From the county perspective, this legislation will create a system whereby short-term registry platforms will be required to collect and remit to the state tax and finance department both the local sales tax as well as the state’s 4% sales tax. Tax and Finance will then remit those receipts to counties via the normal sales tax distribution process.

Additionally, this legislation authorizes counties (at local discretion) the ability to establish a county-wide short-term rental registry. This registry would also enable counties to receive hotel/motel occupancy taxes from the short-term rental industry. Counties will be required to amend their local laws to allow for the collection of these occupancy tax revenues from STRs. If a county opts out of the registry, they could still enter into voluntary collection agreements or other local mechanisms to collect occupancy taxes from STR vendors.

The registry data collected from the hosts and STR platforms will also provide counties with a glimpse into their current housing stock. A registry would provide counties with address locations, lengths of stay, and the number of guests staying in your community. This may be helpful in understanding the existing housing landscape and how your economic development and planning office can assist local municipalities in land use activity.

For counties, the timing of local tax collection will vary depending on existing local laws and whether a county opts-in to creating a local registry. The table below describes the timelines for each scenario.