If you rent out a room, cabin, vacation home, campsite, or RV spot in Idaho for 30 days or less, you owe Idaho lodging tax: a 6% state sales tax plus a 2% travel and convention tax, with local auditorium district or resort city taxes stacked on top in some areas. The combined rate starts at 8% and climbs into the 13% range in places like Boise, Sun Valley, and Ketchum.
Which Stays Are Taxed
Idaho taxes any place a guest sleeps temporarily for a fee. The Tax Commission’s list covers hotels, motels, resorts, bed and breakfasts, campgrounds, RV parks, cabins, vacation homes, and private residences rented for money or barter.1Idaho State Tax Commission. Lodging: Basics Renting a spare bedroom through Airbnb or letting someone park a camper on your land for a weekend both count.
What matters is the length of the stay, not the type of building. Thirty days or fewer triggers the tax.1Idaho State Tax Commission. Lodging: Basics Tax applies to the full sales price of the lodging and related services. The Tax Commission uses that phrase broadly and publishes a separate schedule for ancillary charges, so check it before assuming cleaning fees, pet fees, or resort amenity charges are exempt.2Idaho State Tax Commission. Short-term Rental Marketplaces
How the Rate Stacks Up
State Sales Tax: 6%
Idaho’s statewide sales tax is 6%, the same rate that applies to retail purchases, and it applies to the full rental price.3Idaho State Tax Commission. Sales and Use Taxes: Basics Guide Every lodging operator collects it regardless of location.
Travel and Convention Tax: 2%
On top of sales tax, Idaho imposes a 2% travel and convention tax on receipts from providing a place to sleep, authorized by Idaho Code Section 67-4718.4Idaho State Tax Commission. Travel and Convention Tax Combined with sales tax, every host in Idaho is collecting at least 8% before any local tax enters the picture.
Local Taxes
Two local layers can apply.
- Auditorium district taxes. The Greater Boise Auditorium District charges a 5% room tax on lodging within its boundaries, bringing the combined rate inside the district to 13%.5Greater Boise Auditorium District. FAQs
- Resort city local option taxes. Idaho law lets resort cities with populations under 10,000 impose their own nonproperty taxes on lodging after 60% voter approval. Communities including Sun Valley and Ketchum have used this authority to add several points to the lodging rate, pushing combined tax to 13% or higher in some mountain destinations.6Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 50-1044 – Authority for Resort City Residents to Approve and Resort City Governments to Adopt, Implement and Collect Certain City Nonproperty Taxes
Local rates change with voter decisions, so confirm the current rate with the city or taxing district where your property sits before setting pricing.
When Airbnb or Vrbo Collects for You
If you list through a short-term rental marketplace, Idaho law puts the tax collection burden on the platform for bookings it arranges. The marketplace registers as a retailer and collects, reports, and forwards Idaho sales tax, the travel and convention tax, any auditorium district tax, and applicable local taxes on the sales price of the lodging and related services.2Idaho State Tax Commission. Short-term Rental Marketplaces
Here’s where hosts trip up. If you take some bookings through a platform and some directly, the platform only handles tax on the bookings it arranged. You are personally responsible for collecting and remitting tax on every direct booking. The Tax Commission treats these as two separate channels and expects both to be reported properly.
Who Doesn’t Have to Pay
Stays Over 30 Consecutive Days
The most common exemption is the continuous-stay threshold. Accommodations rented for more than 30 consecutive days fall outside taxable short-term lodging, and the exemption covers both the sales tax and the travel and convention tax.1Idaho State Tax Commission. Lodging: Basics A traveling nurse or construction worker booked for two months is exempt. The word is consecutive: a guest who checks out for a few days and returns cannot stitch separate short stays together to reach the threshold.
Federal Government
Sales to the United States government are exempt from Idaho sales tax under Idaho Code Section 63-3622O. Federal employees on official business can claim the exemption, but they have to present proper documentation such as a government-issued payment card or official travel orders. Don’t waive tax on a verbal claim.
Other Exempt Organizations
Certain organizations identified by Idaho statute, including the State of Idaho itself, can book lodging tax-free. When a guest claims exempt status, collect a completed and signed Form ST-101, the Idaho Sales Tax Resale or Exemption Certificate, and keep it on file.7Idaho State Tax Commission. Sales Tax Resale or Exemption Certificate Without that form, you’re on the hook if the Tax Commission audits the transaction and the exemption turns out to be invalid.
Registering, Filing, and Paying
Before you take your first guest, register your business and get a seller’s permit through the Idaho Business Registration (Form IBR-1).8Idaho State Tax Commission. Form IBR-1 Business Registration Form You can file it online. The form asks for your SSN or EIN, the property address, business name, and the date you began or plan to begin renting. Specifying your business structure correctly at registration matters, because the Tax Commission uses that information to set up your account and reporting periods.
Once approved, you receive a seller’s permit that authorizes you to collect both sales tax and the travel and convention tax. If your property sits inside an auditorium district or a resort city with local option taxes, you may need to register separately with that local authority.
Returns go through the Tax Commission’s Taxpayer Access Point (TAP) and are due by the 20th of the month following the reporting period, which the Tax Commission assigns as monthly or quarterly based on your volume.9Business.Idaho.Gov. Tax Calendars The travel and convention tax runs on the same cycle.
Each tax goes to its own destination. Idaho sales tax, the travel and convention tax, and any auditorium district tax all go to the Tax Commission through TAP. Resort city local option taxes are typically remitted directly to the city where the property is located.2Idaho State Tax Commission. Short-term Rental Marketplaces Sending everything to the Tax Commission when the city expects its own payment can trigger delinquency notices from the city even when you think you’re current. If you had zero rentals in a reporting period, file a zero-dollar return anyway to avoid being flagged as a non-filer.
What It Costs to File Late
Penalties add up fast:
- Late return: 5% of the tax due for each month the return is late, capped at 25%.
- Late payment with a return filed on time: 0.5% of the tax due for each month the payment is late, also capped at 25%.
- Minimum penalty: $10, even one day late. No grace period, and the full monthly penalty applies for a single day of tardiness.
Interest also accrues on overdue tax from the original due date until the balance is paid, at a rate the Tax Commission sets annually.10Idaho State Tax Commission. Sales Tax: Filing and Paying If you collected tax from guests and can’t pay the full balance by the due date, file the return anyway. Filing on time with a late payment costs 0.5% per month. Not filing costs 5% per month. That gap compounds quickly on even a modest balance.
Records to Keep
The Tax Commission can bill you for tax due if you lack records to explain why you didn’t charge tax on a particular stay.1Idaho State Tax Commission. Lodging: Basics For every booking, keep the guest name, dates, amount charged, and tax collected. For exempt stays, hold the signed Form ST-101 or the government payment documentation. For stays longer than 30 days, keep the rental agreement showing the continuous period. Without those records, you have no defense if an untaxed transaction comes up in an audit.