Nicholasville, KY Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)

Section 21-85(a) defines "rent" for the entire Nicholasville transient room tax. Rent is the total amount charged for the rental of accommodations, and the definition expressly covers an amount charged by the provider of the accommodations or by a person facilitating the rental by brokering, coordinating, or in any way arranging it. Section 21-85(b) then imposes the three percent (3%) tax on rent charged by hotels, motels, inns, campgrounds and other places furnishing accommodations to transients, and it also reaches rent charged by any person that facilitates the rental of the accommodations. A lodging booked through an intermediary therefore sits inside the same tax as a front-desk reservation.

Article VI never uses the words "short-term rental." It speaks of rent, accommodations and transients, so the test is the printed language: is there a rental of accommodations to a transient for consideration, whether the money is collected by the owner or by a facilitator.

Collection runs through § 21-86. The entity described in § 21-85 doing business in the city collects the tax and pays the city monthly, with payment due fifteen (15) days after the end of each month. Under § 21-87 the city can examine the books, papers and records of any person, firm, organization or similar accommodation business required to file a return, either to test the accuracy of a return or, when none was filed, to determine the room tax due and owing.

Section 21-88(d) names who answers for the tax: any owner, manager, corporate officer, director, or agent in charge of any facility subject to the Article. Sixty (60) days of delinquency by an establishment charged with collecting and paying the tax is prima facie evidence of willful intent not to pay. This page covers the tax only; Article VI prints no registration or permit term for rentals.