Travel and Convention Tax

Idaho charges a travel and convention tax to occupants of hotel and motel rooms for stays of 30 days or less. It also applies to vacation-home rentals and overnight stays at private campgrounds. It doesn’t apply to lodgers who stay more than 30 days continuously in the same room or space.

Also see:

Hotels, Motels, and Short-Term Rentals

Common charges for property and services

Tax rate

The current travel and convention tax rate is 2%.

Getting Idaho permits

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 anywhere else, 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 form for this tax is Form 1152, Travel and Convention Tax Return. 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.) See also:

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 by Quick Pay, TAP, or check. See more on the Epay page.

Benefits and distribution

The Tourism Development Division of the Idaho Department of Commerce uses the proceeds of the travel and convention tax to market tourism and travel to Idaho. For more information, visit commerce.idaho.gov/tourism-resources or call (208) 334-2470.

Through the Idaho Regional Travel and Convention Grant Program, the Idaho Department of Commerce-Tourism Development distributes 45 percent of the funds to nonprofit local and regional tourism-development organizations. Another 45 percent goes for statewide programs targeted to international and domestic visitors, tour operators, travel agents, travel journalists, and film-industry marketing. The remaining 10 percent covers administration of the division.

Laws and rules