Short-Term Rentals May Soon Be A Tax Windfall For Some Towns
BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. (CBS4) - Short-term rentals may soon be a tax windfall for small mountain towns.
One in three houses in the mountains is used for some type of short-term rental.
That's a lot of sales tax that wasn't always collected.
"We are trying to contact people, but it's hard to get that message out there and, in the past, these companies like Airbnb and VRBO were not sharing that information they were renting for," said Marty Ferris, the Summit County Finance Director.
Now that Airbnb has a deal with the state to begin collecting taxes, counties like Summit should see more money in the budget.
"I think it will be good in the long run but we have no idea how much revenue we are missing out on how much of an increase we might see another Airbnb is collecting," Ferris said.
"We've been trying to be proactive contacting everyone that buys property in unincorporated summer county send them a letter if you're going to rent your place here's the rules what you need to pay."
But there is a catch.
Not all of the communities fall under the state's deal due to Colorado's complicated tax codes.
But, while towns are still trying to iron out the rules for people who rent from websites like Airbnb and VRBO, the bottom line is that Colorado towns are one step closer to closing the gap on short term rental taxes.