Front Range
Denver lodging tax follows short paid stays
A Porch Note from Colorado Porch — plain-English local details for all 64 Colorado counties.
Hosting in Denver comes with two separate questions, and it is easy to focus on one and forget the other. The short-term rental rules cover whether you can rent at all. The tax side is its own matter. Denver’s lodger’s tax falls on the price charged for lodging of fewer than 30 days, which sweeps in hotels, motels, short-term rentals, and other paid overnight accommodations alike.
The key is that the tax attaches to the stay, not to the website where the room was listed. A booking platform may collect or report some items on a host’s behalf, but that convenience does not transfer the responsibility. The host still owes it to themselves to know what the city expects and where the official filing path actually lives, rather than treating a platform summary as the final word.
If you are buying a home that comes with rental income, ask to see the local license and the tax history together, since one without the other tells only half the story. A clean booking record can still sit on top of unpaid lodger’s tax. If you already own and rent, Denver Treasury’s business tax page lays out the lodger’s tax rules directly. A platform dashboard is a starting point, not a substitute for the city’s own accounting of what is due.
Sources
Official or primary sources used for this note. Local details can change, so confirm before acting.