State rules
Colorado vacation rental license and rules
Colorado has no state rental license, but stays under 30 days owe 2.9% state sales tax plus local sales and lodging taxes, and you need a state sales tax license unless a platform handles everything. Counties and cities make the rental rules, and mountain towns are among the strictest in the country: licenses, inspections, occupancy limits, local responders, and caps or waitlists.
Checked against official sources November 8, 2026Stays of 30 days or more by someone who lives there under a written agreement are exempt from sales tax.
Registered sellers must file a return every period, even with no sales.
What to do
Get a state sales tax license
If you rent rooms or a home for stays under 30 days, Colorado requires a sales tax license from the Department of Revenue. Platforms like Airbnb collect the state and state-administered taxes on their bookings; you file for anything booked directly.Source
Check for home-rule city taxes
Many cities and mountain towns collect their own sales and lodging taxes. Platforms aren’t required by the state to collect these, so you may need a separate city tax license and returns.Source
Get your county or city rental license
Most Colorado mountain counties and towns, and Denver, require a short-term rental license or permit, often with an inspection, an occupancy limit, posted information, and a local responder. Pick your area for the rules.
Counties
53 counties so far, with more added every month. Don’t see yours? Tell us where your rental is.
Adams County
Adams County, north and northeast of Denver, holds Westminster and Thornton, which both license short-term rentals. We didn’t check the county’s own rules outside city limits.
1 town guidesAlamosa County
Alamosa County, in the San Luis Valley near Great Sand Dunes, centers on the City of Alamosa, which caps and licenses short-term rentals. We didn’t check the county’s own rules outside city limits.
4 town guidesArapahoe County
Arapahoe County, Denver’s southern and eastern suburbs, holds Aurora, Centennial, Littleton, and Englewood, each with its own license or tax rules; Centennial, Littleton, and Englewood limit or license rentals closely. We didn’t check the county’s rules outside city limits.
2 town guidesArchuleta County
Archuleta County, around Pagosa Springs, is one of western Colorado’s biggest rental markets. The Town of Pagosa Springs licenses rentals inside town; outside town, rentals register with county planning and owe a 2% county lodging tax.
0 town guidesBaca County
Baca County has very few short-term rentals, and we found no county or Springfield rental rules. There’s no county sales or lodging tax; Springfield adds 2%.
0 town guidesBent County
Bent County has very few short-term rentals, and we found no county or Las Animas rental rules. The county has a lodging tax (rate not published; ask the county), on top of 1% county sales tax and 4% in Las Animas.
4 town guidesBoulder County
Boulder County holds the City of Boulder, one of Colorado’s top-earning rental markets, plus the mountain towns of Nederland and Lyons. Every one of them, and the county outside town limits, limits rentals mostly to the owner’s own home; the county allows a capped number of whole-home vacation rentals only in its mountain zones.
0 town guidesBroomfield
Broomfield licenses short-term rentals only in the owner’s principal residence. The license is $100 and lasts five years. Post it inside, give guests the renter’s guide, and get a city sales tax license unless your platform remits Broomfield’s sales tax.
3 town guidesChaffee County
Chaffee County licenses short-term rentals outside town limits, and Salida caps them by district with a $15 per room per night lodging tax. Buena Vista and Poncha Springs set their own rules.
0 town guidesCheyenne County
Cheyenne County has very few short-term rentals, and we found no county or Cheyenne Wells rental rules. There’s no county sales or lodging tax; Cheyenne Wells adds 2%.
2 town guidesClear Creek County
Clear Creek County, on I-70 between Denver and the ski areas, holds Idaho Springs and Georgetown. Outside town limits the county licenses every short-term rental and caps non-resident licenses at 4.5% of homes. Idaho Springs allows only 15 licensed rentals.
0 town guidesCrowley County
Crowley County has very few short-term rentals, and we found no county or Ordway rental rules. Stays owe 2.9% state and 2% county sales tax plus 2% in Ordway.
2 town guidesCuster County
Custer County, in the Wet Mountain Valley below the Sangre de Cristos, requires a short-term rental permit approved by its planning commission and commissioners outside town limits. Westcliffe licenses rentals inside town.
0 town guidesDenver
Denver is the Front Range’s biggest rental market, and only your primary residence can be licensed as a short-term rental: no second homes or investment properties. The license runs about $150 the first year and $100 a year after. Stays pay about 14.75% in taxes, including Denver’s 10.75% lodger’s tax.
2 town guidesDouglas County
Douglas County, between Denver and Colorado Springs, holds Castle Rock, Parker, and Highlands Ranch. Outside town limits the county licenses short-term rentals yearly, with building and health inspections and a parking plan.
