A short-term stay in Kanawha County owes West Virginia's 6% consumers sales tax plus a 6% hotel occupancy tax, levied by the county in unincorporated areas and by Charleston and other cities within their limits.
Two layers of tax apply to stays under 30 days. First, West Virginia's 6% consumers sales and use tax applies to the rental. Second, a 6% hotel occupancy tax is owed under W. Va. Code §7-18-1, which lets any county or municipality tax hotel-room occupancy; Kanawha County levies the 6% in unincorporated areas, and Charleston, Dunbar, Nitro, and South Charleston each levy their own 6% within city limits. That's roughly 12% total. Airbnb and Vrbo collect some taxes automatically, but hosts should confirm the local occupancy tax is being remitted and register with the WV Tax Division for direct bookings.
Failing to collect or remit the occupancy tax exposes hosts to back taxes, penalties, and interest from the county or city collector and the WV Tax Division.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Kanawha County, WV
Kanawha County does not regulate holiday lights, inflatables, or yard displays on private property, and West Virginia has no state holiday-display law. No co...
Kanawha County, WV
Temporary garage-sale signs are generally fine on your own property. Unincorporated Kanawha County barely regulates them; cities apply their zoning sign code...
Kanawha County, WV
Political signs are allowed on private property across Kanawha County. Unincorporated areas have little sign regulation; Charleston's zoning code governs sig...
Kanawha County, WV
West Virginia has no statewide rental license, and unincorporated Kanawha County runs no rental registry. Programs are municipal: West Virginia Code §8-12-16...
Kanawha County, WV
West Virginia has no just-cause eviction law, and Kanawha County cannot add one. A landlord ends a month-to-month tenancy with a full period's notice under §...
Kanawha County, WV
Neither Kanawha County nor Charleston can impose rent control. West Virginia is a Dillon's Rule state, and the Legislature has never granted local government...
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