Yakima, WA Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)

Yakima's lodging-tax structure is built on three statutory layers. First, the state retail sales tax under RCW 82.08.020 (6.5%) applies to every short-term lodging stay under 30 consecutive days; a local retail sales-tax rate set by the City of Yakima and Yakima County stacks on top, producing a combined retail sales-tax rate published by the Washington Department of Revenue (DOR) for the Yakima taxing jurisdiction. Second, the City of Yakima imposes a basic 2% hotel-motel tax under RCW 67.28.180. That basic tax is credited against (not added on top of) the state sales tax for guests, meaning the guest does not pay it as an additional line item, but the city receives 2% of the room charge instead of the state receiving the equivalent share. Yakima City Council uses the basic-tax proceeds for tourism promotion (see City Finance - Tourism Promotion Grants page). Third, YMC Chapter 3.93 (Room Tax) imposes a special 5% excise tax, effective January 2, 1999, 'on the sale of or charge made for the furnishing of lodging that is subject to tax under Chapter 82.08 RCW,' covering hotels, rooming houses, tourist courts, motels, trailer camps, and similar uses; proceeds are deposited in a capital-improvement fund for convention-center and performing-arts facilities. This 5% special excise is an additional charge to the guest on top of sales tax. Yakima County operates a Tourism Promotion Area (TPA) assessment under RCW 35.101 that imposes a per-room-night charge on stays in qualifying lodging properties within the TPA boundary (effective rate published by DOR; updated periodically - see DOR Yakima County TPA Lodging notice). Practically, the lodging tax shown on a guest's Yakima receipt typically totals approximately 13-15% (combined state and local sales tax + 5% special excise + TPA charge, with the 2% basic credited against state sales tax). STR operators must (1) register a Washington Business License through bls.dor.wa.gov, (2) hold a City of Yakima Business License, (3) file combined excise tax returns with DOR on a monthly or quarterly cycle assigned at registration, (4) report and remit retail sales tax, special hotel-motel tax (the 5% excise), and TPA charges through the My DOR portal, and (5) report under the lodging classification of B&O (Business and Occupation) tax. Hosting platforms (Airbnb, Vrbo) collect and remit some Washington state taxes on behalf of hosts under marketplace facilitator rules (RCW 82.08.0531), but operators must verify which taxes the platform actually remits for Yakima and report and remit any taxes the platform does not collect (especially for direct bookings).