RuleGridColorado · Eagle County
Eagle County
Eagle County imposes NO county-level short-term rental (STR) license, permit, or registration requirement in unincorporated areas. On May 13, 2025, the Board of County Commissioners formally decided not to create a county STR ordinance, leaving any STR restrictions to metro districts and HOAs ("The Eagle County Board of Commissioners held a meeting on May 13th, 2025, and determined to not create an STR ordinance at the county level. Regulations will continue to be left to metro districts and HOAs to implement their own ordinances."). An earlier 2023-2024 effort to design a county STR licensing program (RFP issued Jan 5, 2024; a staff-suggested administrative fee of roughly $300 was floated) was abandoned with the May 13, 2025 decision. STRs therefore remain ALLOWED at the county level with no operating permit or cap. The only mandatory obligations are tax-related: operators renting rooms/accommodations for less than 30 consecutive days must collect and remit the Eagle County Lodging Tax -- 2% approved by voters Nov 8, 2022 (effective Jan 1, 2023) and increased to 4% total by the Nov 2025 ballot vote (Ballot Issue 1A, passed narrowly 4,069-4,014; effective Jan 1, 2026) -- administered by the Colorado Department of Revenue via form DR 1485 "County Lodging Tax Return" (filed quarterly), plus applicable Colorado state (2.9%) and Eagle County (1.5%, per the official county finance page) sales tax. The county lodging tax applies to unincorporated Eagle County and the Town of Gypsum only; other incorporated towns (Avon, Basalt, Eagle, Minturn, Red Cliff, Vail) levy their own lodging taxes and have their own separate STR ordinances not covered by this county-level record.
Not legal advice. Last verified 2026-07-15 · sources linked below.
Requirements checklist
-
county County short-term rental license / permit Not required
-
state Colorado Sales Tax License (to collect/remit state-administered sales & lodging taxes) Required
-
county Eagle County Lodging Tax account / quarterly return (Form DR 1485) Conditional
Taxes
| Tax | Rate | Administered by | Airbnb remits | Vrbo remits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eagle County Lodging Tax | 4% | Colorado Department of Revenue (state-administered county lodging tax; remitted quarterly on form DR 1485) | — | — |
| Eagle County Sales Tax | 1.5% | Colorado Department of Revenue (state-collected county sales tax) | — | — |
Lodging-tax estimator
Estimate the combined transient/lodging tax (~5.5%) on a stay in Eagle County. Estimate only — not tax advice.
Operating rules
- Primary residence
- No
- Min stay (nights)
- —
- Max nights / year
- —
- Max occupancy
- —
- Zoning-restricted
- No
- Cap on licenses
- —
Zoning: Eagle County has no STR-specific zoning overlay or land-use restriction. The Board of County Commissioners declined to adopt any county STR regulations on May 13, 2025, leaving any restrictions to metro districts and HOAs. Individual HOAs, metro districts, and incorporated towns may impose their own STR limits that are outside this county-level record.
- No county-level operating restrictions on STRs in unincorporated Eagle County as of 2026.
- County RFP/staff estimates in 2023-2024 put active STRs in the unincorporated county at roughly 1,000-2,000 units; no cap or license limit was ever enacted. (The specific '1,580 units / ~14% of housing' figure in the original draft could not be independently confirmed and has been generalized to the confirmed estimate range.)
- Restrictions on STRs in unincorporated areas, if any, are set by private HOAs and metro districts, not the county. Beaver Creek reportedly accounts for the large majority of the county's STR units.
- Incorporated municipalities within Eagle County (Vail, Avon, Eagle, Gypsum, Basalt, Minturn, Red Cliff) have their own STR ordinances and/or lodging taxes -- evaluate those separately at the city level.
Enforcement
- Active enforcement
- no
- Fines
- —
- Notes
- There is no county STR licensing regime to enforce -- the Board of County Commissioners declined to adopt a county STR ordinance on May 13, 2025, so there are no county STR permit fines or penalties for operating an unlicensed STR in unincorporated Eagle County. Tax compliance (lodging tax and sales tax) is enforced by the Colorado Department of Revenue, which administers and collects those taxes. STR conduct rules, if any, are enforced by metro districts and HOAs, not the county.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Airbnb legal in Eagle County?
Do I need a license or registration for a short-term rental in Eagle County?
What taxes apply to short-term rentals in Eagle County?
Official sources
- government-official Eagle County -- Draft Short Term Rental Ordinance (Board decision not to create a county STR ordinance, May 13, 2025) ↗
- government-official Eagle County Finance -- Sales & Lodging Tax ↗
- government-official Eagle County -- Proposed Lodging Tax Increase (2% to 4%) ↗
- government-official Eagle County 2022 Ballot Issue 1A Lodging Tax fact sheet ↗
- government-official Colorado DOR -- DR 1485 County Lodging Tax and Visitor Benefit Tax Return ↗
- government-official Colorado DOR -- Sales & Use Tax Topics: Rooms & Accommodations ↗
- government-official Eagle County -- Short Term Rental Licensing Design & Implementation RFP (Jan 5, 2024) ↗
- government-official U.S. Census Bureau -- 2020 County FIPS codes, Colorado ↗
- news Vail Daily -- Eagle County officials decide short-term rental regulations are best left to metro districts, HOAs ↗
Informational summary of publicly available sources; not legal advice. Verify against the linked official sources.