Burien, WA Local Taxes & Fees: Parking Tax (2026)

The tax is imposed under RCW 82.80.030, as BMC 3.13.020(1) recites, on the privilege of parking in commercial parking facilities within the city. A commercial parking business includes parking service operations of Washington municipal corporations and other governmental entities that charge a fee. Under BMC 3.13.010(3), each time a fee is charged for parking or allowing a vehicle to be parked is a separate transaction, whatever the length of the stay, and each vehicle is its own transaction even when one fee covers more than one vehicle.

The definition also reaches a hotel, motel or lodging guest who leaves a vehicle after checking out, and parking that would carry a fee but is validated by a business because the customer made a purchase. Local employee parking, meaning spaces provided or reserved for an employee who works within the city, is not a commercial parking transaction. Short-stay metered parking is metered parking that does not exceed three consecutive hours. Beginning January 1, 2020, and each year after, the $3.00 rate is adjusted by the June to June Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue CPI-U, calculated to the nearest cent, and the city notifies affected businesses by November 1st of the year before the adjustment.

Operators collect the tax and remit it on or before the last day of the month following the month of collection (3.13.050), and the city is authorized to inspect taxable businesses' financial records at least quarterly. Exempt vehicles include vehicles with handicap decals, government vehicles exempt from tax and tax exempt car-pool vehicles (3.13.060). The tax is in addition to any other license fee or tax (3.13.030), and revenue goes to the street fund for transportation purposes and for administering the tax (3.13.040).