Auditorium District Taxes

Some Idaho areas have established auditorium districts, which can charge a local sales tax only for short-term lodging (30 days or less) within their district boundaries. This tax also applies to nonsleeping rooms, such as meeting rooms.

Sellers offering short-term lodging in an auditorium district must charge customers that district’s tax. An auditorium district tax doesn’t apply to campgrounds.

These are the auditorium districts that we currently administer the tax for:

For questions about how the auditorium district uses the tax money, contact that district.

For questions about what’s taxable, filing, and paying, see the information below. Contact the Tax Commission if you still have questions.

Also see:

Hotels, Motels, and Short-Term Lodging

Common charges for property and services

Appling for Idaho permits

Make sure you file your return even if you made no sales. Make sure to pay if you owe. Filing and paying are separate processes. For example, you could file your return by mail but pay on QuickPay (a free online service we offer). Filing and paying are also separate in TAP.

To offer short-term lodging, you need these permits:

Use the Idaho Business Registration (IBR) to apply for these tax permits. You should receive them in about 10 days.

Technically, you don’t need these permits if you only rent out lodging on short-term rental marketplaces that collect and send in the taxes for you. But, you must get the permits if you rent out lodging by any other means, or you charge for common services or fees that the registered marketplace doesn’t collect tax on.

You might also need to collect a local option tax for the city where you operate. The Tax Commission doesn’t administer these taxes. See City Sales Tax.

Filing and paying

Make sure you file your return even if you made no sales. Make sure to pay if you owe. Filing and paying are separate processes. For example, you could file your return by mail but pay on QuickPay (a free online service we offer). Filing and paying are also separate in TAP.

Your schedule to file is based on how much you sell. For monthly filing, you’d need to file by the 20th of the month following the tax period. For example, October’s return would be due November 20.

  • If you contract with short-term rental marketplaces that register with us, don’t report the sales or tax they’re already reporting.
  • Report all other taxable sales, including room sales, you made by any other means such as through your own website, by phone, or by email. See common charges for property and services for examples of other sales to charge tax on and report.  

The Tax Commission has a different form for each auditorium district:

We mail a customized copy of this form to you for each tax period. (We stop if you file through TAP for a whole year.)  

You must file a return and pay any tax due. You can file in one of these ways:

  • Online though TAP, if you have a TAP account.
  • By mail or in person using the paper form we mail you. Make sure the form is:
    • Preprinted with the correct period. (Don’t use forms from a previous month, quarter, or year.)
    • Preprinted with the correct employer name and account number. (Don’t use forms for a previous owner.)

Contact us if you can’t find the correct form.

Common ways to pay are Quick Pay (GBAD only), TAP, or by check. See more on the Epay page.

Laws and Rules

Learn more about auditorium districts: