Wake County Room Occupancy and Prepared Food & Beverage Taxes

In 1991 Wake County was authorized to levy a countywide 6% Room Occupancy and a countywide 1% Prepared Food and Beverage tax. The revenue supports arts, culture, sports and convention facilities in Wake County. These funds are governed through interlocal agreements between the Wake County Board of Commissioners and the Raleigh City Council.

History and Background

In 1991, the North Carolina General Assembly authorized the Wake County Board of Commissioners to levy a countywide 6% Room Occupancy tax and a countywide 1% Prepared Food and Beverage tax to support arts, culture, sports and convention facilities in Wake County. These revenues are collectively referred to as “hospitality taxes” or “interlocal funds” in reference to the agreement that governs expenditure of the funds.

On December 16, 1991, the Wake County Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution authorizing levy of the taxes. The Room Occupancy Tax went into effect January 1, 1992 and the Prepared Food and Beverage Tax was effective January 1, 1993.

The primary intent of the 1991 enabling legislation (Session Law 1991-594) and subsequent legislation enacted in 1995 (Session Law 1995-458) was to support investments in the Raleigh Convention Center Complex and construction of a coliseum in partnership with North Carolina University (now the Lenovo Center). The 1995 legislation created the Centennial Authority to study, design, plan, construct, own, promote, finance and operate the coliseum.

These major regional facilities have been the primary focus of hospitality tax investments since the revenues were authorized, as envisioned in the enabling legislation. However, the revenues have also supported significant investments in a wide range of arts, sports and cultural facilities across the County. Together, these investments have sparked significant increases in tourism and overall economic development of the County.

Governance and Interlocal Agreement

The enabling legislation required the City of Raleigh and Wake County to enter into an interlocal agreement (ILA) to govern use of the funds before the taxes could be enacted. The agreement was to contain the type and general location of capital projects funded and a preliminary schedule for completion of the funded projects. The City and County executed the ILA in November 1991 and revised agreements in 1992 and 1995.

The ILA, in conjunction with the enabling acts, governs how the hospitality tax revenues are spent. The enabling laws include specific, formula-based allocations but most expenditure decisions are set in the ILA, subject to approval by the Wake County Board of Commissioners and Raleigh City Council. The Revised ILA has been amended 23 times. A summary of the major provisions in each amendment is included in the ILAs & Amendments section of this webpage.

Competitive Project Funding

The hospitality tax funds support a variety of arts, sports and cultural facilities across Wake County. The County regularly holds open funding processes to solicit proposals for capital projects to construct, renovate and expand facilities that draw visitors to Wake County. Since 2013, the Board of Commissioners have awarded more than $43 million to municipalities, nonprofits and other organizations for tourism generating facilities in Wake County. A detailed list of projects supported through competitive processes since 2013 is included below, along with documents from the most recent process, which concluded in February 2026.