What are the short-term rental rules and taxes in Truckee, California?

The Town of Truckee, in Nevada County, licenses short-term rentals itself and collects its own lodging tax. A short-term rental there is a stay of less than 31 continuous nights. The town caps the number of registrations, so the first question for most new owners is the waitlist, not the application. This page covers what the town and the platforms say.

Checked on Nov 4, 2026. This page reports what the official pages said that day. Confirm with the town before you list. This is not legal or tax advice; for your own situation, ask the town's STR Division (530-582-5280) or a CPA.

Do you need a permit or registration

Town of Truckee

Yes. The town's short-term rental page (opens in a new tab) says operating or advertising a short-term rental without a Transient Occupancy Registration Certificate brings penalties under Section 5.02.060 of the STR ordinance (opens in a new tab). Rentals of 31 nights or more are exempt. Advertising a stay of 30 nights or less without a certificate is a citable offense.

The cap. The town's registration count page (opens in a new tab) says:

• It has reached its cap of 1,255 certificates, and none are available.
• 340 applicants were on the waitlist when standings were updated on Oct 19, 2026.
• The wait was trending at 19.6 months as of that date.
• The last release was on Aug 12, 2026, when 12 registrations went to the waitlist.

Who can't join the waitlist. The town's prohibited list (opens in a new tab) rules out ADUs, junior ADUs, multifamily units (condos, apartments and townhomes) and mobile or manufactured homes. Existing certificates on ADUs and multifamily units can be renewed, per the town's ordinance history (opens in a new tab). Also:

• A new owner must wait 365 days after a home sale before applying, whenever the home was bought.
• Homes still under construction, or without a Certificate of Occupancy, can't apply.
• Staff can deny an application while a code case is open on the property.

How the waitlist works. The town's three-part process page (opens in a new tab) lays it out:

1. Sign-up sheet. An online form timestamps your place. Staff check the property before sending a formal application.
2. Waitlist application. A $100 nonrefundable deposit is due, plus $3.30 if you pay by card. You submit owner and property details, permitted bedrooms and a recorded grant deed. Review takes at least 10 to 15 business days. The town's FAQ (opens in a new tab) says the $100 goes toward your registration fee and you don't reapply each year.
3. Registration. When a spot opens you get 30 days to register. You give a 24/7 local emergency contact, your number of on-site paved parking spaces, an acknowledgment of two trash cans and a bear-resistant enclosure, and a fire safety self-certification. The page lists a $378 registration fee.

The FAQ says you can't advertise until your certificate is approved, even if you're near the top of the list.

Renewal. Certificates renew every year through the town's STR portal, between Nov 1 and Dec 31. The renewal page (opens in a new tab) lists a $478 annual renewal fee. Miss the window and you go back on the waitlist. The registration and renewal fees appear on different pages, so confirm the amount due with the STR Division.

Fire inspection. The town's fire inspection page (opens in a new tab) says the Truckee Fire Protection District must inspect within three years of your first registration, then every three years.

• The district charges $500 per inspection and $300 for a re-inspection.
• Its calendar is open May 1 to Nov 1 only.
• Inspections stay with the owner, not the house. A buyer who later registers from the waitlist needs a new one.
• Missing the inspection can bring a suspension or fines of up to $1,500 a day, per the town's STR page.

Hosted rentals. Renting one bedroom in the home you live in is a separate hosted rental registration. It renews every three years and expires on the third Mar 31 after you register. The town's page doesn't say whether hosted rentals count toward the cap.

Outside town limits, briefly

The town's rules cover only homes inside town limits. Check your parcel before you apply.

• Unincorporated Nevada County. The county's TOT page (opens in a new tab) sets a 10% transient occupancy tax and requires a county Transient Occupancy Tax Certificate. The TOT page doesn't describe a county STR permit, so ask the county about permit rules.
• Placer County. The town's fire page tells Truckee STR owners not to book their inspection with Placer County. If your home is in Placer County, its rules apply instead. Placer's STR ordinance update (opens in a new tab) describes a 3,900-permit cap and a required passing defensible space inspection. Its TOT rate page (opens in a new tab) lists 10% for the North Lake Tahoe area plus a 2% or 1% tourism assessment by zone. Our South Lake Tahoe page has more on Placer.

Occupancy and sales taxes

The town's transient occupancy tax page (opens in a new tab) lists two charges on rent. Guests pay them, and you collect and remit them:

A few notes from the same page:

• Measure K raised the TOT from 10% to 12% in January 2021. The measure sunsets after 20 years.
• The TTBID assessment was 2%, dropped to 1.25% on Jan 1, 2021, and went back to 2% on Jul 1, 2026. Some older pages, including Airbnb's, still show 1.25%.
• Taxable: nightly and weekly rent, standard cleaning fees, cancellation charges, pet fees, forfeited deposits, booking and reservation fees, extra person fees, late checkout fees and other mandatory fees.
• Not taxable: refundable deposits, crib and roll-away charges, optional insurance, parking fees and items already subject to California sales tax.

What Airbnb and Vrbo collect for you there

What the town says. "Listing platforms, like Airbnb, do not automatically collect and/or remit TOT for any property in the Town of Truckee," per the town's TOT page. Many platforms let you add the TOT and TTBID as a line item on your listing. The platform then charges the guest and adds the tax to your payout, and you remit it to the town. The town links Airbnb's occupancy tax setup article (opens in a new tab) and Vrbo's lodging tax article (opens in a new tab) for this.

