“Short-term rentals” and “vacation rentals” are residences rented for a fee for 30 days or less. This is a rental of lodging, and it’s typically handled in one of two ways:
- Customers arrange short-term and vacation rentals through a third party that the owner hires to market and arrange the rentals. This third party is known as a “short-term rental marketplace.” Short-term rental marketplaces are responsible for collecting all taxes due on the lodging.
- Customers arrange short-term and vacation rentals directly with the lodging provider, usually the owner of the property. Lodging providers are responsible for collecting all taxes due on lodging they arrange directly with customers.
After collecting tax from the renters, the short-term rental marketplace or lodging provider must forward tax as follows:
- Forward Idaho sales tax and Travel and Convention tax on all rentals to the Tax Commission.
- Forward applicable auditorium district tax on all rentals to the Tax Commission.
- Forward any applicable local taxes (e.g., city sales taxes) on rentals to the Tax Commission or to the city in which the property is located.
This table shows examples of tax responsibility in different short-term rental scenarios:
| Short-term or vacation rental scenarios | Who’s responsible for collecting and forwarding the tax? |
|---|---|
The property is in Idaho and both of these apply:
| The lodging provider must register as a retailer to collect, report and forward taxes on the sales price of lodging and related services. |
| The property is in Idaho and the lodging provider uses a short-term rental marketplace to arrange all rentals of the lodging. | The short-term rental marketplace must register as a retailer, collect, report and forward taxes on the sales price of lodging and related services. |
The property is in Idaho, and the lodging is:
| The lodging provider and the short-term rental marketplace are responsible for taxes as follows:
|