Short-term rental tax profile

Denver, Colorado

15.75% total (2.9% state sales + 1% LMD + 1.1% special district + 10.75% Denver Lodger's Tax) for stays of 29 nights or fewer, all applied to the full guest total including cleaning fees.

Researched 2026-08-20

Is it allowed here

Short-term rentals are allowed in Denver only when the property is the owner's primary residence. Rentals are limited to one per owner at their primary residence only. Additional requirements include obtaining a short-term rental license from the City and collecting and remitting local taxes.

What counts as a short-term rental here

A stay past this length is generally not taxed as a short-term rental.

  • 29 nights or fewerState Sales Tax
  • 29 nights or fewerState Local Marketing District (LMD) Tax
  • 29 nights or fewerState Local Special District Tax (RTD/CD/FD)
  • 29 nights or fewerCity of Denver Lodger's Tax

What the guest is charged

TaxRateApplies toCounts as short-termConfidence
State Sales TaxColorado Department of Revenue 2.9% Applies to the total price including cleaning/other fees. 29 nights or fewer High Source
State Local Marketing District (LMD) TaxColorado Department of Revenue 1% Applies to the total price including cleaning/other fees. 29 nights or fewer High Source
State Local Special District Tax (RTD/CD/FD)Colorado Department of Revenue 1.1% Applies to total amount including cleaning/other fees. 29 nights or fewer High Source
City of Denver Lodger's TaxDenver Treasury Division 10.75% Applies to total price including cleaning/other fees. Exempt if stay is longer than 29 nights. 29 nights or fewer Medium Source

Who actually remits it

Whoever runs the guest's card owes the tax. That is the whole rule, and it is why the same booking can be taxed differently on two platforms.

PlatformMerchant of recordCollectsYou chargeYou remit
Airbnb Platform Fully Not stated Nothing
Vrbo Partner None Not stated State Sales Tax, State LMD Tax, State Special District Tax, City of Denver Lodger's Tax
Booking.com Partner None Not stated State Sales Tax, State LMD Tax, State Special District Tax, City of Denver Lodger's Tax
Expedia Partner None Not stated State Sales Tax, State LMD Tax, State Special District Tax, City of Denver Lodger's Tax
Google Partner None Not stated State Sales Tax, State LMD Tax, State Special District Tax, City of Denver Lodger's Tax
Whimstay Partner None Not stated State Sales Tax, State LMD Tax, State Special District Tax, City of Denver Lodger's Tax
Direct Partner None Not stated State Sales Tax, State LMD Tax, State Special District Tax, City of Denver Lodger's Tax

On a real booking

$200 a night, 3 nights, $60 cleaning

For a 3-night booking at $200 per night with a $60 cleaning fee, taxable subtotal is $660. Total tax is 15.75%, or $103.95, for a guest total of $763.95. All taxes apply since the stay is 29 nights or fewer and the cleaning fee is taxable.

What you have to hold

  • Denver Short-Term Rental License

    Any short-term rental in Denver at your primary residence

    Issued by
    Denver Department of Excise and Licenses
    Cost
    $50 application fee, $50 license fee (total $100/year)
    Renewal
    annual
    Lead time
    Processing time varies, allow at least 2-4 weeks
    Apply

  • Denver Lodger's Tax License

    Anyone collecting rent on stays of 29 nights or fewer in Denver

    Issued by
    Denver Treasury Division
    Cost
    No fee listed
    Renewal
    annual
    Lead time
    Allow a few weeks for processing
    Apply

  • Colorado Sales Tax License

    Anyone renting accommodations for less than 30 consecutive days

    Issued by
    Colorado Department of Revenue
    Cost
    $16 one-time fee (valid for 2 years)
    Renewal
    biennial
    Lead time
    Several days to weeks to process
    Apply

What you file, and when

ObligationFrequencyDueFile with no bookings?If you are lateTo
File and pay State Sales Tax, LMD, and Special District Tax monthly Due on the 20th of the month for prior month's receipts Not confirmed Not stated Colorado Department of Revenue
File and pay Denver Lodger's Tax monthly Due on or before the 20th of the month for prior month's receipts Not confirmed Not stated Denver Treasury Division

What this page cannot see

Your HOA, condo board or neighborhood covenant

This page covers public law: what the state, county and city require. It cannot see the private rules attached to your specific property. An HOA, a condo association, a co-op board or a recorded neighborhood covenant can cap nights, require its own registration and fees, demand approval of every guest, or prohibit short-term renting outright, no matter what Denver, Colorado allows. Those documents are not published anywhere public, so read your CC&Rs, bylaws and any lease before you take a booking. They routinely override everything above.

Sub-city districts you may sit inside

Tax can also attach below the city line. Tourism improvement and business improvement districts, resort area districts, convention and stadium districts, transit districts and community development districts are all drawn on a map, and whether you owe them depends on which side of a street you are on. They are usually a small percentage or a flat nightly amount, they are charged to the guest like any other lodging tax, and they are the layer most often missed because nobody expects a district smaller than a city to levy one.

If your address sits inside one, your county or city finance office can confirm it. Ask specifically whether any special district assessment applies to transient lodging at your parcel.

Primary sources

Take the PDF with you

Everything above as a designed profile you can file, print, or hand to a bookkeeper. Reading it here stays free; the document goes to an inbox.

  • Two to three pagesRates, channels, licenses, filing dates
  • Every figure sourcedLinked to the government page we read
  • DatedStamped with the research date, so you know how fresh it is

Sending it to a partner or a bookkeeper instead? Use their address. We send the Denver, Colorado profile once, from Corzly, and we do not add anyone to a mailing list.

Useful to a co-host, a bookkeeper, or anyone buying in Denver, Colorado.
The layer underneath this one Short-term rental taxes across Colorado What every Colorado property owes before county, city and district rules stack on top.

Corzly does not file this for you

You register, you collect, you remit, you hold the licenses. What we do is run the property so those numbers are right in the first place, on every channel, without you chasing them.

We manage short-term rentals remotely, 300+ properties across 50+ cities and 7 countries, so where the property sits makes no difference to whether we can take it on.

Talk to us about your portfolio

How to use this page. Corzly does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice, and we are not licensed tax professionals. This profile is automated research compiled from published government sources. Each figure carries a link to the source we read, so you can verify it yourself rather than take our word for it.

Tax rates, license requirements and filing rules change, and any source can be superseded without notice. Anything we could not confirm is marked Low confidence or listed under "Still to confirm" rather than guessed at. Before charging a guest, registering, or filing a return, confirm every figure directly with the taxing authority.

Registering, collecting, filing and remitting remain your responsibility. If the amounts matter to your business, and they do, take this research to a licensed tax professional or the authority itself before acting on it.

If you would rather hand the whole thing off, a service like Avalara MyLodgeTax can register, file and remit on your behalf.