Shawnee County, KS Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Base tax rate
- 6% of gross lodging receipts
- Extra levy
- Additional 1% for Sunflower Soccer Complex bonds
- Coverage area
- Unincorporated Shawnee County only, not Topeka
- Guest cutoff
- 28 consecutive days or fewer
- Filing deadline
- Due monthly by the 25th
- Administered by
- Kansas Department of Revenue, not the county
- Adopted
- Charter Resolution No. 2005-1 (2005)
Summary
Hotels, motels, and tourist courts in unincorporated Shawnee County collect a six percent transient guest tax on gross lodging receipts, plus an extra one percent earmarked for Sunflower Soccer Association Complex bond debt. The tax applies to guests staying 28 consecutive days or less and is remitted monthly to the Kansas Department of Revenue under Shawnee County Code Sec. 16-76.
Transient guest means a person who occupies a room in a hotel, motel, or tourist court for not more than 28 consecutive days. ... A transient guest tax of six percent shall be levied upon the gross rental receipts derived from or paid by transient guests for lodging or sleeping accommodations, exclusive of charges for incidental services or facilities, in any hotel, motel, or tourist court. An additional tax of one percent shall be levied to help fund infrastructure improvements to the Sunflower Soccer Association Complex until the debt service for the bonds has been paid in full.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 1).
Full Breakdown
Shawnee County Code Sec. 16-76(b), adopted by Charter Resolution No. " The tax reaches only businesses "located in the unincorporated area of the county" (Sec. 16-75); properties inside Topeka or another incorporated city fall under that city's own transient guest tax instead. A "transient guest" is anyone renting a room for 28 consecutive days or less, and a covered hotel, motel, or tourist court must have more than two bedrooms furnished for guests and be held out to the public for pay. Businesses collect the tax from guests and remit it monthly to the Kansas secretary of revenue by the 25th of the following month, optionally on the same schedule as the Kansas Retailers' Sales Tax Act if the state approves.
A. and 12-16,101, when it enacted its own local rate. Collected revenue goes into the county general fund for convention and tourism promotion, operation of county tourism facilities, sheriff, public works, and parks and recreation costs tied to tourism functions, new tourism projects, and general economic development. A. 19-101a(11) and Sec. A. 12-1774 once that city certifies the bonds and requests payment.
Violations & Fines
A business that fails to pay the tax, fails to file a return, withholds records needed to verify a return, or files a false or fraudulent return is subject to interest and penalties under K.S.A. 12-1698a, administered by the Kansas Department of Revenue rather than the county (Sec. 16-76(g)-(h)). The secretary of revenue may inspect a business's gross rental receipt records at any reasonable time during business hours to confirm compliance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Shawnee County's hotel tax apply inside Topeka?
How much is the total transient guest tax rate in unincorporated Shawnee County?
Who collects and enforces the tax?
What can the tax revenue be used for?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Shawnee County
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