Short-Term Rental Taxes in Colorado, Explained

The layers of Colorado STR tax

Colorado's sales tax on lodging applies to the entire purchase price paid by the occupant for the right to use a room, apartment, or similar accommodation for fewer than 30 consecutive days, this is the state's own definition of taxable lodging services. On top of the flat 2.9% state rate, individual counties, cities, and special districts (like regional transportation authorities) can layer their own sales tax and, separately, their own lodging or lodger's tax. That means the total rate a guest pays is never just the state number, it's the sum of every jurisdiction your property sits in.

What Colorado Springs STR owners actually pay

For a property inside Colorado Springs city limits, the general combined sales tax rate is 8.2%, confirmed directly from the city's own tax pages:

• ›State of Colorado: 2.9%
• ›El Paso County: 1.23%
• ›PPRTA (Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority): 1%
• ›City of Colorado Springs: 3.07% (broken down as 2.00% General Fund, 0.10% Trails, Open Space and Parks, 0.40% Public Safety Sales Tax, and 0.57% 2C Road Tax)
• ›That's the general sales tax that applies to most purchases in the city, and it applies to short-term lodging too. On top of it, the city imposes a separate Lodgers and Automobile Rental Tax (LART) on stays under 30 days, its own overview page doesn't publish the exact rate, but Airbnb's tax collection documentation shows it collecting an additional 2% lodging tax (plus the 3.07% city sales tax) on Colorado Springs bookings of 29 nights or fewer. Confirm the current LART rate directly at coloradosprings.gov/LART or in City Code Article 9 before relying on that figure for your own filing.

The 30-day exemption

Lodging for a period of at least 30 consecutive days under a written contract is exempt from Colorado Springs' city sales and lodgers tax, per the city's own Hotel & Motel Tax Guide. This is the same 30-day line the state uses to define taxable 'lodging services' in the first place. It's the reason short-term and long-term rental are taxed so differently, see our companion guide comparing the two paths for what that means for your income.

What Airbnb and Vrbo collect for you, and what you still owe

Colorado Springs requires marketplace facilitators, Airbnb, Vrbo, Expedia, and similar platforms, to collect and remit the city's sales tax on your behalf. Airbnb's own occupancy tax page confirms it collects a 3.07% sales tax and a 2% lodging tax on Colorado Springs reservations of 29 nights or fewer. But Airbnb's documentation is explicit that hosts remain responsible for assessing all other tax obligations, including state and any additional local jurisdictions. If you also take direct bookings outside a marketplace facilitator, you need your own Colorado Springs sales tax license before your STR permit is issued, and you're responsible for collecting and remitting on those bookings yourself.

If your property is outside Colorado Springs city limits

The 8.2% combined rate above applies to properties inside Colorado Springs' city limits. Unincorporated El Paso County and other nearby municipalities set their own local rates and, in some cases, their own separate county lodging tax authorized under Colorado law. We won't guess at a number for your specific address, use the Colorado Department of Revenue's sales and use tax rate lookup at tax.colorado.gov to get the exact combined rate for your parcel, or contact the relevant county or city finance department directly.

Income tax is a separate question from sales and lodging tax

Everything above covers sales and lodging tax on the transaction, the tax a guest pays that you collect and remit. Your STR income is also reportable as ordinary or business income for federal and Colorado state income tax purposes, which is a separate filing with its own rules around deductions, depreciation, and self-employment considerations. That's outside the scope of this guide, work with a CPA familiar with short-term rental income before filing.

How to actually register and file

If you take any direct bookings (not exclusively through a marketplace facilitator), you'll need a Colorado state sales tax license through the Department of Revenue and a City of Colorado Springs sales tax license through the city's online sales tax services. Filing frequency and deadlines are set by the state and city and can change, verify your specific filing schedule with the Department of Revenue and the city's Finance Department rather than assuming an annual or quarterly default.