Rental Rules by City / New Mexico / Santa Fe

Santa Fe short-term rental rules & tax calculator

Santa Fe County, New Mexico · 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. In residential zones you need a City permit, capped at 1,000.
What taxes do I pay?: Total about 7%. Check your Airbnb payout report to see which ones Airbnb collects; you pay the rest yourself.

Your 3 steps to be legal

Check zoning and the waitlist.
Apply for the permit (one per person).
File lodgers tax monthly by the 25th.

⚠️ Biggest risk: Buying a home expecting a permit when the cap is full.

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

Tax calculator

Nightly rate ($) Nights Cleaning fee ($)

Rates used: City lodgers' tax 5% + Convention center fee 2% = 7%. Mandatory cleaning fees are included in the taxable total. 7% lodgers' tax per the City. New Mexico gross receipts tax also applies: verify the current Santa Fe rate.

What Airbnb collects: Per the City, Airbnb/VRBO pay in a lump sum, so you must still file a monthly report showing what the platform paid.

This is the general rule for Santa Fe. 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 Santa Fe lists are on the Santa Fe 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 Santa Fe. 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Instead of scattered, sometimes outdated pages, you get the city, county and state rules on one page, with official sources linked, a last-checked date, and unconfirmed items marked "verify" instead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	Residentially zoned STRs need a City STR permit (which includes the business license). Non-residential zoning: registration + business license.
Cap	Max 1,000 residential permits citywide, waitlist after that. One permit per natural person.
Transfer	Permits don't transfer to new owners.
Listings	Show your permit or registration number in every ad.
Reporting	File lodgers' tax monthly by the 25th, even for Airbnb bookings and empty months. Late penalty: the greater of 10% or $100.

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

Santa Fe'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.