Vanderburgh County, IN Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)

Short-term rental hosts in Vanderburgh County face a layered tax and registration regime. The Vanderburgh County Innkeeper's Tax is authorized by Indiana Code 6-9-2.5 and codified locally as Vanderburgh County Code Chapter 3.12. The current rate is 8 percent of gross retail income from any lodging rental of less than 30 days, increased from 6 percent effective September 1, 2007. The tax is collected by the Indiana Department of Revenue (DOR) and remitted to the county; hosts must register for an Indiana Retail Merchant Certificate, file Form CIT-103 monthly, and remit by the 20th of the following month. Booking platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo collect both the 7% Indiana state gross retail (sales) tax and the 8% Vanderburgh innkeeper's tax on Indiana bookings on hosts' behalf, but hosts remain responsible for any tax not collected by the platform. For properties inside the City of Evansville, Municipal Code Chapter 8.40 (Ord. G-2014-29, 2014) requires every owner of a residential rental building - including STRs - to register annually with the Evansville-Vanderburgh Area Building Commission between March 11 and May 10. The fee is $5 per parcel, capped at $100 per owner per fiscal year. Unincorporated Vanderburgh County does not currently operate a separate STR permit program, but state law (IC 36-1-24-13) caps any local STR permit fee at $150 if one is later adopted.