Grant County, WA Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate
- 4% special excise tax on lodging charges
- Authority
- GCC Chapter 3.68, under RCW 67.28
- Collector
- Washington Department of Revenue
- Exemption
- Stays of one month or more presumed a lease
- Effective date
- February 1, 1999
- Revenue use
- Tourism activities fund (GCC 3.68.050)
Summary
Unincorporated Grant County levies a 4 percent special excise tax on lodging under GCC 3.68.030, reaching hotels, motels, tourist courts, trailer camps and any similar short-term license to occupy real property. A stay of a month or more is presumed a lease, not a taxable license, so long-term renters and month-to-month tenants fall outside the tax. The Washington Department of Revenue collects it at no cost to the county.
3.68.030 - Imposition of special excise tax. There is levied a special excise tax of four 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, in all sections of the incorporated and unincorporated sections of the county. Provided: that a credit shall be allowed against this levy or tax for the full amount of any city tax imposed pursuant to Chapter 67.28 RCW. 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. ... 3.68.100 - Effective date of tax. The effective date of the lodging tax herein imposed shall be February 1, 1999.
Full Breakdown
08 RCW. The tax reaches every guest transaction that functions like a hotel stay, a hotel, rooming house, tourist court, motel or trailer camp, and it extends to the granting of any similar license to use real property, as distinguished from the renting or leasing of real property. That phrase is what pulls short-term rentals into the tax alongside traditional hotels: a nightly booking is a license to use, not a lease, and is taxed the same as a motel room. The exemption runs the other way.
030 presumes that occupancy for a continuous period of one month or more is a rental or lease rather than a license, so long-term corporate housing and month-to-month stays are outside the levy. Guests who already paid a city lodging tax inside an incorporated city get a full credit against the county tax under the same section, so the two levies never stack. 100, is February 1, 1999. 050, restricted to tourism promotion and tourism-related facilities.
Violations & Fines
Grant County does not print a separate lodging-tax penalty schedule; instead GCC 3.68.060 folds the tax into the state's own enforcement machinery, adopting the administrative provisions of RCW 82.08.050 through .070 and Chapter 82.32 RCW for administration and collection. A lodging operator that under-collects or fails to remit is chased by the Department of Revenue under those same statutes, not a county-specific fine.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Grant County's lodging tax apply to short-term rental stays in the unincorporated county?
What is the lodging tax rate in unincorporated Grant County?
Who collects Grant County's lodging tax?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Grant County
Compare Grant County to another location·View the Washington hotels & lodging overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.