3 town guidesEagle County
Eagle County decided in May 2025 not to license short-term rentals outside towns, so in Beaver Creek, Edwards, and EagleVail the rules come from metro districts and HOAs. Vail, Avon, and Basalt have their own licenses. Voters doubled the county lodging tax to 4% in November 2025 in unincorporated areas and Gypsum.
4 town guidesEl Paso County
El Paso County is home to Colorado Springs, the Front Range’s second-biggest rental market, plus Manitou Springs and Green Mountain Falls, each with its own license. Outside city limits the county has no short-term rental license.
1 town guidesElbert County
Elbert County is a small rental market on Denver’s rural edge. We found no county short-term rental license online, and Elizabeth was moving in 2024 to start licensing rentals. Stays owe 2.9% state and 1% county sales tax plus any town tax.
2 town guidesGarfield County
Garfield County’s largest rental market is Glenwood Springs, which caps and inspects rentals. Carbondale and New Castle set their own rules; we haven’t yet confirmed rules for unincorporated areas.
2 town guidesGilpin County
Gilpin County holds the casino towns of Black Hawk and Central City and the hills toward Rollinsville. Black Hawk has banned new short-term rentals. Outside the cities, the county’s September 2026 ordinance licenses rentals in two tiers, and whole-home rentals you don’t live in are capped and waitlisted.
5 town guidesGrand County
Grand County has about 2,800 Airbnb listings around Winter Park, Fraser, Granby, and Grand Lake. The county permits rentals outside towns, and each town has its own registration. State and county taxes total about 6% before town taxes.
3 town guidesGunnison County
Gunnison County’s rentals center on Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte, each with its own license and housing taxes. As of a 2023 summary, the county and the City of Gunnison required only a sales tax license, but both planned rules; check before you list.
1 town guidesHinsdale County
Hinsdale County’s only town, Lake City, permits and caps short-term rentals in residential zones. We haven’t yet confirmed the county’s rules outside town.
1 town guidesHuerfano County
Huerfano County’s rental market centers on La Veta and the Spanish Peaks, and La Veta requires a town permit. We didn’t confirm whether the county licenses short-term rentals outside town limits; ask the county land use office.
3 town guidesJefferson County
Jefferson County runs from Lakewood and Golden into the foothills around Evergreen and Conifer. Since December 2025 the county licenses short-term rentals outside city limits, and Lakewood and Golden have their own primary-residence licenses.
0 town guidesKiowa County
Kiowa County has very few short-term rentals, and we found no county or Eads rental rules. The county has a lodging tax (rate not published; ask the county); Eads adds 2% sales tax. (The Town of Kiowa is in Elbert County.)
0 town guidesKit Carson County
Kit Carson County has very few short-term rentals. We found no county or Burlington rental license, and Burlington doesn’t require business licenses. Burlington has a city lodging tax page we couldn’t read; ask the city clerk.
2 town guidesLa Plata County
La Plata County is home to Durango, one of western Colorado’s biggest rental markets, where residential vacation rentals are tightly limited. Outside town limits, the county had no short-term rental license as of late 2023 and was studying one.
1 town guidesLake County
Lake County’s rental market is Leadville, with about 290 Airbnb listings. Leadville licenses rentals inside city limits; we haven’t confirmed whether the county licenses rentals outside the city.
4 town guidesLarimer County
Larimer County holds Estes Park, the Front Range’s top mountain rental market, plus Fort Collins and Loveland. Outside town limits the county licenses every short-term rental, with a building permit and life-safety inspection, and caps licenses in the Estes Valley’s residential zones. Each city sets its own rules inside its limits.
0 town guidesLincoln County
Lincoln County, home to Limon and Hugo on I-70, has very few short-term rentals. County zoning doesn’t list them, so a nightly rental outside town may need special review. The county has a lodging tax (rate not published; ask the county) on top of 2% county sales tax.
1 town guidesLogan County
Logan County’s rental market is small, about 30 Airbnb listings in Sterling. The county zoning we read doesn’t mention short-term rentals. The county has a lodging tax (rate not published; ask the county), and Sterling, a home-rule city, collects its own 3% sales tax.
3 town guidesMesa County
Mesa County’s main rental market is Grand Junction, which licenses short-term rentals and caps whole-home rentals by neighborhood. Fruita and Palisade set their own rules.
1 town guidesMineral County
Mineral County is almost all national forest around the old mining town of Creede, which began registering short-term rentals in July 2026. We didn’t check the county’s own rules outside city limits.
1 town guidesMoffat County
Moffat County’s main town, Craig, moved in 2026 to license short-term rentals for a one-time $75 fee, with an inspection and a local contact in town. We haven’t confirmed the county’s rules outside Craig.
