays: any hotel, motel, bed and breakfast, or short-term rental in the unincorporated county must collect a 6 percent room tax on rent charged for occupancy of 30 days or less. Operators register with the county Tax Administrator, collect the tax at checkout or each installment, and remit it monthly. Stays over 30 days and rent under $15.01 a night are exempt.
For the privilege of occupancy in any hotel, on and after the effective date of this chapter, each transient shall pay a tax in the amount of six percent (6%) of the rent charged by the operator. The tax constitutes a debt owed by the transient to the County, which is extinguished only by payment to the operator. The transient shall pay the tax to the operator of the hotel at the time the rent is paid. The operator shall enter the tax on the records when rent is collected if the operator keeps the records on the cash accounting basis, and when earned if the operator keeps the records on the accrual accounting basis. If rent is paid in installments, the transient shall pay a proportionate share of the tax to the operator with each installment.
Full Breakdown
Clackamas County Code Chapter 8.02 imposes a transient room tax on every 'hotel' in the unincorporated county, a term the code defines broadly to include any hotel, motel, inn, bed and breakfast, mobile home or trailer park space, condominium, tourist home, hostel, or similar structure occupied for lodging 30 days or less (8.02.010(E)). Under 8.02.020, each transient pays 6 percent of the rent charged by the operator, and the tax is a debt owed to the County until the operator collects it. Operators must register with the county Tax Administrator within 30 days of engaging in business (or 15 days for a new business) and receive a Certificate of Authority that must be posted where guests can see it (8.02.070).
Taxes collected in a month are due to the Tax Administrator by the 15th of the following month, with a monthly return detailing collections; operators may keep 5 percent of collections as a collection expense credit (8.02.080). Exemptions cover stays over 30 consecutive days, rent under $15.01 per day, incidental personal rentals of a private home or cabin, hospital or licensed care facility rooms, and federal government employees on official business (8.02.060). Net revenue funds the Clackamas County Fair and the nine-member Tourism Development Council under a Board-approved promotion plan (8.02.160).
Violations & Fines
Late remitters owe a 10 percent penalty on top of the tax; if the delinquency continues past 30 days, a second 15 percent penalty applies, and fraud or intentional evasion adds a 25 percent penalty, plus 1 percent monthly interest (8.02.090). Failing to register, filing a false return, or refusing to remit is a violation subject to a fine set by Board resolution (8.02.180), and the County can record a lien against the operator's personal property and force a public auction sale to collect (8.02.130).
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Airbnb and other short-term rentals owe the Clackamas County room tax?
What happens if an operator misses the monthly filing deadline?
Is there a minimum stay that avoids the tax?
Where does the room tax money go?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Clackamas County
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