Stone and timber cabin with a hot tub on a snowy mountain deck at dusk, How to Start a Short-Term Rental Business in Wyoming

How to Start a Short-Term Rental Business in Wyoming: 4% Sales Tax Plus 5% State Lodging Assessment, Local Lodging Tax and Teton County’s 31-Day Rule

If you have searched for Wyoming Airbnb laws, you have probably found conflicting advice. Wyoming has no statewide short-term rental permit and no general business license. It does have a stack of lodging tax layers, and local zoning can decide whether you may rent a property for fewer than 31 days at all. Teton County, including Jackson Hole, is where these rules bite hardest, so this guide uses it as the main example.

The order matters. Confirm zoning first, then form your entity, register for taxes, and add local licenses. Owners who reverse that order often end up with a listing they cannot legally run.

Materials You Need Before You Start

  • The property address and parcel number, so you know whether it sits in unincorporated Teton County, inside the Town of Jackson, or in another city or town.
  • A physical Wyoming street address for your registered agent. A drop box does not qualify, and a PO box is accepted only in addition to a physical address.
  • $100 for Articles of Organization if you form an LLC, and $60 if you reserve the name (paper form only, held 120 days).
  • $60 for a sales and use tax license, required for each place of business that makes taxable sales.
  • A federal Employer Identification Number from the IRS and a business bank account.
  • A list of furnishings with purchase dates and costs, for county property tax reporting.

Know the Wyoming Airbnb Laws That Apply to Your Property

Zoning comes first because it can make the rest of your plan irrelevant. In unincorporated Teton County, Land Development Regulations 6.1.4 and 6.1.5 prohibit renting a residential unit for less than 31 days. A rental agreement must run 31 days or more, unless the property is in a development approved for short-term rental: The Aspens, Crescent H Fish Lodges, Golf Creek condominiums only, or Teton Shadows condominiums only.

Two more rules catch owners by surprise. Guest houses, which the county treats as accessory units, carry a 90-day minimum rental period and occupancy limits. Your listing also cannot advertise stays under 31 days unless the regulations allow them, so a listing that looks ordinary can still be a violation.

Zoning is a county power, so for property outside city limits, confirm permits, fees and penalties with Teton County Planning and Building. If the property is inside the Town of Jackson, confirm the town’s short-term rental permit and business license with the Town of Jackson directly.

Step 1: Form the Entity

Most owners form a single-member LLC through the Wyoming Secretary of State’s WyoBiz portal. Search the name on the WyoBiz filing search first. The name must include “Limited Liability Company” or an accepted abbreviation such as “LLC,” “L.L.C.,” or “LC” under W.S. 17-29-108, and it must be available and distinguishable before you register.

An LLC name reservation costs $60, is paper only, and holds the name for 120 days. Names beginning with the letter “A” must be filed on paper. Online filings are active as soon as they are complete. Paper filings are processed in the order received and can take up to 15 business days.

The Articles of Organization filing fee is $100. Expedited service is available per document for $1,400 (same business day, received by 12:00 noon MT) or $700 (next business day, received by 5:00 p.m. MT), but it does not apply to initial formations that can be completed online. Most owners use the standard route.

Step 2: Appoint a Registered Agent

Every Wyoming entity must continuously maintain a registered agent to accept legal papers. The agent can be a Wyoming resident or an authorized business, and it must have a physical street address in Wyoming, including any suite number. Out-of-state owners usually hire a commercial registered agent. Commercial agents pay the state a $50 annual registration, so compare service fees. The agent signs a Consent to Appointment certifying compliance with W.S. 17-28-101 through 17-28-111. Appointing a new agent and office later costs $5.

Step 3: Register for the Sales and Use Tax License

Wyoming has no general state business license, but a rental that charges guests for lodging makes taxable sales. Register with the Department of Revenue, Excise Tax Division, at excise-tax-div.wyo.gov. The license costs $60 per place of business, and the application fee is non-refundable. Register before your first booking goes live.

Lodging carries three layers:

  1. The 4% state sales tax rate (39-15-103(a)(i)(G)).
  2. A 5% statewide lodging assessment on lodging services (39-15-104(h)). Three percent goes to the tourism office and two percent is distributed.
  3. A local lodging tax of 1% or 2% where the county or town has adopted one (39-15-204(a)(ii)), plus any local sales-tax options.