Airbnb. Airbnb's California tax article (opens in a new tab) has no Truckee entry. Its Nevada County entry, 10% for stays of 30 nights or fewer, says it does not include Truckee. Airbnb's Truckee page (opens in a new tab) also puts collection on the host, and still lists the TTBID at 1.25%.

Vrbo. Vrbo's US tax list (states A to E) (opens in a new tab) has no entry for Truckee, Nevada County or Placer County.

What stays your job:

• Charge the 14% on every booking. Add it as a line item on Airbnb and Vrbo, and add it yourself on direct bookings.
• File and pay the town every quarter. The platform passing the tax through in your payout doesn't file it for you.
• Outside town limits: Nevada County's TOT page says Airbnb has collected and remitted the county's 10% TOT since May 1, 2017. The county still asks hosts to report their activity in case Airbnb reports to the wrong county.

Filing and registering for the taxes you must file yourself

From the town's TOT page:

• Portal. File and pay through the town's STR portal (opens in a new tab). ACH is free; cards carry a processing fee.
• One return. Each quarterly return covers both the TOT and the TTBID assessment.
• Zero returns. You must file every quarter, even with no rentals.
• Audits. The town audits registered properties and uses a contractor to find unregistered listings.

The page's text also says penalties apply if payment isn't postmarked "by the first of the month following the end of a quarter," which is a month earlier than the table. Ask the STR Division which date it enforces. Late payment adds a penalty of 10% of the tax for up to 30 days late, rising by 10% for each further 30 days to 50% after 120 days. Interest is 1.5% a month on top, with partial months rounded up.

Other local rules

These come from the town's program overview (opens in a new tab). The town says the list isn't exhaustive and the rules apply at all times, even on days the home isn't rented.

Occupancy. No more than two people per bedroom plus two more, not counting children under 13. A 3-bedroom home is limited to 8.

Parking. On-site paved parking is required. No parking on the street or on unpaved ground. In the Downtown Mixed Use zone, a home without on-site parking needs an approved off-site parking plan.

Quiet hours. 10 pm to 7 am.

Trash. You need weekly two-can service (two 32-gallon cans, per the key resources page (opens in a new tab)) and a bear bin or bear shed. No trash may pile up outside.

Fire safety.

• No charcoal grills, wood-burning pits, bonfires or campfires.
• Propane grills and gas fire features must be 10 feet from structures and anything combustible.
• Fire extinguishers (type 3A-40B:C) on each level, serviced every year.
• Smoke alarms no more than 10 years old, in each bedroom and on each level.
• CO alarms no more than 7 years old, on each level outside sleeping areas. See how many smoke and CO alarms a rental needs.
• Visible address numbers, defensible space, a labeled ash can and a working landline or VoIP phone where cell service is poor.

Local contact. You name a contact who handles complaints. When the town's 24/7 helpline calls, the contact must respond by phone within 30 minutes and fix the problem within 60 minutes. For a year after a citation, the contact must be able to reach the home in person within 60 minutes.

Ads and postings.

• Every ad must show your certificate number, the maximum number of occupants and the number of on-site parking spaces.
• Inside, post the certificate, the town's Good Neighbor flyer, the trash guide and the evacuation map. These cover occupancy, trash, parking and possible fines. The emergency info sign can sit next to them.

Events. Weddings, corporate events and similar functions are banned unless they meet every STR rule, including occupancy, parking and noise. See how to prevent parties.

Enforcement.

• Guests and owners can both be cited.
• Fines run up to $1,500 a day for a first violation, $3,000 a day for a second and $5,000 a day for each one after.
• Three strikes revoke the certificate, with no new one for 12 months.
• Operating without a certificate is a $500 fine for a first violation, per the ordinance history.

Workforce housing. The town offers two programs that trade short-term renting for local housing:

• Lease to Locals. Grants of $2,000 to $18,000 if you move from short-term renting (or not renting) to leases of 5 to 12 months or more with local workers. Tenant household income can't exceed 150% of area median income, which the town lists as $130,800.
• Workforce Housing Token pilot. You deed-restrict a workforce unit for 15 years and get tokens you can redeem for STR certificates. The token page (opens in a new tab) lists an application deadline of Jun 20, 2024 and doesn't show a newer round.

HOAs and neighborhoods. An HOA or subdivision can have its own rental rules on top of the town's. Read your CC&Rs before you join the waitlist.

Winter and wildfire. Snow and fire season shape how you run a Truckee home. See mountain cabin rental essentials, how to winterize a rental and insuring a rental in a wildfire area.

Where to check for changes

• Town of Truckee short-term rentals (opens in a new tab) and program overview (opens in a new tab)
• Registration count and waitlist standings (opens in a new tab), updated by the town
• Town of Truckee transient occupancy tax (opens in a new tab)
• Truckee STR ordinance, Chapter 5.02 (opens in a new tab)
• Nevada County TOT (opens in a new tab) and Placer County TOT rates (opens in a new tab) for homes outside town limits
• Airbnb California taxes (opens in a new tab) and Vrbo tax list (opens in a new tab)

For other markets, see how to find the rules for your city. For income tax, see short-term rental taxes for US hosts. To see what a stay leaves you after platform fees, use the Airbnb fee calculator.