LicensedRental

Colorado county rules

Chaffee County, CO vacation rental rules and taxes

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.

Checked against official sources November 8, 2026
Market
About 440+ Airbnb listings
Buena Vista 391, Poncha Springs 45; Salida ranked #48 statewide (AirROI).Source
County license
Required outside towns
County sales tax
2.75%

A county lodging tax measure failed in November 2025.

What to do

  1. Get a state sales tax license

    Needed for any rental unless a platform covers all your taxes.Source

  2. Then your town or area

    Towns set their own rental licenses and collect their own taxes, and the county’s rules cover only areas outside town limits. Pick your area.

Towns

Full guide

Buena Vista

Buena Vista caps short-term rental licenses by zone, and nearly every residential zone is full, so most new applicants go on a waitlist. You can hold only one license (two per parcel at most), and the application needs a site plan and a floor plan. Licenses cost $250 new and $150 to renew, every October.

Full guide

Salida

Salida licenses short-term rentals only for Chaffee County residents who own the property, one per owner, with caps in each district and a waitlist in residential areas. The license is $1,000 a year, residential rentals are limited to 185 days a year, and every room-night owes a $15 lodging tax on top of 8.65% sales tax.

Full guide

Unincorporated Chaffee County

Outside town limits, Chaffee County requires a short-term rental license through county planning: $650 to apply plus a $350 license fee the first year, and $400 plus $350 to renew. Stays owe 2.9% state and 2.75% county sales tax.

Sources

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 Spot something out of date?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.