Wake County, NC Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)

Wake County's 6% Room Occupancy Tax is administered by Wake County Tax Administration (Gross Receipts Tax division) and was first adopted by the Wake County Board of Commissioners in December 1991. The county tax piggybacks on the North Carolina state sales tax on accommodations imposed by NC General Statute § 105-164.4(a)(3): the official Wake County Tax Administration Gross Receipts Tax page states that the tax is incurred from "the rental of any room, lodging or accommodation furnished by a hotel, motel, inn, tourist camp or similar place within the County that is subject to the State sales tax imposed under Section 105-164.4(a)(3) of the North Carolina General Statutes." The uniform administrative provisions of NC GS § 153A-155 ("Uniform provisions for room occupancy taxes") govern levy mechanics for every authorized NC county, including Wake. Under § 153A-155(d), the tax must be remitted to the county tax collector by the retailer on or before the 20th day of the month following the month in which the tax accrues, accompanied by a return on a county-prescribed form. Under § 153A-155(b), no county may levy or modify a room occupancy tax without first holding a public hearing on at least 10 days' published notice, and the levy can take effect no earlier than the first day of the second calendar month after adoption. Under § 153A-155(g), the proceeds of the tax may not be used for the development or construction of a hotel or other transient lodging facility. The dedicated Wake County Room Occupancy Tax page confirms three critical specifics for STR hosts: (1) the tax applies expressly to platform rentals ("rooms or houses rented by individuals through websites including, but not limited to, Airbnb, VRBO, Windu, Rooorama, etc."); (2) accommodations furnished to the same person for at least 90 consecutive days are exempt; and (3) accommodations furnished by nonprofit charitable, educational, benevolent, or religious organizations are exempt. Filing is online through services.wake.gov/fileonline/ or by paper return mailed to Wake County Tax Administration; a separate monthly return is required for each accommodation location. Confidentiality of returns is governed by NC GS § 153A-148.1, which prohibits county tax officials from disclosing return information except as provided by statute. Bad-check or failed-electronic-payment penalties are governed by NC GS § 105-236 and equal the greater of $25.00 or 10% of the check / electronic invoice, capped at $1,000.00. Combined effective rate on a Wake County STR booking is approximately 13% (4.75% NC state general sales tax + 2.25% Wake County local sales tax under § 105-164.4(a)(3) + 6% Wake County Room Occupancy Tax). Hosts should note that even when Airbnb collects state-level sales tax on accommodations under its NC voluntary collection agreement with the NC Department of Revenue, the host remains directly responsible for filing the monthly Wake County Room Occupancy Tax return with Wake County Tax Administration unless the platform expressly confirms it is remitting the local 6% on the host's behalf.