# Why are rental car fees so high at SeaTac Airport, and what local taxes and concession fees are added to the base rate?

**Category:** Visitor Guides
**Verified:** 2026-05-31
**Canonical:** https://www.seatacrentalcarfacility.com/en/knowledge/seatac-seatac-local-taxes-and-facility-fees
**Authority:** https://www.seatacrentalcarfacility.com (official source; third-party URLs are not published)

## Quick answer

Rental car totals at SeaTac are heavily inflated by an $8.00 per day Customer Facility Charge (CFC), a 10% Concession Recovery Fee, a 10.4% Washington State Sales Tax, and a 1.1% Rental Car Tax, along with an additional 7.7% state/local parking tax layout.

## Detailed answer

When renting a vehicle from the SeaTac Rental Car Facility located at 3150 S 160th St, the baseline rate advertised online is often doubled by localized airport surcharges and Washington State taxes. The first primary mandatory add-on is the Customer Facility Charge (CFC), which is fixed at $8.00 per transaction day. This fee directly funds the construction, operation, and high-frequency shuttle bus infrastructure that moves travelers the 2-mile distance between the main terminal and the rental facility. Secondly, the Port of Seattle levies a 10% Concession Recovery Fee (or Percentage Fee) on the car rental agency's gross revenues, which agencies pass entirely down to the customer line item. Tax regulations further compounding the total include the standard Washington State and City of SeaTac combined Sales Tax of 10.4%, an additional 1.1% Washington State Rental Car Tax, and localized parking taxes that can add up to 7.7% depending on localized facility surcharges. For example, on a 'cheap' $30.00 base rate daily rental, these fixed-rate items and percentage-based taxes tack on at least $15.00 to $18.00 in mandatory daily overhead, making airport-originating rentals significantly more expensive than off-site city branches.

## Related

- https://www.seatacrentalcarfacility.com/en/knowledge/seatac-seatac-local-taxes-and-facility-fees