Wyoming Lodging Tax: What Short-Term Rental Hosts Must Collect and Remit

Wyoming's lodging tax setup is deceptively simple on paper — two rates, one state agency — but the operational compliance requirements trip up short-term rental investors who assume that Airbnb or Vrbo handles everything on their behalf. They don't. And the state takes an aggressive position on hosts who fail to register and file.

Here's what Wyoming lodging tax actually requires from STR operators.

The Two-Part Tax on Short Stays

Wyoming levies two separate taxes on short-term rental revenue — stays of 29 nights or fewer:

State sales tax: 4%. Wyoming's general sales tax rate applies to all taxable transactions, including short-term lodging. This is the baseline rate; all counties collect it.

State lodging tax: 5%. A separate excise tax specifically on accommodations, imposed on top of the sales tax. This brings the combined state-level tax burden on short-term stays to 9%.

Long-term rentals — defined as 30 or more consecutive days — are entirely exempt from both taxes. If a guest books for 30+ days in a single reservation, no sales or lodging tax applies to that stay. This exemption is significant for STR operators who also take longer-term winter or seasonal guests.

County and Municipal Add-Ons

Several Wyoming counties and municipalities levy optional local lodging taxes on top of the state rates. These are set and administered locally, and the amounts vary.

Teton County (Jackson Hole) adds additional local lodging taxes that push the total tax burden meaningfully above the 9% state baseline. Park County (Cody) and other high-tourism jurisdictions similarly impose local assessments. Before setting your nightly pricing, verify the total applicable tax rate for your specific county and municipality through the Wyoming Department of Revenue's local tax rate schedules.

The state Department of Revenue maintains an online lookup tool for local sales and use tax rates. Check this for your county — the difference between the 9% state rate and the total effective rate with local additions can be material when modeling your net revenue.

Registration Is Required Before the First Rental

The ultimate legal responsibility for tax collection and remittance sits with the property owner, not the platform. Wyoming requires every STR operator to register with the Wyoming Department of Revenue for a sales tax license before receiving any taxable revenue.

Registration is done through the Wyoming Department of Revenue's online portal at revenue.wyo.gov. You'll need:

• Property address
• Ownership information (individual name or LLC)
• Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) if operating through an LLC, or Social Security Number for individual hosts
• Anticipated start date of rental activity

There is no registration fee. The license is issued promptly — typically within a few business days for online applications.

Once registered, you must file periodic sales and lodging tax returns. Filing frequency (monthly, quarterly, or annually) depends on your anticipated annual tax liability. The Department of Revenue will assign a filing frequency at registration based on your projected revenue.

Platform Automation: How Much It Actually Handles

Airbnb and Vrbo have entered into tax collection agreements with Wyoming, meaning both platforms automatically collect and remit Wyoming state sales tax and lodging tax on reservations booked through their platforms for most Wyoming addresses. This is handled by the platform before payment reaches you.

The limitations of this automation:

You still must register. Even if Airbnb collects and remits on your behalf, Wyoming requires you to hold a sales tax license. Some auditors have cited hosts for operating without a license even when the platform was properly remitting their taxes.

Platform remittance doesn't cover all local taxes. Depending on your county and municipality, there may be local lodging taxes that the platform does not collect. Verify whether your local jurisdiction has a separate collection agreement with the platforms you use.

Direct bookings are entirely your responsibility. If you take any reservations outside the Airbnb or Vrbo platforms — through your own website, a direct text or email booking, or a property management software system — no platform handles tax collection. You collect the tax from the guest, hold it, and remit it yourself to the Department of Revenue on your filing schedule.

Vrbo coverage may differ from Airbnb. The scope of tax collection varies by platform. Confirm with your specific platform exactly which taxes they collect for your county before assuming full coverage.

The Compliance Risk of Assuming the Platform Does Everything

The most common compliance failure pattern for Wyoming STR investors: they list on Airbnb, see tax collection happening automatically, and never register with the state or file returns. When they eventually sell the property or the Department of Revenue conducts an audit, they discover:

1. Wyoming considers them to have been operating without a sales tax license from day one
2. Any taxes the platform remitted were remitted in the platform's name, not in the host's name
3. They owe back returns (even if showing zero liability), potentially with failure-to-file penalties
4. Any direct bookings during that period were completely untaxed

Wyoming's Department of Revenue actively cross-references short-term rental income reported on federal returns against its own tax collection records. Hosts with substantial STR income on their 1040 who show no Wyoming tax filing history are audit targets.

The correct approach: register immediately, file returns on schedule (even if the platform remitted all taxes and your filing shows zero direct liability), and keep records of all reservation revenue by booking channel.

Special STR Markets in Wyoming

Jackson Hole (Teton County): Teton County has not only the highest total lodging tax burden in Wyoming but also the most restrictive STR zoning. Residential properties outside designated Lodging Overlay or Planned Resort zones are limited to three separate short-term rental stays per calendar year under a Basic Use Permit (BUP). Violations trigger a five-year BUP ban. STR operators in Jackson need both tax compliance and zoning compliance — they're separate requirements enforced by separate agencies.

Cody (Park County): A more accessible STR market than Jackson for out-of-state investors. Cody requires a Short-Term Rental Registration Certificate, a fire and life safety inspection, and proof of Wyoming tax registration. Non-owner-occupied STRs are permitted in commercial districts (D-1, D-2) and higher-density residential zones (R-3, R-4) but are restricted to owner-occupied properties only in R-2 and R-2MH zones. For out-of-state investors who won't be living at the property, target commercial district or higher-density residential zone properties.

Yellowstone Gateway Communities: Communities like Dubois, Pinedale, and Lander near national park access see significant seasonal STR demand. Local regulation varies considerably — verify with each municipality directly before acquiring.

What STR Revenue Means for Your Wyoming Investment

For investors running Wyoming STR operations, the total tax picture requires careful modeling. The platform remits state sales and lodging taxes (usually) — but your taxable income on the federal return still reflects gross rental revenue, subject to federal income tax. Wyoming's zero state income tax means all rental profits are taxed only at the federal level, which is a material advantage over comparable STR markets in states like Colorado (4.4% state income tax on short-term rental profits), Oregon (9.9%), or California (up to 13.3%).

The Wyoming Investment Property Guide covers the full STR regulatory landscape: Teton County's BUP requirements, Cody's zoning framework, lodging tax registration and filing procedures, and how to properly structure Wyoming STR operations to maximize after-tax yield. Get the complete guide here.

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