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HomeShort-Term Rental LawsKentuckyLouisville

Local guide

Louisville short-term rental rules

Louisville Metro regulates STRs through annual registration, safety and advertising rules, primary-residence and zoning conditions, and separate transient-room tax duties.

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  • Official sources
  • Address used only for local rules

Compliance layers

A Clear Answer, Then a Path Forward.

Critical Finding

See whether the property can operate now, what blocks it, and which exception may apply.

Address Context

Confirm zoning, current land use, jurisdiction, and the rules that actually govern the address.

Required Approvals

Get the permits, licenses, documents, inspections, and tax registrations needed before launch.

Recommended Path

Follow prioritized next steps, deadlines, renewal duties, and viable alternatives when rules change.

Occupancy tax calculator

Estimate occupancy tax in Louisville

Enter the nightly rate and stay length to estimate the lodging taxes and guest total for this jurisdiction.

Gross rent$150.00 × 3 nights
$450.00
Kentucky state sales tax on lodging (6%) $450.00 × 6%
$27.00
Estimated taxes and fees
$27.00

Guest pays

$477.00

Assumptions used

  • Common short-stay boundary: The displayed estimate is limited to 1–29 nights and does not allocate longer-stay exemptions or first-N-night rules.
  • Deterministic state or common base: The estimate uses the room-charge input only; added-charge classification remains a visible limitation or factor.

What may change the final amount

  • Kentucky transient and Louisville Metro layers remain visible factors. Kentucky’s 6% sales tax is the displayed deterministic base. The official Kentucky transient-room source adds a 1% state transient tax, Louisville Metro Code §121.01 contains an 8.5% local transient stack, and the Kentucky filing example shows passed-through transient taxes can enter the sales-tax base. These tax-on-tax and property-class conditions are not merged into the simple base estimate.
Open the full occupancy tax calculator

Estimated tax is $27.00. Estimated guest total is $477.00.

Estimate only. Verify the property jurisdiction, exemptions, taxable charges, filing duties, and marketplace collection with the linked official sources.

Louisville STR eligibility and first action

Start with annual Metro registration, then resolve primary-residence/zoning status and safety requirements before advertising.

Louisville’s code treats an STR as a rental under 30 days, requires registration, and prohibits advertising an unregistered unit. Non-primary residences may have an additional CUP and separation path.

Louisville registration, zoning, and safety path

  • Register the property annually

    The code sets a $250 per-property annual registration and one-year validity.

    Required

  • Resolve non-primary residence rules

    A non-primary residence may need a CUP and must satisfy separation, occupancy, and condominium conditions.

    Required

  • Install and document safety controls

    Maintain smoke/CO detectors, extinguisher, escape route, evacuation plan, contact information, and registration number.

    Required

  • Do not advertise before registration

    The code prohibits advertising an unregistered STR and allows platform reporting/removal mechanisms.

    Required

Louisville transient-room taxes

The calculator shows Kentucky’s 6% state sales-tax base and flags the 1% state transient tax, 8.5% Metro stack, and tax-on-tax base as factors.

The official Kentucky filing examples show that passed-through transient taxes can enter the sales-tax base. The simple calculator does not guess property class or platform collection, so confirm the applicable Revenue Commission and Kentucky filings.

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

No. Metro Code §115.521 prohibits advertising an unregistered STR.

No. It shows the Kentucky state sales-tax base and exposes the state transient, Metro, property-class, and tax-on-tax conditions as factors.