Rental Rules by City / District of Columbia / Washington DC

Washington DC short-term rental rules & tax calculator

District of Columbia County, District of Columbia · 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?: Only your primary residence, with a DC license; whole-home rentals capped at 90 nights/yr.
What taxes do I pay?: Total about 15.95%. Check your Airbnb payout report to see which ones Airbnb collects; you pay the rest yourself.

Your 3 steps to be legal

Confirm it's your primary residence.
Get the DC short-term rental license.
Track whole-home nights (90 max).

⚠️ Biggest risk: Renting a home that isn't your primary residence.

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

Tax calculator

Nightly rate ($) Nights Cleaning fee ($)

Rates used: DC transient lodging tax 15.95% = 15.95%. Mandatory cleaning fees are included in the taxable total. 15.95% transient lodging tax (temporary rate extended through Sep 30, 2027).

What Airbnb collects: Booking services may collect and remit DC lodging tax: verify in payouts.

This is the general rule for Washington DC. 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 Washington DC. 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Instead of scattered, sometimes outdated pages, you get the city, county and state rules on one page, with official sources linked, a last-checked date, and unconfirmed items marked "verify" instead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

License	DC short-term rental license required (DLCP).
Primary residence	Only your primary residence can be rented short term.
Vacation rental cap	Renting the whole home while you're away is capped at 90 nights per calendar year; hosted stays have no annual cap but max 30 nights per stay.

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

Washington DC'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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By paying, you agree to our Terms and Refund Policy How we verify.

Stay Compliant: $4.99/month

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.