Walla Walla County, WA Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)

Chapter 3.15, the county's Lodging Tax chapter, imposes a special excise tax under Section 3.15.010 on the sale of or charge for furnishing lodging by a hotel, rooming house, tourist court, motel, or trailer camp, as well as any similar arrangement granting a license to use real property rather than a lease. Section 3.15.030 sets the rate at four percent, on top of any other county tax, with the first two percent credited against what the seller would otherwise owe the state Department of Revenue under Chapter 82.08 RCW. Guests who occupy a property continuously for a month or more are presumed to be renting or leasing rather than staying under a taxable lodging license, so long-term stays fall outside the tax.

Under Section 3.15.040, the county credits any city or town lodging tax against its own tax on the same taxable event, so a guest staying inside Walla Walla, College Place, Waitsburg, or Prescott is not double-taxed by both the city and the county. Proceeds go into a special fund the county treasurer administers under Section 3.15.050, restricted to tourism promotion and the acquisition or operation of tourism-related facilities as authorized by Chapter 67.28 RCW. The Washington Department of Revenue administers and collects the tax on the county's behalf under Section 3.15.060, receiving no separate reimbursement for that work.