Sun Prairie, WI Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate
- 7% of gross room receipts
- Enforcing office
- City treasurer
- Filing frequency
- Quarterly, due end of following month
- Late filing forfeiture
- 25% of prior year's tax or $5,000
- Tourism commission share
- 70% of tax collected
- Governing section
- § 3.20.020
Summary
Sun Prairie charges a 7 percent room tax on every hotel, motel, bed and breakfast, or short-term lodging stay under one month, collected by the city treasurer each calendar quarter. The tax applies to any accommodation rented to a "transient," defined as a guest staying less than 30 continuous days, so short-term rentals fall inside the tax base.
"Transient" means any person residing for a continuous period of less than one month in a hotel, motel, or other furnished, accommodations available to the public. ... Pursuant to Section 66.75, Wisconsin Statutes, a tax is imposed on the privilege and services of furnishing, at retail, or rooms or lodging to transients by hotel keepers, motel operators and other persons furnishing accommodations that are available to the public, irrespective of whether membership is required for the use of the accommodations. Such tax shall be at the rate of seven percent of the gross receipts from such retail furnishing of rooms or lodgings.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 71).
Full Breakdown
020, the city imposes a tax "on the privilege and services of furnishing, at retail, or rooms or lodging to transients by hotel keepers, motel operators and other persons furnishing accommodations that are available to the public," at a rate of seven percent of gross receipts. 010 defines "hotel or motel" broadly to include inns, motels, tourist homes, bed and breakfast establishments, lodging houses, and any other building where accommodations are available to the public, but excludes stays rented for more than one continuous month and lodging furnished by hospitals or qualifying nonprofit organizations.
A "transient" is any person residing for a continuous period of less than one month, which sweeps short-term rental stays into the tax. 030: operators file a quarterly return showing gross receipts and tax due by the last day of the month following each calendar quarter, and elect either a calendar-year or fiscal-year annual reconciliation return due within 90 days of the year's close. 150 to market Sun Prairie as an "overnight stay" destination. The chapter was substantially rewritten by Ord. No. 939, effective December 19, 2023.
Violations & Fines
Failing to file a quarterly return or pay the tax on time triggers a forfeiture of 25 percent of the prior year's room tax or $5,000, whichever is less, under § 3.20.070, plus 12 percent annual interest on unpaid tax. Filing a false or fraudulent return to evade the tax adds a 50 percent penalty under § 3.20.090, and any other violation, including refusing an audit, carries a forfeiture up to $250 per day under § 3.20.130.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the room tax apply to short-term rentals in Sun Prairie?
Who collects and remits the Sun Prairie room tax?
What happens if a lodging operator does not pay the room tax on time?
Where does the Sun Prairie room tax money go?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sun Prairie
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Transient Occupancy Tax in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Dane County handle transient occupancy tax.