Short-term rentals in Boise, explained properly.

Boise City Code section 11-03-03 (use-specific standards for tiny homes on wheels) says a tiny home on wheels shall not be used as a short-term rental as defined in Title 3, Chapter 22, Section 5 of the City Code. Tiny homes on wheels are allowed only as an accessory use to a single-family home, at most two accessory units per lot, and no larger than 400 square feet. Chapter 22, which held that definition, was repealed in May 2026, but the zoning provision itself was not amended and is still in the online code. How it applies alongside Idaho Code section 67-6539, which bars rules that prohibit any type of short-term rental, has not been stated by the City; ask Planning and Development Services before using a tiny home on wheels for short stays.

The City says it will continue enforcing nuisance, noise, parking, safety, occupancy and other regulations consistent with state law and the City Code. Idaho law makes short-term rental owners and guests subject to all city ordinances and penalties that apply to other homes, including noise, parking, nuisance, curfew and traffic rules.

The City Clerk's licensing page names the City Clerk as the contact for questions about the short-term rental licensing change.

Some Idaho resort cities add a voter-approved local option sales tax, often on lodging. The Tax Commission's list of cities with local sales taxes does not include Boise. The lodging taxes due in Boise are Idaho sales tax, the travel and convention tax and the Greater Boise Auditorium District room tax, each listed separately on this page; no official source read gives a combined rate, so none is shown.

Idaho Code section 67-6539, as amended by House Bill 583 (2026 Session Law chapter 22, in force July 1, 2026), says no county or city may enact or enforce an ordinance that has the express or practical effect of prohibiting any type of short-term rental, and no county or city may require a license, fee, permit, certification or registration to operate one. Local rules for health and safety may not put different restrictions or obligations on short-term rentals than on similar homes that are not rented short term. The statute lists examples that cities and counties may not impose, including owner occupancy for any amount of time, professional management, extra insurance, inspections, limits on the days a property can be rented, notices to neighbors, a conditional use permit in a residential zone, spacing from other short-term rentals and caps on their number. By ordinance a county or city may require only: smoke alarms in all sleeping areas; a fire extinguisher and a carbon monoxide detector on each floor; removable escape ladders in sleeping areas with a window above the ground floor; occupancy limits no stricter than the non-transient residential limits in the building codes adopted by the Idaho building code board; and an easily accessible handout showing exits, fire extinguishers, any first aid kits and an emergency phone number for the owner or manager. A short-term rental is classed as a non-transient residential use for zoning and building codes, and owners and guests remain subject to the noise, parking, nuisance, curfew and traffic rules that apply to other homes. Idaho Code section 63-1803 defines a short-term or vacation rental as a single-family house or dwelling unit, a condominium, cooperative or timeshare unit, or an owner-occupied home offered for a fee for 30 days or less.

The Idaho State Tax Commission lists the state sales tax rate as 6% and counts short-term rental accommodations for 30 days or less among taxable retail sales. Its lodging guide says Idaho sales tax is due on vacation homes and private residences rented for 30 days or less, and that these lodging taxes apply only to rentals of 30 days or less.

Idaho charges a travel and convention tax to occupants of hotel and motel rooms for stays of 30 days or less, and the Tax Commission says it also applies to vacation-home rentals. It does not apply to someone who stays more than 30 days continuously in the same room or space. The current rate is 2%. The Tax Commission's lodging guide lists the tax as due on vacation homes and private residences, alongside Idaho sales tax. Returns are filed on Form 1152 in the Tax Commission's online system (TAP).

The Tax Commission says that to offer short-term lodging you need a travel and convention tax permit, a regular seller's permit and, if the rental is in an auditorium district, an auditorium district tax permit, applied for through the Idaho Business Registration (IBR); permits arrive in about 10 days. You technically don't need these permits if you rent only through short-term rental marketplaces that collect and send in the taxes for you, but you must get them if you rent the lodging any other way or charge for services or fees on which the marketplace does not collect tax. These are state tax permits, not a local license to operate.

Idaho Code section 63-1804 requires a short-term rental marketplace to register with the State Tax Commission to collect, report and pay Idaho sales and use and travel and convention taxes, and any local taxes the Tax Commission administers, on the stays it facilitates, and to collect, report and pay taxes imposed by any local government on the operator or guest. Since July 1, 2026 (House Bill 583), an owner who offers a short-term rental directly to a guest without a marketplace must comply with the same requirements. The Tax Commission says marketplaces are responsible for collecting all taxes due on the lodging they arrange, lodging providers are responsible for the taxes on stays they arrange directly, and hosts should not report sales or tax that a registered marketplace already reports.