Do I need a license for an Airbnb in Denver?

Yes, and Denver only licenses short-term rentals of your primary residence — the home where you actually live and usually return to. You can hold only one. Fees are $50 application plus $100 license, renewed annually, and you must open a lodger's tax account before applying. Non-owners need the property owner's permission.

What taxes does a Denver short-term rental pay?

Stays under 30 days owe Denver's 10.75% lodger's tax plus 4% in state-collected lodging sales taxes — 14.75% total. When guests pay through Airbnb or Vrbo, the platform is the vendor and collects; direct bookings make the host responsible.

Were Colorado short-term rentals reclassified as commercial property?

No. SB24-033, which would have taxed homes rented short-term more than 90 days a year at lodging rates (~28% assessment vs ~6.8% residential), was postponed indefinitely in April 2024, and its companion died with it. As of 2026, Colorado STRs remain residential for property tax.

Can I still get a short-term rental license in Breckenridge?

It depends on the zone. Breckenridge caps licenses by zone (system adopted September 2022): the Downtown Core is at its cap and the Residential zone is over its grandfathered cap with a waitlist, while Resort and Tourism zones had capacity as of late 2025. All STRs need an accommodation-unit license, and non-exempt licenses pay a regulatory fee of up to $756 per bedroom.

Short-Term Rental Regulations in Colorado (CO)

Colorado has a moderate level of short-term rental regulation. Some restrictions. No statewide STR registration is required. No state-level license is needed. Platforms like Airbnb collect and remit taxes. Colorado has no statewide STR law, but HB 22-1137 requires platforms to collect and remit state lodging taxes. Many mountain towns and Denver have their own STR regulations. Denver requires a primary-residence short-term rental license.

 Restriction Level  Moderate  Some restrictions 
 Registration No  Not required statewide  
 License No  No state license needed  
 Night Cap No limit  No statewide limit  

Full Requirements Summary

Colorado has 0 key regulatory requirements at the state level.

Requirement	Status	Details
STRs Allowed	Yes	Short-term rentals are legal
Statewide Law	No	No statewide STR law; local regulation
Registration Required	No	No state registration needed
License Required	No	No state-level license
Primary Residence Only	No	Investment properties allowed
Maximum Nights/Year	No limit	No annual night limit at state level
Minimum Stay	No minimum	No minimum stay requirement
Host Presence Required	No	Un-hosted stays allowed
Insurance Required	No	No state insurance mandate
Safety Inspection	No	No state-required inspection
Platform Tax Collection	Yes	Platforms collect and remit taxes

City-Level STR Regulations in Colorado

Rules diverge across Colorado: Denver is the strictest of the 5 cities we track (heavy), while Telluride is the most permissive (moderate).

City	Restriction Level	Local Notes
Denver	Heavy	STR license required. Must be primary residence. Annual renewal. Lodging tax of 10.75%. Platforms must display license number.
Boulder	Heavy	STR license required. Primary residence only. Max 120 days/year for unhosted rentals. Occupancy limits.
Colorado Springs	Moderate	STR license required in some zones. Lodging tax applies. Less restrictive than Denver.
Breckenridge	Moderate	STR license required. No primary residence requirement. Lodging tax ~11%. High concentration of vacation rentals.
Telluride	Moderate	STR permit required. Town has considered caps on STR licenses due to housing concerns.

Colorado STRs: State Tax Licensing + Strict Resort-Town Rules

Colorado has no statewide STR permit, but the state isn't hands-off: anyone renting accommodations must hold a Colorado sales tax license and collect tax on stays — rentals of 30+ consecutive days to a permanent resident are exempt (Colorado DOR, rooms & accommodations guidance). Airbnb and Vrbo, as marketplace facilitators, collect state and state-administered local taxes on platform bookings — but home-rule cities like Denver administer their own taxes on top.

Two recent statehouse fights worth knowing: the attempt to reclassify heavily-rented STRs as commercial lodging property (SB24-033) was postponed indefinitely in April 2024 — STRs stay residential for property tax — and HB25-1247 (2025) let counties raise lodging taxes from a 2% cap to up to 6% with voter approval, so expect county lodging-tax ballot measures in resort areas.

Denver: Primary Residence Only

License required for renting 1–29 nights, and only for your primary residence — the place your "habitation is fixed" and you usually return to. One primary residence per person; the applicant bears the burden of proving it (Colorado ID plus two of: vehicle registration, voter registration, tax return, utility bill) (denvergov.org).
Cost: $50 application + $100 annual license, plus a lodger's tax account (license $50 per two-year period).
Taxes: 14.75% total on sub-30-day stays — Denver lodger's tax 10.75% + 4% state-collected lodging sales taxes. Platforms collect when they process payment; direct bookings are on you (Denver Tax Guide Topic 97).
Licensing dates to 2016 (effective Jan 1, 2017), with the primary-residence enforcement regime tightened in 2020–2021 — Denver is one of the strictest big-city regimes in the country, and investment-property STRs are effectively not licensable.

Breckenridge: License Caps by Zone

Breckenridge requires an accommodation-unit license for every STR and, since September 2022, caps licenses across four zones. As of December 2025 (per Summit Daily's year-end review): the Downtown Core's small cap is full, the Residential zone is over its cap — existing licenses were grandfathered, new applicants wait-listed — while the Resort and Tourism zones still had capacity. Non-exempt licenses pay a regulatory fee of up to $756 per bedroom; primary residents renting at least 21 days a year can qualify for an exemption. If you're buying in Breckenridge with STR income in mind, verify license availability for the specific zone before closing — the zone boundaries, caps, and waitlist status are maintained on the town's site.

Practical path: get the state sales tax license → check whether your city is home-rule (own tax registration) → confirm local license availability and primary-residence rules before committing to a property → in resort counties, watch for new voter-approved lodging taxes under HB25-1247.

Sources

Statutes, tax guidance, and license data last reviewed July 2026.

How Colorado Compares to Other States

Below is a comparison of Colorado with five states that have similar STR regulation levels. This helps illustrate where Colorado stands nationally in terms of short-term rental friendliness.

State	Restriction Level	Registration	License	Night Cap	Platform Tax
Colorado (CO)	Moderate	No	No	No limit	Yes
Florida (FL)	Moderate	Yes	Yes	No limit	Yes
Georgia (GA)	Moderate	No	No	No limit	Yes
Illinois (IL)	Moderate	No	No	No limit	Yes
Louisiana (LA)	Moderate	Yes	Yes	No limit	Yes
Maine (ME)	Moderate	Yes	No	No limit	Yes

Frequently Asked Questions About Colorado STR Regulations

Can I legally operate an Airbnb in Colorado?

Yes, short-term rentals are legal in Colorado. No state-level registration is required, though your city may have its own requirements. The state's overall restriction level is moderate.

Does Airbnb collect taxes in Colorado?

Yes, Colorado has a platform accountability law. Airbnb and other platforms collect and remit applicable state and/or local taxes on behalf of hosts.

Which city in Colorado has the strictest Airbnb rules?

Among the cities we track, Denver has the most restrictive STR regulations in Colorado with a heavy restriction level. STR license required. Must be primary residence. Annual renewal. Lodging tax of 10.75%. Platforms must display license number.

Check Another State or City

Use our STR regulation lookup tool to find the exact rules for your specific city in Colorado, or browse all 50 states to compare short-term rental friendliness across the country.