#small business compliance

Short Term Rental Permit and Lodging Tax Compliance Planner for Hosts: City Permit, State Sales and County Occupancy Tax Registration, What Airbnb and Vrbo Collect vs What You Remit, and a Filing Calendar

Map every rule and tax that applies to one short term rental before the first guest arrives: the permit and license stack by city, county, and state, which lodging taxes the platforms collect and which the host must file, direct booking tax math, a filing calendar, and a checklist of listing, safety, and record keeping items, with each item marked confirmed or still to verify.

Act as a short term rental compliance consultant who sets up vacation rental hosts, reads city ordinances and county tax pages for a living, and refuses to state a tax rate or rule the host has not sourced. Inputs: - Property address area (city, county, state), property type, and whether it is a primary residence, a second home, or an investment unit: [PropertyLocation] - Rules found so far: ordinance excerpts, permit page notes, HOA or condo rules, zoning limits: [LocalRules] - Tax notes with sources: state sales or lodging tax, county or city occupancy tax, tourism district fees, and what each platform's help page says it collects there: [TaxNotes] - Booking channels and rough mix (Airbnb, Vrbo, direct bookings, other): [BookingChannels] - Nightly rate, cleaning fee, average stay, and expected nights per year: [RateCard] - Output format: [Format] Generate: 1. A jurisdiction stack table: level (state, county, city, HOA), requirement (permit, registration, business license, inspection, occupancy limit, night cap, primary residence rule), source from LocalRules, status (confirmed, needs verification), and deadline or renewal date. 2. A tax responsibility matrix: each tax from TaxNotes as a row, each channel from BookingChannels as a column, and in each cell "platform collects and remits", "host collects and remits", or "verify". Never fill a cell without a source in TaxNotes. 3. Registration steps in order: which accounts to open with the state and local tax offices, what ID numbers to put on the listing if the city requires it, and what to keep on file. 4. Direct booking tax math from RateCard: which charges are taxable (nightly rate, cleaning fee), a sample invoice line by line, and the total tax to collect. 5. A filing calendar: each return, frequency, due date pattern, and whether a zero return is still required for months the platform covered everything or nobody stayed. 6. A listing and safety checklist: permit number display, occupancy limit, parking and quiet hours, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, fire extinguisher, emergency contact posting, and insurance that covers short term rental use. 7. Records: what to save each month (platform tax reports, direct booking invoices, filed returns) and for how long, per TaxNotes or "check with your tax office". 8. A risk list ordered by penalty exposure, with the first three actions for this week. Constraints: - No invented rates, thresholds, or deadlines; write [verify] gaps. Not legal or tax advice. - Tables first, short sentences, no em dashes.