Kirkland, WA Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate
- 1% of lodging charge
- Collecting agent
- WA Dept. of Revenue
- Exemption
- Homeless shelter voucher stays
- Presumed taxable stay
- Under one month
- Violation penalty
- Gross misdemeanor, per day
Summary
Kirkland levies a one percent lodging excise tax on charges for hotel, motel, rooming house, tourist court, and trailer camp stays under KMC 5.19.010, collected by the state Department of Revenue as the city's agent and credited against state sales tax.
There is hereby levied a lodging excise tax of one percent, collection of which shall begin as soon as possible pursuant to State Department of Revenue requirements, but not later than January 1, 2002, upon the sale of or charge made for the furnishing of lodging by a hotel, rooming house, 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.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 4945, passed July 21, 2026).
Full Breakdown
010 imposes a lodging excise tax of one percent on the sale of or charge for furnishing lodging by a hotel, rooming house, tourist court, motel, trailer camp, or any similar license to use real property, as distinguished from renting or leasing real property. 020(a) presumes that occupancy for a continuous period of one month or more is a rental or lease, not a taxable license to use, so stays under thirty days fall inside the tax. 020(b): emergency lodging for homeless persons under a shelter voucher program run by a city, town, or county, or by groups providing emergency food and shelter services, is not taxed.
08 on the same lodging sale, and the city may credit tax collected against a county tax on the same transaction if the county's own ordinance allows it. 060 and administers the tax under its own adopted rules. 28. 070 to enforce payment, collection, and remittance, including record inspection, and those rules are on file for public review in that office.
Violations & Fines
Failing or refusing to comply with the finance director's collection rules, or otherwise violating this chapter, is unlawful under KMC 5.19.070 and 5.19.090. A conviction is a gross misdemeanor, and each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense. Anyone who directly or indirectly performs, omits, aids, abets, or induces another to violate the chapter is treated as a principal under KMC 5.19.080 and may be prosecuted as such.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Kirkland's hotel lodging tax rate?
Does the lodging tax apply to short-term rentals?
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What happens if a lodging operator does not pay the tax?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kirkland
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Transient Occupancy Tax in Nearby Cities
How other cities in King County handle transient occupancy tax.