Rental Rules by City / Kentucky / Louisville

Louisville short-term rental rules & tax calculator

Jefferson County, Kentucky · Verified against official sources Oct 24, 2026

📋 The Basics

Can I rent my place short-term here?: Yes, with a license or tax registration
Do I need a permit?: Yes, with a yearly city registration; some zones need a Conditional Use Permit.
What taxes do I pay?: Total about 15.5%. Check your Airbnb payout report to see which ones Airbnb collects; you pay the rest yourself.

Your 3 steps to be legal

Register with the Office of Planning ($250 (verify)/yr).
Register with the Metro Revenue Commission.
Check if your zone needs a CUP.

⚠️ Biggest risk: Advertising before you register.

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

Tax calculator

Nightly rate ($) Nights Cleaning fee ($)

Rates used: Kentucky state sales tax 6% + Kentucky statewide transient room tax 1% + Louisville Metro transient room tax 8.5% = 15.5%. Mandatory cleaning fees are included in the taxable total. 15.5% (KY 6% sales + 1% state room tax + 8.5% Metro room tax). Platforms with a Metro agreement remit Metro room tax on their bookings.

What Airbnb collects: Booking platforms file Metro room tax for their bookings; you file only for direct bookings.

This is the general rule for Louisville. 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. The penalties Louisville lists are on the Louisville page.

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 Louisville. Cancel anytime.

Stay notified

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

Registration	Every STR must register yearly with the Office of Planning ($250, non-refundable).
Tax account	Hosts must also register with the Metro Revenue Commission (transient room + occupational license taxes).
Zoning	A Conditional Use Permit may be needed depending on zoning and whether the host lives there; CUP STRs are reported to need 600 ft from another CUP STR: verify with Planning & Design.
Ads	Advertising an unregistered STR is prohibited and fined. Some small cities in Jefferson County have their own rules.

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

Louisville'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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Get a personalized STR Compliance Check ($49) for your exact address in any US city: the permits, registrations and tax accounts you need, with official sources, delivered by email in 48 business hours. Not legal advice.

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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.