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News Brief

May 22, 2025 |  By: Gavin McGough

St Joseph has new ordinance to collect six percent tax on short term vacation rentals

At its meeting last week, the St. Joseph City Council passed an ordinance to clarify how it collects taxes on short term vacation rentals in the city. The rule requires online platforms such as VRBO and AirBNB to collect the city's 6 percent tax on visitor and tourist lodging, and remit those funds to the city government. Some online platforms were not collecting the tax; this rule will ask them to comply or face penalties. The City Planning Director Clint Thompson explained the requirement will level the playing field in the local vacation rental market.

"I think what we are trying to do is make sure we have a competitive marketplace. Someplaces within the market, the property owners are charging that tax to their customer, others are not and this gives us the mechanism to recover those funds.", says Tompson.

Thompson says short term rentals have been a productive part of the St Joseph economy as they have come to the area over the past decade. Many are located in historic parts of the city, occupying single rooms, or older spaces which are less suited to the long term rental market.

"Short term, obviously those are a higher price point per day and so it helps with the financial feasibility of revitalizing some of these older structures for bed and breakfasts or having multiple rooms in one building. It has been a positive experience for St Joseph.", says Thompson. 

Thompson adds during city events and high traffic weekends, they also provide more lodging options for city visitors.