Grant County, WA Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate
- 4% lodging excise tax
- Authority
- Chapter 67.28 RCW, GCC 3.68
- Collected by
- Washington Dept. of Revenue
- Revenue use
- Tourism Activities Fund only
- Effective date
- February 1, 1999
- City-tax credit
- Offsets any city lodging tax paid
- STR permit fee
- Set by county fee schedule, GCC 15.03.010(b)
Summary
Short-term rentals in unincorporated Grant County collect the county's 4 percent lodging excise tax under GCC § 3.68.030 on every stay, on top of state sales tax, because the code treats furnishing lodging the way it treats a hotel or motel room. Revenue goes only into the county's tourism activities fund.
There is levied a special excise tax of four percent on the sale of or charge made for the furnishing of lodging that is subject to tax under Chapter 82.08 RCW. The tax imposed under Chapter 82.08 RCW applies to the sale of or charge made for the furnishing of lodging by a hotel, rooming house, tourist court, motel, or trailer camp, and the granting of any similar license to use real property, as distinguished from the renting or leasing of real property, in all sections of the incorporated and unincorporated sections of the county. Provided: that a credit shall be allowed against this levy or tax for the full amount of any city tax imposed pursuant to Chapter 67.28 RCW. It shall be presumed that the occupancy of real property for a continuous period of one month or more constitutes a rental or lease of real property and not a mere license to use or enjoy the same.
Full Breakdown
08 RCW. 220(c)(3). A stay of one month or more is presumed to be a lease rather than a taxable license, so long-term renters fall outside the four percent. 030 gives a further credit for any city lodging tax already paid. 060, using the same forms and procedures it uses for the state sales tax. 050, spent only on tourism promotion or tourism-related facilities. 010(b), separate from and in addition to the lodging excise tax.
Violations & Fines
A lodging operator, including a short-term rental treated as a hospitality establishment under UDC 23.08.220(c), who fails to collect or remit the four percent excise tax faces the same enforcement the Department of Revenue applies to any other lodging tax delinquency under GCC 3.68.060 and Chapter 82.32 RCW, since DOR administers this tax as the county's agent. Operating without the separate Fire Marshal permit fee paid risks losing that permit under GCC 15.03.010(b).
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my Grant County short-term rental owe a lodging tax?
Is the lodging tax separate from state sales tax?
Who actually collects the tax from my rental?
Where does the lodging tax money go?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Grant County
How Grant County compares: Cities with the Highest Short-Term Rental Taxes·Compare Grant County to another location·View the Washington short-term rentals overview
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