Wausau, WI Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Room tax rate
- 8% of gross receipts
- Statutory authority
- Wis. Stat. § 66.0615
- Permit issuer
- Wausau City Clerk
- Return due date
- Last day of following month
- Collection allowance
- 1% retained by operator
- No-permit penalty
- Up to $200 per violation
- Unpaid-tax interest
- 12% per annum
Summary
Wausau taxes hotel and motel rooms rented to transients at 8% of gross receipts under Wausau Municipal Code § 3.25.020, adopted under Wis. Stat. § 66.0615. Every hotelkeeper or motel operator in the city must hold a City Clerk permit for each location and remit the tax monthly to the City Treasurer.
Hotel or motel means a building or group of buildings in which the public may obtain accommodations for a consideration, including, without limitation, such establishments as inns, motels, tourist homes, tourist houses or courts, lodging houses, rooming houses, summer camps, apartment hotels, resort lodges and cabins, and any other building or group of buildings in which accommodations are available to the public, except accommodations rented for a continuous period of more than one month ... (a)Pursuant to section 66.0615, a tax is imposed on the privilege and service of furnishing, at retail, of rooms or lodging to transients by hotelkeepers, 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 eight percent of the gross receipts from such retail furnishings of rooms or lodging.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 12 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
010 defines a taxable "hotel or motel" broadly, covering inns, motels, tourist courts, rooming houses, summer camps and any other building offering public accommodations, but excludes stays rented for more than one continuous month and lodging run by hospitals, nursing homes or nonprofit religious, charitable or educational corporations. 020 sets the room tax at 8% of gross receipts from furnishing rooms to transients, with an exemption for rooms billed directly to federal, state or local government entities holding tax-exempt certificates. 010(a) and, if the Clerk requires it to protect city revenue, posting security of up to $1,000. 030(a)). 035).
Violations & Fines
Furnishing rooms without the § 3.25.040 permit draws a forfeiture of up to $200 per violation, with each room and each day counted separately, plus injunctive relief to stop the business. Failing to file a return, pay the tax, or allow inspection of records carries a forfeiture up to $250 per day (§ 3.25.120). Unpaid tax accrues 12% annual interest (§ 3.25.090), and a late return draws a 25%-of-prior-year (or $5,000, whichever is less) penalty plus a $25 late fee (§§ 3.25.080(b), 3.25.100).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Wausau's hotel room tax rate?
Do Wausau hotels need a City permit to collect room tax?
What happens if a Wausau hotel pays its room tax late?
Who decides how Wausau spends its room tax money?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Wausau
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Transient Occupancy Tax in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Marathon County handle transient occupancy tax.