1 town guidesMontrose County
Montrose County’s rental market centers on the City of Montrose, which requires a city sales tax license and raised its lodging tax to 6% in 2025. The county’s zoning regulations include short-term rental registration requirements we haven’t yet read.
0 town guidesMorgan County
Morgan County’s small rental market centers on Fort Morgan (about 19 Airbnb listings). We found no county or city short-term rental license, but the county charges a 1.9% county-wide lodging tax on top of state and city sales tax.
1 town guidesOtero County
Otero County’s rental market is small, about 33 Airbnb listings in La Junta. The county land use code we read doesn’t mention short-term rentals; it allows bed and breakfasts by right only in commercial zones, so ask the land use office about a home in a farm or residential zone.
3 town guidesOuray County
Ouray County caps short-term rental permits outside the City of Ouray and Town of Ridgway, with a waitlist, and added a 6% lodging tax there in 2026. Ouray and Ridgway license rentals under their own rules.
3 town guidesPark County
Park County has about 650 Airbnb listings around Fairplay, Bailey, and Alma. The county licenses short-term rentals outside towns (including homes on well and septic near Fairplay), Fairplay and Alma cap their own licenses, and voters approved a county lodging tax increase in November 2025.
0 town guidesPhillips County
Phillips County has very few short-term rentals, and we found no county or Holyoke rental rules. Stays owe 2.9% state and 1% county sales tax plus 1.5% in Holyoke.
3 town guidesPitkin County
Pitkin County is home to Aspen and Snowmass Village, two of Colorado’s most expensive rental markets, each with its own permit and taxes that Airbnb doesn’t collect. Outside the towns, the county licenses only a small number of rentals.
0 town guidesProwers County
Prowers County has very few short-term rentals. We found no county or Lamar rental license. The county has a lodging tax (rate not published; ask the county), and Lamar is a home-rule city that collects its own 3% sales tax.
2 town guidesRio Grande County
Rio Grande County, below Wolf Creek Pass, holds South Fork, its biggest rental market, and Del Norte; both towns license rentals with caps and yearly life-safety inspections. We didn’t check the county’s own rules outside town limits.
2 town guidesRoutt County
Routt County’s market is Steamboat Springs, with about 2,270 Airbnb listings. Outside towns, the county doesn’t allow rentals under a month without a special use permit or similar approval. Voters approved a 6% county lodging tax in November 2025, outside Steamboat Springs and Hayden.
1 town guidesSaguache County
Saguache County’s rental market centers on Crestone, at the foot of the Sangre de Cristos, which licenses each rental. We didn’t check the county’s own rules outside town limits, including the Baca Grande.
1 town guidesSan Juan County
San Juan County, around Silverton, adds a 2% county lodging tax to rentals. Silverton charges its own $6 a night lodging fee on vacation rentals. We haven’t confirmed whether the county or the town requires a rental license.
2 town guidesSan Miguel County
San Miguel County’s rentals are concentrated in Telluride and Mountain Village, which each require their own rental license and collect their own taxes. We haven’t yet confirmed the county’s rules for homes outside the towns.
0 town guidesSedgwick County
Sedgwick County has very few short-term rentals, and we found no county or Julesburg rental rules. The county is on the state’s county lodging tax list (rate not published there), on top of 3% county sales tax.
7 town guidesSummit County
Summit County is one of Colorado’s biggest rental markets: Breckenridge, Keystone, Frisco, Silverthorne, and Dillon together have about 7,000 Airbnb listings. Every town and the county license short-term rentals separately, and several cap licenses. State, county, transit, and housing sales taxes add up to 6.375% before town or county lodging taxes.
3 town guidesTeller County
Teller County, behind Pikes Peak, adopted a short-term rental license for its unincorporated areas in September 2026, with a $750 yearly fee. Woodland Park has its own license, with homes you don’t live in limited to commercial zones, and Cripple Creek licenses every rental in city limits.
0 town guidesWashington County
Washington County has very few short-term rentals, and we found no county or Akron rental rules. Stays owe 2.9% state and 1.5% county sales tax plus 2.5% in Akron.
0 town guidesYuma County
Yuma County has very few short-term rentals. The part of the county land use code we read doesn’t mention them, and we found no rules in Yuma or Wray. There’s no county sales or lodging tax.
Sources
- Sales & Use Tax Topics: Rooms & Accommodations · Colorado Department of Revenue
- Sales Tax Guide and Colorado Sales/Use Tax Rates (DR 1002) · Colorado Department of Revenue
- Colorado vacation rental tax guide · Avalara MyLodgeTax
A plain-language summary to help you prepare, not legal advice. Rules and fees change; confirm with the office before you apply. Spot something out of date? Email hello@licensedrental.com.