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Sedgwick County, KS Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)

Some Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified August 2026

Key Facts

Tax rate
5% of gross rental receipts
Applies to
Unincorporated Sedgwick County only
Effective date
March 1, 2007
Transient guest defined as
Stay of 28 days or less
Payment due
Monthly, by end of following month
Collected by
Kansas Department of Revenue
State admin cut
2% of collections

Summary

Unincorporated Sedgwick County levies a 5% transient guest tax on gross rental receipts from hotels, motels and tourist courts, covering any stay of 28 consecutive days or less. Charter Resolution No. 59 has set the rate since March 1, 2007, and the Kansas Department of Revenue collects it monthly from the business, the same as it does for state sales tax.

City-specific rules exist: Wichita has its own taxes & fees rules that differ from Sedgwick County's county-level regulations. If you live in Wichita, check the city-specific page instead.

"Transient Guest" means a person who occupies a room in a hotel, motel or tourist court for not more than twenty-eight (28) consecutive days ... Section 3. Levy of tax by Sedgwick County. That a transient guest tax of five percent (5%) shall be levied in the unincorporated area of Sedgwick County, Kansas, 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. The effective date of said tax shall be March 1, 2007, subject to the conditions and provisions of Section 13 herein.

View official code

Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 22 Update 1).

Full Breakdown

Charter Resolution No. A. 12-1692 through 12-1695, because those statutes apply only to counties over 300,000 residents, and substitutes the county's own terms. Section 3 sets the rate at five percent (5%) of gross rental receipts collected from transient guests for lodging or sleeping accommodations at any hotel, motel or tourist court in the unincorporated area, effective March 1, 2007. Section 2 defines a 'Transient Guest' as anyone occupying a room for not more than twenty-eight (28) consecutive days, and a 'Hotel, Motel or Tourist Court' as a structure with more than two furnished bedrooms held out to the public for pay.

Section 4 makes every business collecting rent responsible for collecting the tax from the guest and remitting it. Section 5 sets the payment schedule: the tax is due monthly, on or before the last day of the month after it was collected, with businesses filing a true report on a Department of Revenue form; a business that already files quarterly or annual Kansas retailers' sales tax returns can align its transient guest tax payments to that same schedule with the Secretary of Revenue's approval. Section 6 gives the Secretary of Revenue the right to inspect a business's books and records at reasonable times during business hours to verify the reported amounts.

Section 8 directs the Department of Revenue to keep 2% of everything it collects for its own administration and enforcement costs and to credit the rest to Sedgwick County's transient guest tax account, which the county treasurer receives at least quarterly. Sections 9 and 10 route that money into a special tourism account that the Board of County Commissioners may spend to promote the county's Division of Culture and Recreation.

Violations & Fines

Section 7 adds a late-payment penalty under K.S.A. 12-1694(c) for every month, or part of a month, the tax stays unpaid after its due date. If a business refuses or neglects to pay, Section 8 lets the state collect the tax and penalty the same way it collects delinquent retailers' sales tax under K.S.A. 79-3617, including the collection remedies the state uses for sales tax debts.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the short-term rental tax rate in unincorporated Sedgwick County?
It is a 5% transient guest tax on gross rental receipts from any hotel, motel or tourist court stay of 28 consecutive days or less, set by Charter Resolution No. 59 and in effect since March 1, 2007. It only covers the unincorporated area; Wichita and other cities in the county levy their own transient guest tax.
Who actually pays the tax, the guest or the business?
The guest pays it as part of the room charge, but Section 4 makes the business responsible for collecting it and remitting it to the Kansas Department of Revenue on the schedule set by Section 5, the same way it remits state sales tax.
When is the transient guest tax due?
Monthly, on or before the last day of the month following the month it was collected, using a Department of Revenue report form. A business that already files quarterly or annual state sales tax returns can ask the Secretary of Revenue to align its transient guest tax filings to that schedule.
What happens if a business is late paying the tax?
Section 7 adds a penalty under K.S.A. 12-1694(c) for every month or part of a month the tax remains unpaid. If the business still refuses to pay, Section 8 lets the state pursue it using the same collection remedies it uses for delinquent retailers' sales tax.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Sedgwick County

All Sedgwick County rules

How Sedgwick County compares: Cities with the Highest Short-Term Rental Taxes·Compare Sedgwick County to another location·View the Kansas short-term rentals overview

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