The state layers alone total 9% (4% plus 5%). That is arithmetic from the statutes, not a figure the Department publishes. The Department’s sales and use tax rate chart, effective October 1, 2026, shows combined rates by county and a with-lodging column. For example, the chart shows Teton County at 7% for sales and 12% with lodging. County rates change quarterly, so check the chart’s effective date before you set prices.

Booking platforms add a second question. A marketplace facilitator is the vendor for the sales it facilitates and must collect and remit sales tax on them (39-15-502). Whether that platform also collects the 5% assessment and local lodging taxes is a question for the Department of Revenue Excise Tax Division. Do not assume it does. Ask the Department whether cleaning fees and other add-on charges are taxable, too. If you live outside Wyoming, the remote seller threshold is $100,000 in sales.

Step 4: Add Local Licenses and Permits

Counties in Wyoming issue no business licenses. Only cities and towns may. The Secretary of State notes that a business may need a license or permit specific to its activity, and it directs applicants to the city clerk’s office where they will operate. In Teton County, that means the Town of Jackson for in-town properties and county offices for everything else, with permits and penalties confirmed through Teton County Planning and Building.

Step 5: Check Real Estate Licensing

Wyoming’s Real Estate License Act defines a short-term rental as a rental of real estate for 31 days or less (33-28-102(a)(liv)). Whether managing stays for other owners requires a real estate license is a question for the Wyoming Real Estate Commission. Ask before you take on a client.

Step 6: Plan Employees, Workers’ Comp and Contractors

Wyoming workers’ compensation is a monopolistic state fund run by the Department of Workforce Services. It is compulsory only in listed extrahazardous industries. Accommodation (NAICS 72) is compulsory once you have employees. Sole proprietors, partners, officers and LLC members are excluded unless they elect coverage, so an owner with no employees has no compulsory coverage to buy.

Wyoming has no state contractor, plumber or HVAC license. The state licenses electrical trades, and contractors are licensed city by city. Confirm electrical licensing with the Department of Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety before work starts.

Step 7: Report Property and Furnishings

A rental is taxed as real property. The furnishings inside it are business personal property, and they must be listed with the county assessor by March 1. Keep invoices and a simple asset list so the filing is quick.

Step 8: Handle Room Rates, Food and Alcohol

Hotels, motels, inns and bed-and-breakfasts face the same tax stack and need no state hotel license, but they must post a room-rate card (33-17-104). If you plan to serve breakfast, meals are taxable, and food service rules should be confirmed with the Wyoming Department of Agriculture Consumer Health Services. Wyoming’s Food Freedom Act (W.S. 11-49) covers home producers selling homemade food directly to informed end consumers, but it does not automatically cover serving meals to guests. Retail liquor licenses are population-quota licenses issued by cities, towns and counties, so confirm the process with the Wyoming Liquor Division.

Step 9: Calendar the Annual Report

Wyoming levies no corporate income, personal income or franchise tax, so the annual report is the recurring state charge to track. The annual report license tax is $60 minimum, due the first day of the anniversary month of formation each year. You may file it up to 120 days early. If it is not paid within 60 days of the due date, the entity is subject to administrative dissolution. An entity with more than $300,000 in Wyoming assets pays the greater amount under the two-tenths of one mill formula. For example, $1,210,000 in Wyoming assets produces $242.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Listing before zoning is confirmed. A two-night listing for a unit that must rent for 31 days or more invites enforcement.
  • Pricing off the 4% rate alone. Lodging can also carry the 5% assessment and a local lodging tax.
  • Assuming the platform handles everything. Marketplace facilitators must remit sales tax on the sales they facilitate, but the other layers need separate confirmation.
  • Using a PO box as the registered agent address. A physical Wyoming street address is required.
  • Missing the March 1 furnishings listing or the annual report due date.
  • Buying for resale without a certificate. Wyoming issues no resale certificate, so the buyer gives the seller a signed certificate.
  • Mixing up jurisdictions. Teton County and the Town of Jackson each set their own rules, so confirm which one covers your address.

Expected Results

A complete setup may allow you to accept bookings with the required registrations in place. It does not guarantee approval for every property, occupancy level, nightly rate or net income. Results depend on location, season, pricing and management. Timelines can run longer than expected when zoning review or paper filings are involved.

Official Resources

Disclaimer

This article is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Zoning, tax and licensing rules change, and items marked for confirmation must be checked with the named agency. Before committing money to a property, consult a Wyoming-licensed attorney about zoning and entity structure, and a CPA about lodging taxes, sales tax and property reporting.

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