Short-term rental tax profile
Scottsdale, Arizona
Approx. 8.0% combined (state ~5.6% + county ~0.7% + city privilege 1.7%)
Parts of this profile are unconfirmed. Treat it as a starting point and verify with the authority before charging a guest.
Is it allowed here
Short-term rentals (less than 30 days) are allowed by-right in residential districts in Scottsdale, subject to occupancy limits, licensing, and safety/neighborhood requirements. They are considered traditional dwelling units and may not be rented independently from accessory guest houses, and max occupancy is six adults (plus dependents).
What counts as a short-term rental here
A stay past this length is generally not taxed as a short-term rental. Note that the layers here do not use the same threshold, so a booking can owe one tax and not another.
- <30 days taxable; ≥30 days not transientArizona Transaction Privilege Tax (state TPT)
- <30 days taxable; ≥30 days not transientMaricopa County TPT (county layer)
- <30 daysCity of Scottsdale privilege tax
- <30 daysCity of Scottsdale transient lodging tax (bed tax)
What the guest is charged
| Tax | Rate | Applies to | Counts as short-term | Confidence | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona Transaction Privilege Tax (state TPT)Arizona Department of Revenue | Confirm with the authority | All revenue from short-term rental, including cleaning, security deposit when non-refundable, housekeeping fees | <30 days taxable; ≥30 days not transient | Low | Source |
| Maricopa County TPT (county layer)Arizona Department of Revenue (collected at state level) | Confirm with the authority | Same as state | <30 days taxable; ≥30 days not transient | Low | Source |
| City of Scottsdale privilege taxCity of Scottsdale | 1.7% | Gross income, including cleaning and other non-refundable fees | <30 days | Medium | Source |
| City of Scottsdale transient lodging tax (bed tax)City of Scottsdale | 5% | Gross income charged for lodging furnished to a transient (short-term), including fees | <30 days | 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.
| Platform | Merchant of record | Collects | You charge | You remit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbnb | Platform | Fully | Not stated | Nothing |
| Vrbo | Partner | None | Not stated | Arizona state TPT, Maricopa County share, City of Scottsdale privilege and transient lodging tax |
| Booking.com | Partner | None | Not stated | Arizona state TPT, Maricopa County share, City of Scottsdale privilege and transient lodging tax |
| Expedia | Partner | None | Not stated | Arizona state TPT, Maricopa County share, City of Scottsdale privilege and transient lodging tax |
| Partner | None | Not stated | Arizona state TPT, Maricopa County share, City of Scottsdale privilege and transient lodging tax | |
| Whimstay | Partner | None | Not stated | Arizona state TPT, Maricopa County share, City of Scottsdale privilege and transient lodging tax |
| Direct | Partner | None | Not stated | Arizona state TPT, Maricopa County share, City of Scottsdale privilege and transient lodging tax |
On a real booking
$200 a night, 1 nights, $50 cleaning
For a one-night booking at $200 plus non-refundable cleaning fee $50, the taxable subtotal is $250. The combined tax would be applied to the full $250; exact amount depends on current state and county rates. City taxes: privilege tax 1.7% and transient lodging tax 5% apply to full $250.
What you have to hold
-
State TPT license
Short-term rental of <30 days
- Issued by
- Arizona Department of Revenue
- Cost
- See ADOR; seasonal or regular license
- Renewal
- as per ADOR (can be seasonal)
- Lead time
- unknown
-
City of Scottsdale short-term/vacation rental license
Short-term rental (<30 days)
- Issued by
- City of Scottsdale
- Cost
- $250 per property per year
- Renewal
- annual
- Lead time
- prior to commencement of rental
-
Maricopa County Assessor rental registration
Any rental property including short-term
- Issued by
- Maricopa County Assessor
- Cost
- unknown
- Renewal
- as per county
- Lead time
- before first rental occupancy
What you file, and when
| Obligation | Frequency | Due | File with no bookings? | If you are late | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State & county TPT return and remittance | monthly | Due on 20th day of the month following reporting month | Not confirmed | Not stated | Arizona Department of Revenue |
| City of Scottsdale privilege and transient lodging tax | monthly | Tax and return due on 20th day of the month following revenue recognition | Not confirmed | Not stated | City of Scottsdale |
| City short-term rental license renewal | annual | Renew before anniversary; no specific due rule published | Not confirmed | Not stated | City of Scottsdale |
Still to confirm
These are the figures we could not confirm from a primary source. Confirm them before you charge a guest.
What exactly are current state TPT and county rates (values)?
Needed to compute precise combined tax and guest totals
Ask: Arizona Department of Revenue
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 Scottsdale, Arizona 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.
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 portfolioHow 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.