Rental Rules by City / Minnesota / Duluth

Duluth short-term rental rules & tax calculator

St. Louis County, Minnesota · Verified against official sources Oct 24, 2026

📋 The Basics

Can I rent my place short-term here?: Only in some areas
Do I need a permit?: Yes. A city permit; whole-home rentals need a capped Interim Use Permit.
What taxes do I pay?: Total about 11.875%. Check your Airbnb payout report to see which ones Airbnb collects; you pay the rest yourself.

Your 3 steps to be legal

Pick your permit type (home share, limited, or whole unit).
Get the MN Health lodging license and fire operational permit.
Register for Duluth tourism tax and MN sales tax.

⚠️ Biggest risk: Whole-home permits are capped and may not be available.

Words confusing? See the glossary. Details and official sources are below.

Tax calculator

Nightly rate ($) Nights Cleaning fee ($)

Rates used: MN state sales tax 6.875% + St. Louis County transit tax 0.5% + Duluth general sales tax 1.5% + Duluth lodging excise tax 3% = 11.875%. Mandatory cleaning fees are included in the taxable total. 11.875% for under 30 units (properties with 30+ units add 2.5%). Per City of Duluth Tourism Taxes page.

What Airbnb collects: Duluth tourism taxes are filed with the city by paper return: verify what Airbnb remits.

This is the general rule for Duluth. Does your address qualify?

The free info covers the city as a whole. Your property can still be different: zoning can change from one street to the next, and an HOA or condo ban can stop rentals even where the city allows them.

Your $49 Compliance Check looks at your exact property:

Whether your exact address and zone allow short-term rentals
A check of HOA / condo rental restrictions to look for
Which permits and tax accounts you personally need
What you're missing right now
A personal report with clear next steps and official sources, by email
A refund if we report a rule in error (refund policy)

🔎 How we check: official city, county and state sources, a last-verified date on every page, and nothing guessed. Learn more

Check my address: $49

🔔 Stay notified: $4.99/month

Rules don't change every week, but they do change, and nobody emails you when they do. We'll alert you when city rules, tourist taxes, HOA-related laws, or Airbnb/Vrbo policies change in Duluth. Cancel anytime.

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Need guest waivers and booking tools too? Click here for more info

Why use this instead of a web search?

Instead of scattered, sometimes outdated pages, you get the city, county and state rules on one page, with official sources linked, a last-checked date, and unconfirmed items marked "verify" instead of guessed. How we verify →

Advanced details (laws, fees, sources)

Rules

Permit types	Accessory Home Share (owner present, 4 guests, 2 bedrooms); Accessory VDU Limited (owner resides, 2-7 nights, max 21 nights/yr); Vacation Dwelling Unit (whole unit, 2-29 nights, max 9 guests, 4 bedrooms).
Cap	Vacation Dwelling Unit interim use permits are capped citywide (except Form districts); new permits posted when available. Ordinance revised Oct 15, 2026: verify.
Other	MN Dept of Health lodging license, Life Safety operational permit, Duluth tourism tax permit.

Items marked "Verify with the city" could not be confirmed from an official source; call the office listed before relying on them.

Sources

Free tools

Free "Is my rental legal?" checklist · Free tourist tax calculator

Rules can change

Duluth's rules, its tax rates and platform policies can change through a council vote, a new state law or a court ruling, often with little notice to hosts. We re-check this page monthly; subscribers get notified. Stay Compliant for $4.99/mo.

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Rules, tax rates and Airbnb/Vrbo policies can change without warning, and hosts who miss a change can be fined. Get alerts when your city, county or state changes, deadline reminders, a pending-bill watch list and a monthly host brief (even in quiet months: "we checked on [date]; no changes"). Compare plans.

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Not legal or tax advice. Last verified Oct 24, 2026. Rules and rates change: confirm with the official sources linked before you rent or file.