Fountain, CO Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax base
- Entire lodging price (§ 5.04.150)
- Current sales tax rate
- 3.4% since Jan. 1, 2020 (§ 5.04.040)
- Exemption threshold
- Written 30+ consecutive-day agreement (§ 5.04.500)
- Collector
- City Treasurer, Chapter 5.04
- Assessment window
- 3 years after return due (§ 5.04.610)
Summary
Fountain taxes short-term lodging the same as any other retail sale: the city's sales and use tax, 3.4 percent since 2020, applies to the full price charged for furnishing a room or accommodations under Fountain Municipal Code § 5.04.150. The tax disappears only for a written 30-plus-day stay under § 5.04.500.
Sec. 5.04.150. - Rooms and accommodations. The sales or use tax is imposed on the entire price paid or charged on the transaction of furnishing lodging services for a consideration. ... Sec. 5.04.500. - Room rentals by the month. The sales and purchases of commodities and services under section 5.04.160 to any occupant who is a permanent resident of any lodging service and who enters into or has entered into a written agreement for occupancy of a room or accommodations for a period of at least 30 consecutive days during the calendar year or preceding year are exempt from tax.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 3).
Full Breakdown
Fountain's sales and use tax chapter treats a short-term rental exactly like a hotel or motel stay. 150, 'Rooms and accommodations,' imposes the city's sales or use tax on 'the entire price paid or charged on the transaction of furnishing lodging services for a consideration' with no carve-out for a house, condo or single room booked through a platform rather than a front desk. 4 percent since January 1, 2020, alongside a two percent use tax on tangible personal property. 04. ' Anything short of that written 30-day agreement, the classic weekend or week-long short-term rental, stays fully taxable.
610). This is a City of Fountain, El Paso County ordinance; it has no bearing on unincorporated El Paso County or on Colorado Springs, twelve miles north, which set their own local lodging rules.
Violations & Fines
Fountain Municipal Code § 5.04.610 lets the city treasurer assess unpaid lodging tax, interest and penalty for up to three years after a return was due, longer if no return was ever filed; collection can proceed to a distraint warrant and sale of the taxpayer's property under § 5.04.1170. There is no rental-specific fine schedule: enforcement runs through the same treasurer-led sales and use tax machinery that applies to every retailer in the city.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Fountain, Colorado charge a tax on Airbnb or short-term rental stays?
What is Fountain's lodging or hotel tax rate?
Is a monthly rental exempt from Fountain's lodging tax?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Fountain
How Fountain compares: Cities with the Highest Short-Term Rental Taxes·Compare Fountain to another location·View the Colorado short-term rentals overview
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