Edmonds, WA Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Lodging tax rate
- 2 percent of lodging charge, ECC 3.34.010
- Applies to
- hotels, motels, tourist courts, trailer camps
- Exempt
- stays of one month or more (presumed lease)
- Collected by
- Washington State Dept. of Revenue, as city's agent
- Revenue use
- tourism promotion fund, ECC 3.34.060
- Effective date
- August 1, 1978
Summary
Edmonds levies a 2 percent special excise tax on lodging sold by hotels, motels, tourist courts and trailer camps under ECC 3.34.010, collected by the Washington State Department of Revenue as the city's agent. Stays of one month or more are presumed a rental or lease and fall outside the tax. Revenue funds the city's tourism promotion fund.
There is hereby levied a special excise tax of two percent on the sale of or charge made for the furnishing of lodging by a hotel, tourist court, motel, trailer camp, and the granting of any similar license to use real property, as distinguished from the renting or leasing of real property; provided, however, that it shall be presumed that the occupancy of real property for a continuous period of one month or more constitutes a rental or lease 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 4444, passed August 3, 2026).
Full Breakdown
010 imposes a 2 percent special excise tax on the sale of or charge for furnishing lodging by a hotel, tourist court, motel, trailer camp, or any similar license to use real property, as distinguished from renting or leasing real property; the code presumes that occupancy for a continuous period of one month or longer is a rental or lease, not a license to use, so long-term stays are not taxed. The rate was set at 2 percent by Ordinance 4414 in 2025. 020. 080; the city council may also direct fund revenue toward a multijurisdictional tourism facility.
100, any proposal to raise the rate, repeal an exemption, or change how the revenue is used must go to the city's lodging tax advisory committee for review and public comment at least 45 days before the council acts on it. 090.
Violations & Fines
Failing to comply with Chapter 3.34 or a Department of Revenue rule adopted under it is a misdemeanor under ECC 3.34.070, punished as set out in ECC 5.50.020. Because the Department of Revenue collects the tax as the city's agent, unpaid lodging tax is enforced through the same delinquency and penalty procedures the state applies to its own retail sales tax.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Edmonds
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Transient Occupancy Tax in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Snohomish County handle transient occupancy tax.