Airbnb Rules in New Mexico | Airbnb Laws, Taxes, and Regulations

New Mexico is home to some of the oldest communities in North America, the Pueblos of Taos, Acoma, and Zuni have existed for countless lifetimes. Additionally, its cities are incomparable bastions of history, culture, and art. Many are located near wildlands and provide access to unparalleled outdoor adventures. For all these reasons and more New Mexico is a hotspot for tourist travel with 37.5 million tourists in 2018 alone spending 7.1 billion according to sources. The same source indicates that tourism generates $900 in state and local taxes for every household in New Mexico and the industry is only growing.

However, around 2019 as tourism became more and more popular and a large number of short-term rentals started opening up the state as a whole and individual cities and counties started introducing taxes, laws, and regulations in order to level the tax playing field between hotels and short-term rentals. If you are looking to open up your next Airbnb in New Mexico read on to find out about Airbnb laws, taxes, and regulations in New Mexico.

Lodger’s Tax

Lodgers' Tax is the tax property owners and managers are required to pay for renting out a room or property. As of January 2020, this law was introduced to all hotels and short-term rentals in New Mexico. In New Mexico, lodging taxes operate a bit differently than in other states. Vendors are taxed for the privilege of doing business in the state, with taxes levied on short-term rental businesses according to their gross receipts. Short-term rental business owners may pass the taxes on to their guests.

In some cities and counties, including Taos County, Albuquerque, Ruidoso, Santa Fe, Taos, and Taos Ski Valley, Airbnb already automatically collects local lodging taxes on behalf of its hosts when guests pay for their stay. On average the __percentage of tax paid ranges from 5 - 7%. __

Gross Receipts Tax

A gross receipts tax is a tax applied to the short-term rental’s gross sales, without deductions for its business expenses, like costs of running and commissions, etc. in New Mexico the percentage charged amounts to 5.125% - 8.6875% of the listing price including any cleaning fees and guest fees for reservations 30 nights and shorter. For detailed information, visit the New Mexico Gross Receipts Overview website.

Laws and regulations in specific cities

Albuquerque

Permits:

In Albuquerque, hosts are responsible for completing the application process and submitting the $120 initial application fee. Permits must be renewed annually, for a fee of $90.

Hospitality fees:

Hosts in Albuquerque are required to pay a hospitality fee of 1% of the listing price including any cleaning fees, for reservations 29 nights and shorter.

Santa Fe

The number of short-term rentals:

As of January 2021 Santa Fe, New Mexico, allows only one vacation rental permit per person in residential zones and limits the number of short-term rental permits in residential zones to 1,000 citywide.

Proximity rules:

Vacation rentals homes are required to be at least 50 feet away from each other thereby limiting the number of short-term rental units within multi-unit buildings.

The short-term rentals are required to have a local operator who can arrive at the rental within an hour to respond to issues, and hosts are required to keep records for three years that the city can view upon request.

Taos

Permits:

Taos requires hosts to register and pay an annual fee; this permit must be renewed annually at the cost of $300. If the listing is not the Primary Residence of the owner, an additional $100 Affordable Housing Fund fee is also applied to the STR Permit. The $300-$400 fee includes the following: STR Permit, Business License, Fire & Safety Inspection.

Building and Housing Standards

Taos has set rules determining minimum construction, design, and maintenance standards for buildings, including regulations on habitability, health, and safety. Certain regulations that apply to residential and non-residential uses may be relevant to your listing, including the 2015 International Fire Code, the 2015 International Building Code, and/or the 2015 International Residential Code. To schedule a fire inspection, call (575) 758-338

In conclusion:

As a Host, you need to understand and abide by other contracts or rules that bind you, apart from the ones mentioned above, such as leases, co-op rules, HOA rules, or other rules established by tenant organizations. Additionally, if you do not own the property, written consent must be obtained from the property owner to receive a short-term rental license.

You should be able to find out more by contacting your housing authority (such as a community council) or landlord. Your lease (or other contracts) might also have specific details.

If you are looking to take the stress out of expanding your vacation rental business check out Hostaway. Request a free demo to find out how we help property owners and managers around the world.