Laramie County Sales Tax: 5% Rate, Lodging, and Filing

The Laramie County sales tax rate is 5% as of April 1, 2026, combining Wyoming’s 4% statewide sales tax with a 1% voter-approved county general-purpose tax.¹ Hotel stays and short-term rentals are taxed at 12% once the separate 7% lodging tax is added. The rest of this article walks through what’s taxable, what’s exempt, how vehicle purchases work, and what businesses need to do if they collect the tax.

Why the Rate Dropped to 5%

Through March 31, 2026, the combined rate was 6%. The extra penny came from a specific-purpose excise tax, often called the “sixth penny,” that voters had approved to fund particular projects with a fixed dollar target. Once that revenue was fully collected, the tax sunset one quarter later and the rate fell to 5%.¹

Specific-purpose taxes in Wyoming are temporary by design. County and municipal governing bodies propose specific projects with specific dollar amounts, voters decide, and the tax ends when the target is met. If Laramie County voters approve a new specific-purpose tax in the future, the rate could climb back to 6%.

Use tax applies at the same 5% rate. If you buy something from an out-of-state seller who doesn’t collect Wyoming tax, you owe use tax directly to the state.

What’s Taxed and What’s Exempt

Wyoming’s sales tax covers retail purchases of goods and certain services, but a number of common categories are left out.

Groceries are exempt from both state and local sales tax. The statute defines exempt food as items sold for home consumption — things you’d eat or drink for taste or nutritional value.² Alcohol, tobacco, and prepared food don’t qualify. A rotisserie chicken from the deli counter or a sandwich from a restaurant is taxable at the full rate.

Prescription drugs, insulin, prosthetic devices, hearing aids, eyeglasses, mobility equipment, durable medical equipment, and assistive devices for people with permanent disabilities are exempt when sold under a prescription. Over-the-counter drugs do not qualify. Noncapitalized equipment and disposable supplies used in direct patient care by medical and dental providers are also exempt; standard office supplies are not.²

Professional services such as legal advice, accounting, medical consultations, engineering, and consulting are not subject to sales tax.³ Services that repair, alter, or improve tangible personal property are taxable, however. Auto repair is the clearest example: both parts and labor end up on the taxable line. Work on real property (like a house) and services performed on people or animals fall outside the sales tax.

Lodging Tax on Hotels and Short-Term Rentals

Guests staying in Laramie County hotels, motels, campgrounds, or short-term rentals pay a 7% lodging tax on top of the 5% sales tax, for a total of 12%.¹ The 7% has three parts: a 3% assessment that funds statewide tourism promotion through the Wyoming Office of Tourism, a 2% assessment that stays in the county by statute, and a 2% optional lodging tax approved by Laramie County voters.⁴

The 2% optional portion requires periodic voter renewal, and the Laramie County Board of Commissioners placed it on the November 2026 ballot. If voters reject renewal, the lodging tax would drop to 5% and the total on accommodations to 10%. Hosts renting through Airbnb or Vrbo have the same collection and remittance obligations as traditional hotels.

Vehicle Purchases

Buying a vehicle in Wyoming works differently from buying most other goods. You don’t pay sales tax to the dealer at the register. Instead, the county treasurer collects the tax when you register the vehicle, and the rate is based on where you live on the date of sale, not where you bought the vehicle or where you register it.

You have 64 days from the purchase date to pay the tax without penalty. Miss that window and a $25 fee kicks in immediately. At day 75, the fee jumps to $25 or 10% of the tax owed, whichever is greater, and interest begins accruing at 1% per month.⁵

You can pay the tax before you even have a Wyoming title. Bring your dealer invoice, purchase order, or notarized bill of sale showing the year, make, VIN, and purchase date to the county treasurer’s office. One wrinkle: Wyoming dealers generally collect sales tax at the point of sale on ATVs and motorcycles. If a dealer fails to collect tax on a trailer, you’re responsible for paying the treasurer directly.

Online and Out-of-State Purchases

Out-of-state sellers and marketplace platforms like Amazon, Etsy, and eBay must collect and remit Wyoming sales tax once their gross revenue from sales into the state exceeds $100,000 in either the current or prior year. Wyoming removed its separate 200-transaction threshold in July 2024, so the dollar amount is now the only trigger. Gross sales for this purpose include taxable, exempt, and wholesale sales delivered into Wyoming.

Marketplace facilitators handle collection for sales made through their platforms, so individual sellers using those platforms generally don’t need to register separately for marketplace sales. For Laramie County buyers, this means most major online purchases already include the correct sales tax at checkout. Use tax obligations mainly come up with smaller out-of-state sellers that haven’t hit the threshold, or with private-party purchases.

If You Collect Sales Tax as a Business

Any business making retail sales in Wyoming needs a sales and use tax license before its first transaction. You apply through the Wyoming Business Registration form on the Department of Revenue’s website. The application asks for your Federal Employer Identification Number (or Social Security Number for sole proprietors), the legal name and physical address of the business, and contact information for the responsible parties. There is no fee for the license.

Once issued, the license must be posted in a visible spot at your place of business.⁶ If you sell or close the business, file a final return within 30 days.⁷

Temporary Event Vendors

Selling at a craft fair, farmers market, or similar event in Laramie County? Complete a Temporary Business Operations application before the event, then file an Occasional Sales Tax Return and remit the tax by the end of the following month. The rate is based on where the customer received the goods, so an event in Laramie County uses the Laramie County rate regardless of where your business is based.

Filing Returns

Licensed businesses file through the Wyoming Internet Filing System. The default is monthly, with returns and payment due by the last day of the month following the reporting period. If your total monthly tax runs under $150, the Department of Revenue may assign a quarterly or annual schedule instead.⁷ The department sets your frequency when it issues the license and can adjust later based on your sales volume.⁸

File a return for every period even if you had zero taxable sales. Skipping a zero-dollar return is one of the quickest ways to trigger a delinquency notice.

Vendor Compensation Credit

Wyoming gives vendors a small credit for the cost of collecting and reporting the tax. File your return and pay in full by the 15th of the month taxes are due, and you can claim 1.95% of the tax due, capped at $500 per month across sales and use tax combined.⁷ Your account must be in good standing with no outstanding balances.

Penalties and Interest

The penalty structure escalates with the problem. A vendor who misses a filing deadline and then files within 30 days of receiving a delinquency notice faces a $10 penalty. Ignore the notice and the penalty jumps to $25.⁵

When the department finds an underpayment, intent matters:

Negligence or carelessness: 10% of the deficiency, plus interest.
Fraud: 25% of the deficiency, plus interest.

Interest on unpaid balances accrues annually at the average prime rate from the preceding fiscal year plus four percentage points, capped at 18%.⁵ The current figure is published on the Department of Revenue’s website. Continued noncompliance can lead to revocation of the sales tax license, which ends your legal ability to make retail sales in the state.⁷

1
Bloomberg Tax. Wyoming DOR Announces Sales Tax Rate Changes for 2026
2
Wyoming Legislative Service Office. Wyoming Statutes Title 39 – Section 39-15-105
3
Wyoming Department of Revenue. Wyoming Sales and Use Tax Exemptions
4
Justia. Wyoming Code 39-15-104 – Taxation Rate
5
Justia. Wyoming Code 39-15-108 – Enforcement
6
Justia. Wyoming Code 39-15-106 – Licenses and Permits
7
Justia. Wyoming Code 39-15-107 – Compliance
8
Cornell Law Institute. Wyoming Code of Rules 011-2-2-5 – Reporting